Progress at the 219th G.A. - Covenant Network Reflections
As Covenant Networkers return home from an intense ten days in Minneapolis, we can reflect gratefully on the good work on many fronts of commissioners to the 219th General Assembly.
Tolerance is a Floor, Not a Ceiling
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.
Covenant Network Board celebrates progress at the 219th G.A.
The Covenant Network of Presbyterians is grateful that the 219th General Assembly voted to continue the progress made by the last two General Assemblies toward a more gracious and welcoming church. The General Assembly voted to send to the presbyteries an amendment setting higher ordination standards that do not arbitrarily exclude a whole class of church members.
General Assembly moves toward more welcoming church.
Committees of the General Assembly committees, meeting in Minneapolis, reported favorably on all business the Covenant Network recommended in our recent Board Statement and other recommendations.
That's For Sure
"We have spent the last 30-odd years arguing about sexuality – at least, that’s what we think we are arguing about. But over the years I have come to believe that the crux of the issue is not what it means to be gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered. The crux of the issue, for us, is what it means to be Presbyterian." read more...
Hospitality
How might it affect the work of the assembly, if some unexpected person were to show up with some tears for washing away the dirt of the church and some ointment for healing its members?
Covenant Network Board Recommendations on Issues before the GA
In its most recent Statement, the Covenant Network Board articulated 3 primary goals for the 219th GA. Further, the Board offers the following recommendations on several other issues coming before the Assembly.
Minnesota Covenant Congregations Preparing for General Assembly – Part II
Nine Covenant Congregations will be volunteering at the upcoming 219th General Assembly, alongside sister congregations from the three hosting Presbyteries. Part I, posted last month, featured four of these Covenant Congregations. In Part II, we celebrate five more dedicated and diverse churches.
Sign the Uganda Declaration
Sign the Uganda Declaration against criminalizing persons because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
40 Days of Preparation for GA
Join the Association of Executive Presbyters in prayer as General Assembly approaches.
COME UP HERE WITH US
A sermon preached by Rev. Glenda Hope, at Old First Presbyterian Church, San Francisco, on the 40th anniversary of her ordination to professional ministry, which occurred in that church on May 17, 1970.
Goals for the 219th General Assembly
The Covenant Network Board of Directors has issued a statement articulating its top priorities at the 219th General Assembly (2010).
Declaring a Departure
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.
Church Unbound
Theological dialogue, reaching out across barriers, and the health of the Church are concerns of the Covenant Network; therefore we call attention to the Church Unbound Conference, August 11-14 at Montreat.
Commissioner Convocation Dinner
Looking to make a difference "toward a church as generous and just as God's grace" at this summer's General Assembly? Don't miss the Friday night Commissioner Convocation Dinner!