General Assembly is being held in British Columbia, June 4-8, 2015. For information about General Assembly, or to watch live streams of the proceedings, please click on the links.
Day 1 - Thursday, June 4th, 2015
Today was a day of travel and arrival. Abbey & I set off at 5:30am to London airport to fly to Vancouver for the 141st General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Canada. At 4:30pm (local time) we boarded buses to travel to Kerrisdale Presbyterian Church for dinner, opening worship and the first sederunt (session of proceedings).
The supper was a surprising delight - catered by the Korean Presbyterian congregation that shares the Kerrisdale building, we had a buffet selection of Asian food.
After supper we gathered for worship at 6:30. How wonderful to have over 300 people worshipping together. The sanctuary was full and the power of the hymns was incredible. Worship opened with a Welcome to the traditional lands by Mr. Henry Charles of the Musqueam First Nation. Rev. Dr. Stephen Farris, Moderator of the previous General Assembly, preached an incredibly powerful sermon that not only had the entire congregation in raucous laughter, but also brought me to tears with his heartfelt plea that all commissioners "show Jesus" as we debate and discuss very difficult issues that are before the church. The music was very diverse and included among many others, "Guide Me Oh Thy Great Redeemer", "Sing Amen", "What a Friend We Have in Jesus", and a beautiful version of Psalm 121 to the tune of "House of the Rising Sun"! We also celebrated Holy Communion by intinction as part of tonight's worship. Worship ended at 8:30.
Following a very brief pause, we commenced the first sederunt. Rev. Karen Horst was installed as moderator, the commissioners were all commissioned and some very preliminary business was dealt with.
The supper was a surprising delight - catered by the Korean Presbyterian congregation that shares the Kerrisdale building, we had a buffet selection of Asian food.
After supper we gathered for worship at 6:30. How wonderful to have over 300 people worshipping together. The sanctuary was full and the power of the hymns was incredible. Worship opened with a Welcome to the traditional lands by Mr. Henry Charles of the Musqueam First Nation. Rev. Dr. Stephen Farris, Moderator of the previous General Assembly, preached an incredibly powerful sermon that not only had the entire congregation in raucous laughter, but also brought me to tears with his heartfelt plea that all commissioners "show Jesus" as we debate and discuss very difficult issues that are before the church. The music was very diverse and included among many others, "Guide Me Oh Thy Great Redeemer", "Sing Amen", "What a Friend We Have in Jesus", and a beautiful version of Psalm 121 to the tune of "House of the Rising Sun"! We also celebrated Holy Communion by intinction as part of tonight's worship. Worship ended at 8:30.
Following a very brief pause, we commenced the first sederunt. Rev. Karen Horst was installed as moderator, the commissioners were all commissioned and some very preliminary business was dealt with.
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This is the last verse of Psalm 121 sung to the tune of "House of the Rising Sun". I really enjoyed this song and wanted to be able to share it, but didn't want to be conspicuous in filming it, so the image is simply of my order of service.
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Day 2 - Friday, June 5th, 2015
Bright and early this morning, all of the first time commissioners were invited to join together for breakfast. We enjoyed a lovely breakfast, followed by a little briefing on what to expect and even a roll play of how to deal with consent recommendations. I was honoured to get to sit at table with the newly installed Moderator of Assembly, Rev. Karen Horst.
After breakfast, we again gathered for worship and again it was a wonderful experience. The minister who preached this morning reminded us again that the church cannot allow itself to be divided by an issue. The church standing together is more important than any issue that may be debated. Music this morning was lead by a young Korean praise band from one of the local churches. Again it was an amazing experience to be surrounded by so many voices singing God's praises with enthusiasm.
After worship, we moved into the first sederunt for today which began with a short overview of some of the procedures of the court. I can now say with confidence that I understand how to make an amendment to an amendment with ease. The morning sederunt was filled mostly with reports that did not contain recommendations, so there was little debate or voting involved. We had an inter-faith visitor address the court: Chandima Gangodawila, a Theravada Buddhist from Sri Lanka. He spoke to us about the true meaning of Karma which is an action with intention. He also shared a Buddhist teaching that I particularly liked: Look for the cause of the problem, don't just deal with the result of the problem. For example, don't blame a mosquito for biting you in your house. Instead, find the hole in the screen and fix it.
We also heard again from Rev. Dr. Stephen Farris, today speaking about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. He asked how a people led by the teaching, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" could ever have let this happen. He also said that shame is a good thing to face and name, but not a good thing to carry forward, so how do we move beyond apology into a whole relationship?
There was not too much of particular note during the afternoon sederunt. Rev. Herb Gale led us in a nice service of Remembrance & Celebration for those who left bequests to PCC in 2014. We heard presentations from the three Presbyterian Colleges.
The Young Adult Representatives, of which Abbey is a part, are not eligible to vote with the commissioners. However, what can happen, is that the YARs can request to hold an advisory vote on a topic that they are interested in. When that motion is on the floor, the YARs are then invited to vote first so that the commissioners can see how they would vote if they were able and then the commissioners vote, hopefully using the YARs vote as advice. This happened this afternoon on an issue concerning payday loan companies. The YARs were very excited for their first vote and the commissioners did indeed vote in the same direction as the YARs had advised.
The evening sederunt began with the report from the final Theological College, Vancouver School of Theology. We then heard from Stewardship about some new PAR resources. We heard reports from Canadian Ministries, Ministry & Church Vocations and Planned Giving. When we got to the report from the Pension & Benefits Board, there was more animation from the floor. We experienced another YAR advisory vote, a vote which needed to be counted (meaning that it was too close to call by show of hands so voters had to stand to support their vote and the clerks had to count each person), and we had a motion defeated. It is all actually quite exciting to see the court at work and to be a part of it!
After breakfast, we again gathered for worship and again it was a wonderful experience. The minister who preached this morning reminded us again that the church cannot allow itself to be divided by an issue. The church standing together is more important than any issue that may be debated. Music this morning was lead by a young Korean praise band from one of the local churches. Again it was an amazing experience to be surrounded by so many voices singing God's praises with enthusiasm.
After worship, we moved into the first sederunt for today which began with a short overview of some of the procedures of the court. I can now say with confidence that I understand how to make an amendment to an amendment with ease. The morning sederunt was filled mostly with reports that did not contain recommendations, so there was little debate or voting involved. We had an inter-faith visitor address the court: Chandima Gangodawila, a Theravada Buddhist from Sri Lanka. He spoke to us about the true meaning of Karma which is an action with intention. He also shared a Buddhist teaching that I particularly liked: Look for the cause of the problem, don't just deal with the result of the problem. For example, don't blame a mosquito for biting you in your house. Instead, find the hole in the screen and fix it.
We also heard again from Rev. Dr. Stephen Farris, today speaking about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. He asked how a people led by the teaching, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" could ever have let this happen. He also said that shame is a good thing to face and name, but not a good thing to carry forward, so how do we move beyond apology into a whole relationship?
There was not too much of particular note during the afternoon sederunt. Rev. Herb Gale led us in a nice service of Remembrance & Celebration for those who left bequests to PCC in 2014. We heard presentations from the three Presbyterian Colleges.
The Young Adult Representatives, of which Abbey is a part, are not eligible to vote with the commissioners. However, what can happen, is that the YARs can request to hold an advisory vote on a topic that they are interested in. When that motion is on the floor, the YARs are then invited to vote first so that the commissioners can see how they would vote if they were able and then the commissioners vote, hopefully using the YARs vote as advice. This happened this afternoon on an issue concerning payday loan companies. The YARs were very excited for their first vote and the commissioners did indeed vote in the same direction as the YARs had advised.
