ATLANTA -- They're saying, at the Covenant Network of Presbyterians, that the momentum may be shifting from a legislative season in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to a judicial season. That shift means something like this. The General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission, the highest court in the denomination, is poised to hear in February the appeals of at least two cases stemming from the work of the Theological Task Force on the Peace, Unity, and Purity of the PC(USA). Those appeals involve the question of what leeway presbyteries have to declare that no departures of conscience from denominational standards will be granted on particular issues. Some presbyteries want to say they will not allow candidates for ordination or installation to declare departures from the national standards -- to announce a "scruple" -- on things the presbytery has declared "essentials" of faith. But other Presbyterians contend that the decisions of whether to grant departures of conscience from the standards must be granted on a case-by-case basis, in the examination of individual candidates.
ATLANTA -- They're saying, at the Covenant Network of Presbyterians, that the momentum may be shifting from a legislative season in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to a judicial season. That shift means something like this. The General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission, the highest court in the denomination, is poised to hear in February the appeals of at least two cases stemming from the work of the Theological Task Force on the Peace, Unity, and Purity of the PC(USA). Those appeals involve the question of what leeway presbyteries have to declare that no departures of conscience from denominational standards will be granted on particular issues. Some presbyteries want to say they will not allow candidates for ordination or installation to declare departures from the national standards -- to announce a "scruple" -- on things the presbytery has declared "essentials" of faith. But other Presbyterians contend that the decisions of whether to grant departures of conscience from the standards must be granted on a case-by-case basis, in the examination of individual candidates. In February, the General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission will consider appeals of remedial cases involving Olympia and Pittsburgh presbyteries. The Covenant Network has "a lot of our eggs in the basket" of how the Permanent Judicial Commission will rule in those cases, said Tricia Dykers Koenig, the network's national organizer. What the Covenant Network is being much quieter about, on the 10-year anniversary of its founding, is how hard it will push the 218th General Assembly to change the constitution to try to remove language from the Book of Order that restricts the ordination of sexually-active gays and lesbians. For years, the Covenant Network made deleting that language, which limits ordination to those who practice fidelity if they are married or chastity if they are single, a centerpiece of its work. But during a presentation on the PC(USA) political landscape during the Covenant Network's national meeting in Atlanta on Nov. 1-3 and in a statement adopted by the Covenant Network Board of Directors, no direct mention was made of trying to lobby this upcoming General Assembly to change the ordination standards. During a workshop the next morning, Koenig was asked about where the Covenant Network stands on that point. At least one presbytery will submit an overture to the General Assembly to remove the "fidelity and chastity" language from the PC(USA) constitution, Koenig said. And if the assembly were to pass that and the presbyteries to approve the constitutional change, the Covenant Network's response would be "Hallelujah," she said. But the Covenant Network's main goal now, she said, is "defending what we've got," meaning the decision of the General Assembly in 2006 to approve a controversial authoritative interpretation presented by the Theological Task Force. Koenig said there has not been a flood of cases of candidates for ordination declaring scruples over the "fidelity and chastity" language. But "we hope we can continue to get people ordained under the current law," she said. In other words, the Covenant Network thinks it's possible that the assembly's adoption of the authoritative interpretation could mean that in some presbyteries, in some cases, gay or lesbian candidates who declare a scruple to the "fidelity and chastity" standard could be ordained. Repeatedly, the PC(USA) has declined to remove the "fidelity and chastity" language from the denomination's constitution over the last decade -- leading some evangelicals to conclude that the church has spoken decisively. And now, with the new authoritative interpretation, "the shift has been from legislative to judicial," said Jon Walton, pastor of First Church in New York City and a Covenant Network co-moderator. Walton told the gathering that he left the General Assembly in Albuquerque a decade ago, where the "fidelity and chastity" provision was passed, "sick, disheartened, sad, ashamed of our church," and determined to step aside from involvement with national church issues. But then the Covenant Network burst into life, and "I realized here was the opportunity to do something really important" for the sake of justice and unity in the church, Walton said. And when the Birmingham assembly approved the Theological Task Force provisions, "the lost hope of the Albuquerque assembly became the new hope of the Birmingham assembly," he said. If candidates are examined with integrity on an individual basis, it may be possible, Walton said, for "a new church to begin to emerge." The Covenant Network also is working to educate people about how presbyteries or sessions should conduct fair but rigorous examinations of candidates. "We don't do examinations as a game of 'gotcha' or a witch hunt or hazing," Koenig told the national gathering. She said personal questions should be posed with "discretion and sensitivity" and that "all people should be entitled to respect in the church." One man told Koenig during the workshop that he's heard people argue in his presbytery, "if this person doesn't agree with our constitution, they shouldn't be ordained." But Koenig responded that, in reality, most candidates do not follow everything in the PC(USA) constitution; for example, she cited language stating that "persons refusing to repent of any self-acknowledged practice which the confessions call sin" should not be ordained or installed. But the Book of Confessions calls many things sin, Koenig said -- including refusing to honor the Sabbath. "How many governing bodies have literally applied that in the 10 years it's been in the constitution?" she asked. "As far as I'm concerned, zero percent have applied that literally," and to contend "it has to be taken literally only in the case of gay people is hypocritical." Giving testimony The theme of this conference, which drew about 300 people to Trinity Church in Atlanta -- was "Testimony." Sprinkled through the worship services were testimonies from those who've been touched personally by this issue. Ann Speer, for example, a lifelong Presbyterian, told of what she experienced in her church after her son revealed to his parents that he is gay. Speer said she was berated for lacking the parenting skills "that would have kept our son from being gay," and "I was told by my pastors that my son had made a choice and they considered it a sin." Damayanthi Niles, a native of Sri Lanka and an associate professor of constructive theology at Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis, said she was the first candidate for Minister of Word and Sacrament to be examined in Giddings-Lovejoy presbytery following the adoption of the authoritative interpretation. "I am a child of the church," a member of a family that has made working for the church a "family business" for six generations, Niles said. "It is my world" -- so she went to her examination "with the confidence of a child well-loved." But Niles said when she read her affirmation of faith, some people saw a candidate "who's a little too dark, a little too female, a little too single, a little too smart." But "I also knew that I was straight and I can pass," she said. When Niles was asked if she had any scruples to declare, however, she said that "the Holy Spirit was cruel enough and gracious enough to float a face in front of my mind" -- that of a friend, with whom she did not feel she could continue to pray if she did not declare a scruple objecting to the "fidelity and chastity" language. "If I did not say I have scruples, I deny myself the right to pray with Paul," Niles said. "I cannot give up that right. I will not give up that right. Because when Paul prays, the heavens open. So I said, 'Yes, I have scruples.'" That led to questions about her theology and her views on such things as the Virgin Birth and the resurrection -- and, even after the presbytery voted to approve her ordination, a subsequent challenge and a second vote at another presbytery meeting. Niles said she is thankful for the many who stood by her. "The voices who want to think about rules rather than relationships are few," she said. "When you deal with candidates, you have to deal with relationships. Our friends want to deal with rules so they don't have to deal with people." Giving thanks They also paused at this meeting to give thanks. Pam Byers, Covenant Network's executive director, gave thanks on All Saints Day for three saints of the PC(USA) who have died since the group last met -- Isabel Rogers, Bryant George, and Letty Russell. Deborah Block, pastor of Immanuel Church in Milwaukee and Covenant Network co-moderator, thanked PC(USA) stated clerk Clifton Kirkpatrick, who stopped by this meeting on his way to Kenya, and who earlier had announced that he will not seek a fourth term as stated clerk. Block told Kirkpatrick that he has served the church "conscientiously and creatively" and "you have walked the talk" of unity in Christ. In response, Kirkpatrick thanked the Covenant Network for providing "gracious witness" during "10 years of what has been an ugly struggle. I give thanks to God that you never lost faith, never lost hope," and have continued to work for reconciliation. "It's not just the content of our disagreements that's important," Kirkpatrick said, "but how we live through them." Giving witness Jessica Tate, a recent graduate of Union Theological Seminary-Presbyterian School of Christian Education and a new associate pastor at Fairfax Church in northern Virginia, preached from the 15th chapter of Matthew's gospel -- the story of a Canaanite woman who asked Jesus to take the demon from her daughter, and who at first was rebuffed, but who continued to stand before him in faith and to insist that he help her. Tate, a pastor's daughter and now a pastor herself, told of growing up in the church, of being nurtured by the saints there. She watched as they showed up week after week to worship, put their money in the collection plates, and supported one another in good times and bad. "I watched adults I knew to be powerful and in control bow their heads in prayer," Tate said. She was there after a 24-hour building blitz for Habitat for Humanity, watching people cheer as the sun nudged its way into the sky. But she also, as a youth elder, nominated a gay man to serve as an elder, thinking simply that he had gifts of ministry to offer the church. She watched her congregation struggle with whether to install a gay man, until finally the session decided they would not ask him to serve and he withdrew his nomination. With the Canaanite woman, "Jesus changed," Tate said. "Why can't we?" She invited Presbyterians to join the Canaanite woman in kneeling and saying, "This much I know is true. The world is broken and fearful. But Jesus is Lord. God's love is abundant. All are welcome." The Covenant Network Board has adopted a New Statement of Direction (www.covenantnetwork.org/home.htm ).
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