Can a word change us? When I asked Linda to marry me, her word, "yes" changed my life forever. When I was ordained to the ministry, the Moderator of the Presbytery of Detroit asked if I promised to be a faithful Minister of Word and Sacrament and I said, "yes" and my life has never been the same. And of course all of us have been changed by God's WordJesus Christ, the Word made flesh.
But what about punctuation marks? Can a comma, a question mark, or semi-colon change us? How about a quotation mark? Our two passages from Isaiah and Mark contain nearly identical sentences, except where the quotation marks are positioned. And while the moving of quotation marks may be a minor move, it is a move that can change us.
In Isaiah, the prophet says, "A voice cries out: 'In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord.' " Mark repeats that line but he moves the quotation marks: "The voice of one crying out in the wilderness 'Prepare the way of the Lord.' " In Isaiah, the voice instructs us to prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness. In Mark, the voice is in the wilderness and it cries out "Prepare!" Isaiah's passage has specificityhe is speaking about a specific wilderness: the one that separated the Jews in Babylon from their home in Israel. Mark takes that great statement of liberation, and moves the quotation marks, broadening its implications. No longer are we to prepare for the Lord in the wilderness, but the voice in the wilderness calls all of us to prepare, wherever we are.
Advent is a time when we move from the specific to the general. We move from our own need to the need of the world. We move from the preparing in the wilderness, to preparing wherever we are. Today we turn our focus to the church, and these moving quotation marks shift our vision from the specific (Trinity) to the general (the larger church). A month ago, Bob Wagoner went to the annual conference of the Covenant Network, a meeting attended by Presbyterians from all over the country. Bob is now going to share some of his experiences that caused him to consider how we here at Trinity are connected a much larger church. All this because a set of quotation marks moved two words over!
As I sat in an afternoon workshop in Minneapolis at the 5th annual conference of the Covenant Network of Presbyterians, my eyes were opened, my mind was challenged, and my heartstrings were pulled. I heard the stories of sisters and brothers whose lives have been significantly affected by recent actions of the Presbyterian Church. I listened as a female pastor ordained since the mid-80s, told of her recent experience in responding to a call of a new church, only to lose the call because there were those at the new church that felt she was unfit to serve because she is living in a committed, lesbian relationship. These individuals even waited until she had resigned her previous position, to ensure that she would end up with no ministry at all! She is still looking for a job. I heard a young associate pastor from the Seattle area speaking through tears about the current loss of the last of a dedicated group of gay and lesbian members she had worked so hard to provide ministry to. They all went where their gifts, talent, and love were welcomed completely...and she was shattered! In that same session, I listened as a young ordained minister who works with the divinity students at Union Theological Seminary in New York City said that of the 19 freshmen students that he works with, 2/3 of them would probably never be able to share their ministry with a call to a PC(USA) church because of their sexual orientation. In small group I shared what we are doing at Trinity by adopting our statement of welcome, by welcoming families of every conceivable configuration. The members of the workshop told me, "The church needs to hear your story!" I left the session with mixed feelings. How blessed we are here at Trinity, yet somehow how isolated from the "wilderness" experienced by those who spoke.
The Covenant Network was formed in 1997 to support passage of the "Fidelity and Integrity" amendment to the Book of Order. This amendment was intended to give sessions and presbyteries more discretion in discerning God's call to ordained office. Although the session of Trinity and the presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy supported that amendment, it was defeated. Now that there is not a great deal of planned "legislative" activity within the next couple of years to overturn this portion of our church's constitution, I wondered what would be the focus of a conference called "Confessing Christ Today Seeking Common Ground"?
The conference consisted of worship, plenary presentations, workshops, and fellowship. The worship services were absolutely "awesome"! Each moment was expertly designed, had sermons brilliantly crafted and delivered with all the polish, fervor, and love you might expect, and phenomenal music that included traditional "chancel choir" anthems with instruments and organ, Gaelic harp music and dance in the Ionian tradition, traditional African music with drums provided by the Macalester College African Ensemble, and Taize sung prayer and chants from the well-known French monastic community. I get goose-bumps remembering those moments.
During the conference I attended a workshop presented by two lay lawyers who work with the Covenant Network to assist churches who have had legal challenges made against their ordination practices. Many of these legal processes have been initiated with the judicial bodies of the PC(USA) by members of another network of churches within the church called the Confessing Church Movement, when they believe that a church, presbytery, or synod has violated part of the Book or Order... generally "Amendment B". It was also mentioned that certain members of the Confessing Church Movement have asked the moderator to "recall" the General Assembly to specifically address those churches, presbyteries, synods who they feel are choosing which parts of the Book of Order to follow and which to ignore. I had no idea that there was this much legal maneuvering going on.
So what did I learn from these two intense days, and where do we go from here? The inclusive nature of the "covenant" is really, I truly believe, a central tenet of our reformed faith, reinforced by the theme of reconciliation as stated in our Confession of 1967. The "covenant" that member churches of the network sign, states in addition to "Welcoming in the name of Christ, all whom God calls into community and leadership in God's church"...also that we "Continue to be faithful to the Presbyterian Church (USA) supporting its mission in Christ's name to God's world"... seeking common ground.
I also have come to believe that the Presbyterian Church in general and this wonderful community of faith in particular needs a re-birth of evangelism. Now I'm sure that many of you who know my feelings toward many of the newly organized, born-again, neo-evangelical churches that have become so popular in this day and age, are looking at me like I've gone crazy, or drastically reversed my opinions. Far from the truth. I have come to this point most specifically after listening to a presentation made by Shirley Guthrie, Professor Emeritus of Systematic Theology at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia. Guthrie stated "From the very beginning and throughout it's history, the Christian movement has understood it's task to be not just to talk about the good news of God in Jesus Christ, or just to demonstrate it in the life of the Christian community. It is to invite people to accept, believe, and live it by themselves."
What really "grabbed" me about Guthrie's talk was his differentiation between a "genuinely Biblical-Reformed theology of evangelism" and an "evangelism that is interested only in the salvation of individual souls in the next world and ignores or openly rejects concern for social justice in this world". He said:
"Authentic Christian evangelism bears witness to God not to our personal religious experience, bears witness to God, not to the Christian community, bears witness to the love of God for all kinds of people, and bears witness to the saving grace of God."
One of the suggested directions from those at the conference was the need to develop and maintain a continuing dialog with all the children of God, both within the PC(USA) and outside it. I believe that this fits in very well with Guthrie's view of "authentic Christian evangelism". At a luncheon where groups of presbyteries in the same geographical area were given the opportunity to share ideas, I learned of successful programs where the more conservative churches in a presbytery were asked to meet on a regular basis with the more liberal churches to talk of differences, identify common beliefs, eat together, and pray together. The general philosophy being that in many cases it's fear, suspicion, or lack of understanding that creates the barriers of anger and hatred. I heard stories of how in some cases, there was amazement when common beliefs were uncovered... "Why, I didn't know you believed that...so do I!"
Guthrie's words made me also think about our mission here at Trinity. This community of faithful believers, while forward-looking and sometimes "bleeding-edge" in the areas of social justice and inclusivity has been isolated, un-connected to what is going on in the larger Church. We have not been aware of those pastors losing jobs, and divinity students not getting calls because of their sexual preference. We have not been aware of our legal exposures!
It may not show, but I am passionate about this! I am ready to join with others who are passionate about the future of this congregation, of the Presbyterian Church, and those who are called to serve God through the ministry of Christ's church. I believe Trinity should become a part of the Covenant Network of Presbyterians... it is the major voice to combat the well-funded, politically connected, divisive rhetoric of the Confessing Church Movement. As Network Co-moderator Joanna Adams said in her closing remarks, the Network is dedicated to continue "toward a church as generous and just as God's grace... with hope, patience and perseverance". It may in some cases come too late for this generation, but we need to work for a church where our children and our children's children who happen to be Gay or Lesbian can feel fully accepted. I'm ready to work with those in this congregation who feel as strongly as I do, or who want to dialog and learn more about the issues involved. Please see me today even if you think you might be interested; we will gather a formal group in the new year. "People get ready, there's a train a-comin'... you don't need a ticket, just get on board!"
For... We've a story to tell. We have a faith and belief system to be witnessed to... within our congregation, within our presbytery, with the PC(USA), to other Christian denominations, and other religions in the world. We are all children of the same God. Amen.