The evening sederunt began with the report from the final Theological College, Vancouver School of Theology. We then heard from Stewardship about some new PAR resources. We heard reports from Canadian Ministries, Ministry & Church Vocations and Planned Giving. When we got to the report from the Pension & Benefits Board, there was more animation from the floor. We experienced another YAR advisory vote, a vote which needed to be counted (meaning that it was too close to call by show of hands so voters had to stand to support their vote and the clerks had to count each person), and we had a motion defeated. It is all actually quite exciting to see the court at work and to be a part of it!
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Day 3 - Saturday, June 6th, 2015
Well, one thing I have learned is that I have no skill for guessing which motions will pass easily and which will cause lengthy debate. Today we had several motions that could have been debated from several angles pass with no discussion, while other motions which were presented as consent motions (meaning that the committee presenting them thought that they were so straightforward that they could be voted on as a group rather than individually) be removed from consent and go through a lengthy process of discussion, amendment, voting, voting with a count, etc.
We received many more reports presented this morning. One report that particularly caught my attention was the one from the International Affairs Committee. They presented a lot of information about supporting Christians in other countries. I believe that it's important that this information get passed along to members of congregations so that our support may be more wide spread. Once I return home, I shall find a way to post that information on the website.
We had another guest this morning, this time an International Ecumenical Guest, Dr. George Sabra, Professor of Systematic Theology & President of the Near East School of Theology in Beirut, Lebanon. This school graduates the majority of protestant pastors in the Middle East. He shared a beautiful story of a presbyterian couple (I'm sorry that I missed their names) who moved to Lebanon in the late 80s, during the civil war, to teach at the School of Theology. The people of the school still remember this and are so grateful for such a strong show of support from PCC. He also made a heartfelt plea that we continue to pray for and support Christians in the Middle East. His presentation was met by a rousing, lengthy standing ovation.
We heard, once again, from Rev. Dr. Stephen Farris (he is such a marvelous speaker, he could be the only presenter and I would never tire of listening!) who, as the previous moderator, presented gifts to the current moderator and reported on his previous year. The gifts he gave to Rev. Karen included a travel mug (for all her road trips visiting congregations), a beautiful scarf with a design on it called "Inspiring the Future" and a pirate hat. He showed us a picture of moderators from days gone by in Scotland who had to wear quite the outfits (I have included a photo of the photo in the slideshow below), including a tricorn hat. Although Stephen searched hard, the closest thing he could find to a tricorn hat was a pirate hat, so that is what he gave to Karen.
One final note about the morning sederunt: we also had a committee struck who are to consider the overture re: End of Life. This committee was only formed today, but it must find time to meet and prepare a report to be presented by the end of General Assembly. This is quite a challenging task, but just another aspect of the inner workings of General Assembly.
Our worship this morning was once again fulfilling and challenging. Our praise team was made up of camp staff from across Canada. Those of you who are Camp Kintail-ers might recognise Holly (aka Zucchini) and those of you who attended CY2014 may be able to pick out Daniel who did such an excellent portrayal of Paul each night at worship.
This afternoon was different. We had more reports of course, including a video from one of the senior clerks who is unable to be here because he is fighting stage 4 cancer. We heard from the recipients of the EH Johnson award, Loly Rico & Janet Dench on behalf of the Canadian Council for Refugees. And we had another Ecumenical Visitor, Rev. Fr. Keghard Garabedian from the Armenian Apostolic Church of BC. But we also moved into a committee of the whole which means that the proceedings become less formal and people are more comfortable to speak freely, and then we even went into private discussion groups with no minutes being taken and live streaming turned off. Our discussion was about the issue of Human Sexuality and the Church. We were given a series of four questions to reflect on personally and then discuss as a group. This is just the beginning of the discussion, but if we can continue in this manner, we're going to be okay. The group that I was a part of had very wide ranging opinions, but every opinion was shared gently and all were received with respect and a genuine desire to understand. The number one concern of all involved was that we do not allow our disagreements to cause division within our congregations or our denomination. The discussion gave me some much needed hope that this assembly will be able to see a way forward with these issues that will involve open discussion, compassionate listening and peaceful resolutions.
The final sederunt of the day included a minute of appreciation for Dr. Rick Allen, the Rev. Patrick Thegu Mutahi who is the Deputy Secretary General of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa in Kenya as our Ecumenical visitor, sharing of the story of Heritage Green church in Stoney Creek which is a church "re-plant", and a presentation by Jo Morris about Canada Youth. At least two of these were particularly special presentations for me. Andrew & I visited with Dr. Rick Allen when we were in Kenya in 2002. He was serving there with the Life & Mission Agency of PCC and we were visiting our sponsor child George, but Chalmers had sent us with a suitcase full of Bibles and medical supplies. We delivered these to Dr. Rick to use in his ministry. Jo Morris is also a special person in my life because without her calm reassurances, hugs and shoulder to cry on, I would not be at General Assembly in Vancouver. The thought of leaving my two little girls for five days to go to Canada Youth 2012 was completely overwhelming and I tried everything to find a way to attend CY with them in tow. Jo talked to me and encouraged me that it would be worth it. When she met me in person, she encouraged me again. She continues to encourage me each time I see her. Because of her encouragement, I made it through CY2012, and returned for CY2014, and knew that I could handle General Assembly all the way out here in Vancouver. I so value and cherish all of the wonderful connections I have made and am continuing to make within the PCC.
We received many more reports presented this morning. One report that particularly caught my attention was the one from the International Affairs Committee. They presented a lot of information about supporting Christians in other countries. I believe that it's important that this information get passed along to members of congregations so that our support may be more wide spread. Once I return home, I shall find a way to post that information on the website.
We had another guest this morning, this time an International Ecumenical Guest, Dr. George Sabra, Professor of Systematic Theology & President of the Near East School of Theology in Beirut, Lebanon. This school graduates the majority of protestant pastors in the Middle East. He shared a beautiful story of a presbyterian couple (I'm sorry that I missed their names) who moved to Lebanon in the late 80s, during the civil war, to teach at the School of Theology. The people of the school still remember this and are so grateful for such a strong show of support from PCC. He also made a heartfelt plea that we continue to pray for and support Christians in the Middle East. His presentation was met by a rousing, lengthy standing ovation.
We heard, once again, from Rev. Dr. Stephen Farris (he is such a marvelous speaker, he could be the only presenter and I would never tire of listening!) who, as the previous moderator, presented gifts to the current moderator and reported on his previous year. The gifts he gave to Rev. Karen included a travel mug (for all her road trips visiting congregations), a beautiful scarf with a design on it called "Inspiring the Future" and a pirate hat. He showed us a picture of moderators from days gone by in Scotland who had to wear quite the outfits (I have included a photo of the photo in the slideshow below), including a tricorn hat. Although Stephen searched hard, the closest thing he could find to a tricorn hat was a pirate hat, so that is what he gave to Karen.
One final note about the morning sederunt: we also had a committee struck who are to consider the overture re: End of Life. This committee was only formed today, but it must find time to meet and prepare a report to be presented by the end of General Assembly. This is quite a challenging task, but just another aspect of the inner workings of General Assembly.
Our worship this morning was once again fulfilling and challenging. Our praise team was made up of camp staff from across Canada. Those of you who are Camp Kintail-ers might recognise Holly (aka Zucchini) and those of you who attended CY2014 may be able to pick out Daniel who did such an excellent portrayal of Paul each night at worship.
This afternoon was different. We had more reports of course, including a video from one of the senior clerks who is unable to be here because he is fighting stage 4 cancer. We heard from the recipients of the EH Johnson award, Loly Rico & Janet Dench on behalf of the Canadian Council for Refugees. And we had another Ecumenical Visitor, Rev. Fr. Keghard Garabedian from the Armenian Apostolic Church of BC. But we also moved into a committee of the whole which means that the proceedings become less formal and people are more comfortable to speak freely, and then we even went into private discussion groups with no minutes being taken and live streaming turned off. Our discussion was about the issue of Human Sexuality and the Church. We were given a series of four questions to reflect on personally and then discuss as a group. This is just the beginning of the discussion, but if we can continue in this manner, we're going to be okay. The group that I was a part of had very wide ranging opinions, but every opinion was shared gently and all were received with respect and a genuine desire to understand. The number one concern of all involved was that we do not allow our disagreements to cause division within our congregations or our denomination. The discussion gave me some much needed hope that this assembly will be able to see a way forward with these issues that will involve open discussion, compassionate listening and peaceful resolutions.
The final sederunt of the day included a minute of appreciation for Dr. Rick Allen, the Rev. Patrick Thegu Mutahi who is the Deputy Secretary General of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa in Kenya as our Ecumenical visitor, sharing of the story of Heritage Green church in Stoney Creek which is a church "re-plant", and a presentation by Jo Morris about Canada Youth. At least two of these were particularly special presentations for me. Andrew & I visited with Dr. Rick Allen when we were in Kenya in 2002. He was serving there with the Life & Mission Agency of PCC and we were visiting our sponsor child George, but Chalmers had sent us with a suitcase full of Bibles and medical supplies. We delivered these to Dr. Rick to use in his ministry. Jo Morris is also a special person in my life because without her calm reassurances, hugs and shoulder to cry on, I would not be at General Assembly in Vancouver. The thought of leaving my two little girls for five days to go to Canada Youth 2012 was completely overwhelming and I tried everything to find a way to attend CY with them in tow. Jo talked to me and encouraged me that it would be worth it. When she met me in person, she encouraged me again. She continues to encourage me each time I see her. Because of her encouragement, I made it through CY2012, and returned for CY2014, and knew that I could handle General Assembly all the way out here in Vancouver. I so value and cherish all of the wonderful connections I have made and am continuing to make within the PCC.
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Day 4 - Sunday, June 7th, 2015
God is indeed in this place. We started our day a little later this morning - worship began at 9:30 rather than 8:30 today to allow for a little bit of Sabbath time. I spent much of my time walking around this beautiful campus. On Thursday night, we sang a song at worship called "There is a Balm in Gilead". It's not a hymn that I'm overly familiar with and not one that particularly stirred me when we sang it, and yet this morning I found myself humming it as I walked. At one point, I even broke out into a whistle. And I found myself thinking, "Why that song?" I still don't know why, but when I arrived at worship, the praise team were playing as people entered (a different group again today) and that was the song they were playing. I'm going to have to look at the words more closely because obviously there is something I am supposed to hear.
Worship lasted all morning and it was easily the most unique worship I've ever taken part in. We had the normal scripture readings, songs and sermon, but then we each had to take some time to reflect on the statement"The Kingdom of God is..." or "The Kingdom of God is like...". We each had to write a word or phrase on a piece of paper. The words were then taped to large boards. The results are in the pictures below. Next we turned to our table groups (the ones we had discussed Human Sexuality with yesterday) and prayed. We prayed by each writing a one line prayer privately first - our prayer for the church in light of the discussions on Human Sexuality - then we shared with our table and explained why we wrote that prayer. Then as a group, we had to choose the three prayers from our table (of seven) that best represented the whole table. Those were then written on a larger page and handed in. Once they were all gathered, they were read aloud - approximately 100 prayers! Certainly the longest prayer I've witnessed, but to hear the same prayers resurfacing over and over from around the room - unity, inclusion, discernment of God's will, love of all people, respect for one another - was very powerful.
