Being Humble When You Know You’re Right
A Sermon on Acts 11:1-18 by the Rev. D. Mark Davis at the Covenant Network Regional Conference, St. Mark Presbyterian Church, November 22, 2014: "What it means to be part of a church that is empowered by God’s Spirit, is to spend our lives playing “catch up” to a Spirit who disrespects our prejudices and will not be hampered by our anxieties. None of us follows this Spirit easily, without some wrestling with God, without some difficult transitions from naïve certainty to perplexity to a chastened and transformed certainty. When we follow this Spirit, we are humbled, even when we’re right. We can listen to even our severest critics, because we know that the same Spirit whose work is confounding them is the same Spirit whose work once confounded us. What we can only do is to tell our stories with confidence and tell them with grace."
Risk and Reality
A Sermon on Matthew 25:14-30 by the Rev. Brian D. Ellison at the Covenant Network of Presbyterians Regional Conference, College Hill Presbyterian Church, Tulsa, Oklahoma, November 15, 2014: "The reality is that we all have been entrusted with much. It is as if we have been given a talent, and knowing our master as we do, knowing the way the master reaps where he hasn’t sown, and harvests where he hasn’t scattered, having done so much already, we bury it. We cling to that hard-earned achievement, preserve that wealth of good will and justice abounding around us, ensure a comfortable if not extravagant future. Or we find a way of differentiation, of sheltering in place, of keeping the faith when surrounded by adversity through isolation and fear."
Lucy Strong - A sermon on Psalm 78
Covenant Network Regional Conference, November 8th, 2014, Idlewild Presbyterian Church / Memphis, TN: "We keep hearing the stories that connect our present with our past. The stories continue but what is our place in the stories? What are the stories we tell? What are the stories that shape us today and give us life? "
They Will Know We Are Christians by Our Love
Ruling Elder Ben Fitzgerald-Fye: "Sean loved God and Sean loved me and that reality began to build a bridge that would reshape my view of faith, of Christianity, and of God."
Just Tell Them Who You Are
Ruling Elder Ben Fitzgerald-Fye tells of his experience as a married gay man speaking during the debate on Amendment 14-F in the Presbytery of Kiskiminetas: "I had an intense conversation with God about reclaiming the right of gay and lesbian people to have faith and to shed the shame and fear we all knew too well. I began to feel that Saturday’s debate was no longer about myself and my husband, it was about the nature of Christianity as an accepting and socially just force in a much larger world than rural Pennsylvania."
The Marriage Amendment, 14-F: What it does and doesn't do
The 221st GA approved Amendment 14-F by a 71% margin – seemingly, expressing the strong desire to help the PC(USA) move beyond the decades-long conflict over human sexuality by ensuring that the Book of Order embraces the faithful views of a diverse church.
Marriage: Why It Matters to the Church
Keynote Address by the Rev. Larry Owens at the Covenant Network Regional Conference at Idlewild Presbyterian Church in Memphis, Tennessee, November 8, 2014: “Lord, we are forever asking you for many things, and what you are forever giving us instead…is the gift of one another.”
In Memoriam: Pam Byers
The Covenant Network of Presbyterians is saddened at the death of its founding executive director, Dr. Pam Byers. Pam was an exemplary ruling elder, a tireless evangelist, and a true friend. Her service to the PCUSA and the cause of justice for LGBTQ persons was incomparable and will be deeply missed.
Preaching Marriage Equality in Olympia Presbytery
We are grateful to the Rev. Dr. David Kegley, pastor of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Olympia, Washington, for sharing his sermon series. Watch and listen, or read the sermons here.
Statement by the Board of Directors of the Covenant Network of Presbyterians
The Covenant Network Board of Directors expresses its admiration and gratitude for the congregations and ministers who, despite their unhappiness with the actions of the 221st General Assembly on marriage, have resolved to remain part of the denomination. Their presence is a great gift. Diverse views and patterns of spiritual practice keep the church honest and strong; all of us, in all our differences, are “knit together spiritually,” as scripture says, “into a dwelling place for God.”The proposed Amendment 14-F specifically includes language protecting freedom of conscience for teaching elders and congregations who choose not to participate in or host same-sex marriages. We wholeheartedly support those important protections, which are in keeping with our Presbyterian principles. Indeed, we believe the amendment was greatly strengthened by their addition.We have heard there is substantial concern among conservative and evangelical teaching elders and congregations that, in presbyteries where their views about marriage are in the minority, dissenting ministers would not be permitted to serve or dissenting congregations would be prevented from calling the pastors they want. As a board and as individual presbyters, we would oppose efforts to exclude persons who are qualified and called for service on the basis of their views about marriage, and we would urge other Presbyterians to join us in this commitment.
Session Support for the Marriage Amendment
The Session of University Presbyterian Church in San Antonio has adopted a resolution encouraging Mission Presbytery to approve the Marriage Amendment, 14-F.
What Not to Wear
A Sermon on Marriage Equality and the Church, by Layton E. WilliamsMatthew 22:1-14 ~ Springfield Regional Conference, October 11, 2014"...Marriage matters, but we haven’t fought this long and hard because it is the only thing that matters, we have fought because it is part of something so much bigger that matters so much more—and that is the covenant of God to which we are all invited and all called. And it matters how we show up, it matters what we clothe ourselves in, what we wear, because every act of covenant with God—between two people and between all people—is not just a celebration. It’s also an act of holy protest against brokenness..."
Marriage and Singleness - A Sermon Series
We are grateful to the Rev. Jon M. Walton, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in the City of New York, for permission to share his sermons:Marriage, Bible StyleWhy Marriage?Marriage: A Civil Contract Between Two Persons?One Is Not the Loneliest Number
Divided Votes, United People
CovNet Executive Director Brian Ellison reflects on the experience of the 221st General Assembly and how that gracious spirit can be mirrored when presbyteries consider amendments to the Book of Order and other potentially controversial issues.
Freedom to marry expanding for families in 5+ more states
The Supreme Court has declined to review lower circuit court rulings upholding marriage equality in five more states. Why does marriage matter to families and communities? Listen to Monica and Sue talk about their own lives.
Wedding as Witness
MARRIAGE MATTERS... and the wedding can be a witness to our faith.Listen to the testimony of David and Lee.
Is gender complementarity essential to Christian marriage?
An oft-cited reason claimed by opponents of same-gender marriage is the concept of “gender complementarity — the idea that men and women are different from one another in essential ways, and that Christian love depends on the pairing of just those differences.” Duke University Professor Mary McClintock Fulkerson critiques this idea in her essay from the Covenant Network’s 2006 publication, Frequently Asked Questions about Sexuality, the Bible & the Church: Plain Talk About Tough Issues.
A Funny Thing Happened
Laura Mariko Cheifetz on her own marriage: "I had become so accustomed to keeping this relationship under wraps in certain segments of the church. And I learned that being public meant something not just to us, but to other people. Neither of us missed the irony that our marriage happened in full view of another church and another state, instead of our own..."
Why the Marriage Amendment Matters
Tricia Dykers Koenig: Given that the GA's authoritative interpretation of W-4.9000 affirms that ministers may use their discretion in officiating at marriages of same-gender couples, does it matter if the presbyteries approve the proposed Marriage Amendment, 14-F?