After a long day of committee meetings yesterday, of becoming frustrated with parliamentary procedure and certain perspectives within the church, I needed some hope. I needed some hope that there was something in store for the Presbyterian Church (USA) other than needing to come back, year after year after year and rehash the same theological arguments and debates.
Speaking for myself (and not the Outlook), I was excited that the Church Orders and Ministry Committee voted to recommend a new authoritative interpretation (which would effectively overturn or set aside the Bush decision; article here) and voted in favor of recommending the deletion of G-6.0106b (41 in favor and 11 against; article here). If the recommendation to delete G-6.0106b is adopted by the General Assembly and ratified by the presbyteries, it would open the door for allowing gays, lesbians, transgendered and bisexual folk to be ordained and more fully participate in the life and ministry of the church. That gives me hope. But I know that it may not pass through the presbyteries, and if it does, we will be back here two years from now, having the same conversations all over again. It seems as though we're having a very hard time moving forward.
Which is why when I left all the committee meetings, and found myself at the presbymergent gathering, I felt more hopeful. Presbymergent put on a gathering last night, graciously paid for by the Office of Theology and Worship; it was a chance for people to come together and have conversation, network with other Presbyterians who are interested in the emergent church conversation, and get a chance to preview a rough-cut screening of the film "A Church Emerging" (you can watch a preview here). It is put together by Gravity Well Media, and produced by Caven Keith, who is an elder at First Presbyterian Church of Santa Cruz, which is the church that has been in the process of combining with Dan Kimball's church, Vintage Faith.
We had over 60 people show up for the evening, which was so encouraging for me. Many of these people were new to the presbymergent conversation, and I think that's a great sign. I think now that Bruce Reyes-Chow is our Moderator, there will be an increasing desire, interest in, and energy for new expressions of church in denomination, and I am hopeful that presbymergent can be a leading voice in that conversation. You can find more photos of the gathering here.
Speaking of Mr. Moderator, I also found more hope last night as Sarah and I made our way to a gathering for seminarians, hosted by Bruce Reyes-Chow. When we walked in, they were engaged in a spirited Q&A session with Bruce, and I think I have more and more hope for the Presbyterian Church (USA) the more I hear Bruce speak (which makes me think perhaps I should have applied to be his handler - who I did happen to get a photo with here). Bruce spoke about issues related to new churches, existing rural churches, the hope for young adults to become more involved in the church, his hopes for creating new spaces for conversation about controversial issues in our denomination and a lot more.
Bruce Reyes-Chow offers fresh visions for a denomination that could use some new energy and vision. And that is something that gave me hope last night.