The afternoon sederunt was by far the most lively sederunt of the entire five days. There were a couple of motions in particular which generated the most response. I found it absolutely fascinating to watch the process working so let me explain what happened. A motion was made by the Committee to Nominate to Standing Committees to change two of the names that they had nominated. Initially, this seemed like one of those motions that would pass quickly, almost without thought, but suddenly there were people questioning why one of these changes was being made. The committee didn't want to say why because of confidentiality issues so after a few moments of discussion, the question was called and we voted. The motion passed - usually end of story, but not this time. When a commissioner votes against the majority, they have the ability to "register their dissent" which means that their name is entered into the minutes as voting against the majority. We had had a couple of dissents registered previously, but suddenly there were line ups at all four microphones of people wanting to register their dissent. It was obvious that something was going on that everyone didn't know about. Then, amongst all of the dissents, someone made a motion to reconsider". A motion to reconsider can only come from someone who voted with the majority but has changed their mind and would like to have further discussion and a re-vote. We were ready to jump back to the discussion but the moderator pointed out that a motion to reconsider can not be dealt with at the same sederunt as the original motion. So Rev. McKee heads to the microphone and calls for adjournment! Technically, any commissioner can call for adjournment at any time and it does not have to go to a vote; it just happens. However, this is not something that normally happens so it took everyone by surprise. The clerks confirmed that it was legitimate process, so we took a five minute break and then the Moderator could reconvene and we could deal with the motion. Sounds simple, right? Well, we moved back into discussion about the motion in question, but someone pointed out that we were now in breach of the agenda that we had approved for the afternoon. The Moderator basically said, "oh well, let's continue" so the commissioner "Challenged the Moderator!" Seriously, many people were getting very confused about what was going on because it was all happening rather quickly. When someone challenges the moderator, the clerks have to take over and I believe he had to call for a vote. Once the discussion was able to continue, more came out about the actual issue. Some people believed that the replacement to the committee was a method of removing the person who had been originally named (and discriminatory), whereas others believed that the person who was being added had a significant role to play and it was inconsequential who she was replacing. Neither side was made clear, but eventually the vote was re-called and it went the opposite way from the first time. This all may sound very cumbersome and frustrating and many other things, but this is the way that the court system of the PCC is designed and to see it in motion and working was really quite amazing.
Worship lasted all morning and it was easily the most unique worship I've ever taken part in. We had the normal scripture readings, songs and sermon, but then we each had to take some time to reflect on the statement"The Kingdom of God is..." or "The Kingdom of God is like...". We each had to write a word or phrase on a piece of paper. The words were then taped to large boards. The results are in the pictures below. Next we turned to our table groups (the ones we had discussed Human Sexuality with yesterday) and prayed. We prayed by each writing a one line prayer privately first - our prayer for the church in light of the discussions on Human Sexuality - then we shared with our table and explained why we wrote that prayer. Then as a group, we had to choose the three prayers from our table (of seven) that best represented the whole table. Those were then written on a larger page and handed in. Once they were all gathered, they were read aloud - approximately 100 prayers! Certainly the longest prayer I've witnessed, but to hear the same prayers resurfacing over and over from around the room - unity, inclusion, discernment of God's will, love of all people, respect for one another - was very powerful.
