Tuesday, June 24, 2008

41 - 11

The Lord be with you.
(I hope you just said, "and also with you.")

Lift up your hearts!
(We lift them to the Lord!)


It was not just hearts that were lifted this afternoon in San Jose, but hands. 41 hands to be exact, lifted in support of the removal of paragraph G-6.1016b from the Book of Order.

Committee 5, the committee on Church Orders has voted to recommend that the General Assembly send a invitation to the presbyteries to strike the current language of the passage commonly called "Amendment B." The vote, specifically taken with regard to an overture from the Presbytery of Boston, was 41 in favor, 11 opposed.

Several overtures were considered by the committee, including an overture that originated in the Hudson River Presbytery. Ultimately, the committee opted for the Boston overture which offers replacement language for the current paragraph rather than an outright deletion. The new language would read:

"Those who are called to ordained service in the church, by their assent to the constitutional questions for ordination and installation (W-4.4003), pledge themselves to live lives obedient to Jesus Christ the Head of the Church, striving to follow where he leads through the witness of the Scriptures, and to understand the Scriptures through the instruction of the Confessions. In so doing, they declare their fidelity to the standards of the Church. Each governing body charged with examination for ordination and/or installation (G-14.0240 and G-14.0450) establishes the candidate’s sincere efforts to adhere to these standards."

A few additional changes to other paragraphs are also proposed.

The same committee voted earlier to recommend an Authoritative Interpretation of G-6.0108 that would overturn the precedent established by the General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission earlier this Spring. If the Assembly accepts this recommendation, the process of "scrupling" implied in the report of the Task Force on the Peace, Unity and Purity of the church (adopted at the 217th GA) would be restored.

It is important to note that neither of these actions have yet come before the entire Assembly -- so the conversation is not yet closed. The docket for the plenary sessions will become more clear in the days to come.

And so, I refer you back to the beginning of these thoughts -- "Lift up your hearts!" However you feel about the actions taken by these committees, the time for prayer is now. These are exciting, trying, and tiring times here in San Jose. The Commissioners and Advisory Delegates need our continued prayers for strength, for wisdom, for the sustaining hand of the Spirit. Pray for all our sisters and brothers as we face the challenging conversations ahead.

The Lord be with you.

3 comments:

Nauraushaun Church said...

And also with you... all of the folks at GA remain in my thoughts and prayers, and I particularly look forward to what happens when the committee's recommendations come to the floor at GA. Thanks for keeping us posted.

LittleMary said...

thank you for your thoughtful posts! what a glorious day it is!

Anonymous said...

One of the true blessings for me of this assembly was listening to the incredible gospel singing of psalmist Mary D. Williams at the Hungryhearts Gospel Blues Breakfast sponsored by the GA Council Office of Spiritual Formation. My! My! My! As soon as she took the microphone into her hands I totally forgot how early it was in the morning! My! My! My! Thank you Mary for stirring my soul!