Tuesday, 6-20-06

What a day! I started this morning by going to a rural ministry "coffee hour". This is was a meeting for rural ministers to meet, trade ideas, and network. It was pretty interesting. I ended up having breakfast with Dr. Rev. Safwat N. El - Baiady, who is the President of the Protestant Churches in Egypt. All protestant churches are linked together under a common government in Egypt due by Law.

Then we met in Plenary. The morning session was fairly routine. We had some elections to the General Assembly Council, but nothing too outrageous.

During lunch, I went with some TSADS from Pittsburgh Seminary and McCormick Seminary to a little pizzeria. It was a small hike from the Convention Center, but it was nice to get away for an hour. On the way back we stopped by a drug store where I bought some candy for the delegates from our presbytery. I figured we could use some sugar to get us through the long session that we knew was ahead. We also had time to appreciate some of the architecture and even walk through the park. The park is beautiful. They have several fountains that are just beautiful. Their use of water really added to the park. It was very refreshing.

The afternoon plenary session was exhausting. We heard first from the Ecclisiology committee. Their main objective was dealing with the Peace, Unity, and Purity report. Items one-four of the PUP report were approved with no problem. Item five, however, generated a lot of controversy. There are nine microphones in plenary and each microphone had ten to twenty people lined up to speak either for or against the report. First there was a substitute motion that item five be disapproved. The motion failed. There were some very moving testimonies on both sides of the report. Then there was a motion to refer item five back to each individual presbytery for consideration. That motion also failed. Finally, the entire PUP report was passed, by a vote of 298 to 221.

The passing of the entire PUP report caused a fair amount of controversy. News vans were immediately parked outside. People were claiming that it would tear the church apart. Conservatives were saying that it would make ordination standards (including homosexuality) optional by individual presbyteries. Liberals were claiming that it really does not do anything new, it just confirms our reformed tradition. The truth is, we are not sure what the ramifications of the report will actually be. Please, do not believe what you see in the news or read in the news paper. Read the report for yourself. You can find it at http://www.pcusa.org/peaceunitypurity/finalreport.htm Click on final report and you can read it or print it right from your computer.

After the PUP report passed, we took a moment to all hold hands together and pray. Some prayed in silence, others out loud. Towards the end, somebody started singing Kum Ba Yah and it slowly started spreading through the floor of the plenary. In a moment when the church was so divided by varying opinions, it was extremely powerful to be united in prayer.

The next issue at hand was a motion to delete 6.0106B from the Book of Order. For those of you who do not have the Book of Order memorized, this is the statement the says that practicing homosexuals cannot be ordained. This motion was defeated in committee, but plenary could have overturned it. They chose not to, voting to leave that section in the Book of Order. We then broke for dinner.

After dinner, we had a worship service led by the PCUSA, that focused on us all being essential parts of the Body of Christ. This was a very important message to hear at this time. We then had our evening business meeting, which was informational only. We heard from several mission people, as well as the Presbyterian leaders from Columbia and Cuba, as well as the Protestant leader from Egypt. A different delegate opens and closes each session with Prayer. I was chose to close the final session.

Tonight, the TSADs all got together and we wrote a joint statement that says that even though we all come from different theological backgrounds, we are all committed to promoting unity and healing throughout our congregation. Every day, there is a period known as "Speak Out" where any delegate can have a minute on the microphone to talk about anything but the day's business. We have had anything for requests for coffee to celebrating the anniversary of West Virginia becoming a state by singing a round of "Take Me Home, Country Roads." Tomorrow, all the TSADS are going to take this opportunity to present this statement. We are all going to stand together to let the assembly know that the next generation of ministers are committed to maintaining peace, healing, and unity throughout our denomination. Hopefully, it will serve as an example for the entire church.

It was a very eventful day. Please pray for all the commissioners and delegates here. There were some very hurtful things said yesterday and there is a need for healing on all parts. Also, the is uncertainty and fear felt by many people as we wait to see if and how the PUP report will affect our denomination. Tomorrow promises to be another long and hard day. If we are to maintain or unity, we must seek to heal each other and to remember that we are Christ's body and we are doing God's will. In closing, I would like to share the prayer that I used to close tonight's session.

Gracious and Loving God,
We ask that you continue to be our teacher,
And to guide us into truth,
All of God’s truth.

God of Perseverance,
Lead us as we journey through the decisions ahead of us,
Open our spiritual eyes so that we may see your will.

God of Wisdom,
Be with this Assembly, be with every delegate and commissioner, and with every word that is said here and those who listen so that we may discern your truth.

God of Compassion,
Make us instruments of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let us sow love.
Where there is discord, let us sow union.
Where there is darkness, let us sow light.
Help us not only to be consoled, but to console.
Help us not only to be understood, but to understand.
Help us not only to be loved, but to love.
For it is in giving that we receive. It is in pardoning, that we are pardoned, and it is through death that we receive eternal life.
Amen.

Faithfully,

Chris Deacon
Graystone Presbyterian Church
TSAD, Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary