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Personal Testimony

Tolerance is a Floor, Not a Ceiling

July 13, 2010

Tolerance should never be mistaken as radically different from intolerance. Thomas Paine best responded to this common error in his book, “The Rights of Man”, when he wrote that tolerance was “not the opposite of Intolerance, but is the counterfeit of it. Both are despotisms.” The one, Paine wrote, assumes the right of withholding liberty, while the other assumes the right of granting it.

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A Letter to the Church from a Sister in Christ

June 13, 2010

To:   My Brothers and Sisters in the PC (USA) After returning from my attendance at the WMC-09, I feel compelled to share this letter with you.  Although spending those three days with over 600 people who shared a love for mission and a love for sharing God’s good news was a real mountain top experience for me, [...]

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Declaring a Departure

May 19, 2010

Blessings on the recently-Reverend Abigail King Kaiser, who was ordained to the ministry of the Word and Sacrament by the Presbytery of Cincinnati, having been examined and approved, with a departure from G-6.0106b, by the Presbytery of San Francisco. Read Abby’s powerful Statement of Departure.

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The Witness of Archbishop Tutu

March 17, 2010

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, continues to insist on God’s love for all – and to challenge people of faith whose actions lead to harm for others.

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Lisa Larges’ Statement of Departure

March 8, 2010

When the Presbytery of San Francisco approved Lisa Larges for ordination in November 2009, it was influenced by her Statement of Departure, which we share here with her permission. In approving the ordination of a ministerial candidate who asserted a “departure” on G-6.0106b, the Presbytery followed the process lifted up in Authoritative Interpretations of G-6.0108 [...]

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Scott Anderson’s Affirmation of Conscience

February 22, 2010

John Knox Presbytery’s 81-25 vote to ordain Scott Anderson (see adjoining story) was informed by its members’ knowledge of Mr. Anderson’s gifts and service during his seven years in the presbytery, his decades of service to the larger church, his Faith Statement, and his Affirmation of Conscience, which, with his permission, we share here.

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