The afternoon sederunt was by far the most lively sederunt of the entire five days. There were a couple of motions in particular which generated the most response. I found it absolutely fascinating to watch the process working so let me explain what happened. A motion was made by the Committee to Nominate to Standing Committees to change two of the names that they had nominated. Initially, this seemed like one of those motions that would pass quickly, almost without thought, but suddenly there were people questioning why one of these changes was being made. The committee didn't want to say why because of confidentiality issues so after a few moments of discussion, the question was called and we voted. The motion passed - usually end of story, but not this time. When a commissioner votes against the majority, they have the ability to "register their dissent" which means that their name is entered into the minutes as voting against the majority. We had had a couple of dissents registered previously, but suddenly there were line ups at all four microphones of people wanting to register their dissent. It was obvious that something was going on that everyone didn't know about. Then, amongst all of the dissents, someone made a motion to reconsider". A motion to reconsider can only come from someone who voted with the majority but has changed their mind and would like to have further discussion and a re-vote. We were ready to jump back to the discussion but the moderator pointed out that a motion to reconsider can not be dealt with at the same sederunt as the original motion. So Rev. McKee heads to the microphone and calls for adjournment! Technically, any commissioner can call for adjournment at any time and it does not have to go to a vote; it just happens. However, this is not something that normally happens so it took everyone by surprise. The clerks confirmed that it was legitimate process, so we took a five minute break and then the Moderator could reconvene and we could deal with the motion. Sounds simple, right? Well, we moved back into discussion about the motion in question, but someone pointed out that we were now in breach of the agenda that we had approved for the afternoon. The Moderator basically said, "oh well, let's continue" so the commissioner "Challenged the Moderator!" Seriously, many people were getting very confused about what was going on because it was all happening rather quickly. When someone challenges the moderator, the clerks have to take over and I believe he had to call for a vote. Once the discussion was able to continue, more came out about the actual issue. Some people believed that the replacement to the committee was a method of removing the person who had been originally named (and discriminatory), whereas others believed that the person who was being added had a significant role to play and it was inconsequential who she was replacing. Neither side was made clear, but eventually the vote was re-called and it went the opposite way from the first time. This all may sound very cumbersome and frustrating and many other things, but this is the way that the court system of the PCC is designed and to see it in motion and working was really quite amazing.
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Day 5 - Monday, June 8th, 2015
Our last day and so many things still on the agenda left over from the afternoon sederunt yesterday that I'm pretty sure the first order of business will be to change everyone's flights and add another day! But that did not happen. Today's sederunt moved at a pace hitherto unseen at General Assembly! Things were still done with due process, amendments were made, etc., but everyone seemed to understand the need for efficiency.
The YARs made a presentation about their experience and it was both informative and creatively presented. If you can find it in the video of the final sederunt, it's worth watching! We had a moment of appreciation for Rev. Dr. Rick Fee, the three student representatives from our theology colleges presented their reports, and we also had a brilliant (in my opinion) motion brought from the floor to aim to reconcile the divisive motion yesterday that brought so many registered dissents. The motion was carried and the moderator invited the court to applaud - which is normally not allowed.
By the time we were done, we actually adjourned the court a few minutes before the allotted time.
I travelled to Vancouver last week with a lot of trepidation. I had read the Book of Reports so I knew what discussions were coming and I honestly could not see any way for the church to move forward together. I am leaving Vancouver with a completely different perspective. Things that I believed were straight-forward, are not. Things I thought were irreconcilable, are not. In our table groups on Saturday and Sunday, people of very diverse views were able to listen to one another with respect and a very clear common goal: discerning God's will so that we can move forward together. I am filled with a new sense of hope that the leaders who were gathered will return to their congregations and presbyteries and be able to share some sense of what we experienced.
The YARs made a presentation about their experience and it was both informative and creatively presented. If you can find it in the video of the final sederunt, it's worth watching! We had a moment of appreciation for Rev. Dr. Rick Fee, the three student representatives from our theology colleges presented their reports, and we also had a brilliant (in my opinion) motion brought from the floor to aim to reconcile the divisive motion yesterday that brought so many registered dissents. The motion was carried and the moderator invited the court to applaud - which is normally not allowed.
By the time we were done, we actually adjourned the court a few minutes before the allotted time.
I travelled to Vancouver last week with a lot of trepidation. I had read the Book of Reports so I knew what discussions were coming and I honestly could not see any way for the church to move forward together. I am leaving Vancouver with a completely different perspective. Things that I believed were straight-forward, are not. Things I thought were irreconcilable, are not. In our table groups on Saturday and Sunday, people of very diverse views were able to listen to one another with respect and a very clear common goal: discerning God's will so that we can move forward together. I am filled with a new sense of hope that the leaders who were gathered will return to their congregations and presbyteries and be able to share some sense of what we experienced.
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