A Long Night's Work

I did not post an entry on Wednesday night, because the commissioners did not finish their meeting until 12:33 AM on Thursday morning.

No matter how long it was going to take, knowing that the Assembly had to vacate the Civic Center in Birmingham by Noon Thursday, the commissioners gave careful consideration to every item. Nothing was rushed.

I was sad to see that the General Assembly voted to close the Presbyterian Historical Society's facility at Montreat, North Carolina, by a vote of 348 to 147. I enjoy visiting the center when I'm at Montreat, but I do believe it was a good decision for good stewardship. Our church does not need to historical archives -- one in Philadelphia and one at Montreat. But it really is not so bad -- the Assembly approved a plan to establish a Program for the Study of Presbyterian and Reformed History and Theology right in our own back yard, at Columbia Theological Seminary.

By a vote of 381-117, the assembly approved the PC(USA)’s strongest statement to date on post-viability abortion. The statement reads in part: "We affirm that the lives of viable unborn babies—those well-developed enough to survive outside the womb if delivered—ought to be preserved and cared for and not aborted. In cases where problems of life or health of the mother arise in a pregnancy, the church supports efforts to protect the life and health of both the mother and the baby. When late-term pregnancies must be terminated, we urge decisions intended to deliver the baby alive. We look to our churches to provide pastoral and tangible support to women in problem pregnancies and to surround these families with a community of care. We affirm adoption as a provision for women who deliver children they are not able to care for, and ask our churches to assist in seeking loving, Christian, adoptive families."

On the issue of "divestment" there has been a lot of confussion and misinformation. Secular newspapers and Jewish leaders have referred to the Presbyterian Church's 2004 decision to divest in companies doing business with Israel. Actually, the 2004 decision was to STUDY the possibility of divesting only in those business contributing to the violence in the Mid-East. The General Assembly did not change this action, but they changed the wording in such a way that the Jewish observers were very pleased. This year's Assembly approved action with instructions "to have those financial investments of the Presbyterian Church (USA), as they pertain to Israel, Gaza, East Jerusalem and the West Bank, be invested in only peaceful pursuits, and affirm that the customary corporate engagement process of the Committee on Mission Responsibility Through Investment of our denomination -- in conjunction with appropriate reinvestment of funds where necessary -- is the proper vehicle for achieving this goal."

The Church Has Been Given A Gift

"We have not fundamentally changed our standards in ordination," said Stated Clerk of the General Assembly, Clifton Kirkpatrick during a press conference this afternoon.

It had been a long day to bring the church to the point it could hear such wonderful news. More than that -- it was a long 3 decades!

Today was the day our General Assembly voted on the important report on the Peace, Unity and Purity of the Church. During the day's meeting, several people rose to speak to the report, including Marge Carpenter, who is one of the great saints of the Presbyterian Church, USA. When she speaks, people listen with extra attention.

"I'm tired," she said. "Our church has been in conflict for 28 years. I do not believe in the ordination of the homosexual, but I love my gay brothers and sisters. It is time for us to move beyond this debate. We've been in this ditch too long. It is hurting our church. It is hurting our youth. It is hurting our missions. Let's get on with being the church."

Marge speaks for a lot of Presbyterians.

We are all tired and we have been torn for a long time. Jesus clearly calls us to love all people. The Presbyterian Church accepts all who confess Christ as Savior. Hopefully, we can all agree on that. But we don't all agree on what Scripture teaches or how to interpret the Bible. The Presbyterian Church has, in past General Assemblies, made clear statements about lifestyles that we have applied to the standards of ordination, but we have continued to debate the ordination of gays and lesbians year after year and it is wearing out our church. At the 213th General Assembly, meeting in 2001, the theological Task Force on Peace, Unity and Purity of the Church was created to "lead the Presbyterian Church (USA) in spiritual discernment of our Christian identity in and for the 21st Century." After years of work and study, their report was ready to be presented for adoption.

There were several recommendations in this report. The first 4 were adopted -- practically unanimously. Item 5 caused a bit of a stir.

The first recommendation calls on every Presbyterian member "to avoid division into separate denominations that obscure our community in Christ, and to live in harmony with other members of this denomination."

In other words, we are a family - and families stick together.

The second recommendation urges all groups in our church to follow the example of the task force -- when we face difficult issues we should engage in "processes of intensive discernment through worship, community building, study, and collaborative work."

The third recommendation encourages churches to study the theological reflections of the Task Force.

The fourth recommendation urges those who "plan and moderate meetings of other governing bodies, to explore the use of alternative forms of discernment and preliminary to decision-making, especially in dealing with potentially divisive issues.

It did not take long for us to adopt the first four recommendations -- the General Assembly took them as a single unit and adopted them quickly.

The last recommendation took a while.

First there was a substitute motion, which failed. There was an amendment to the motion, which also failed. There was another amendment, which was approved. There was a motion to refer the matter to the presbyteries for consideration, which also failed.

After discussing the matter for 3 hours and 13 minutes, we were ready to vote on the motion as amended-- but only after a word of prayer was offered by Vice Moderator Robert Wilson.

The controversial recommendation #5 passed: 298 in favor, 221 opposed and 1 abstaining.

Moderator Joan called on the commissioners to join in hands in groups of 4, 5 or 6 and to have prayer, which we did.

So what was this controversial item? What was all the agony about?

Recommendation 5 has several parts:

First, the standards of ordination and installation come from the Book of Confessions and the Book of Order.

Second, these standards are based on a careful study of Scripture and theology and are interpreted by the General Assembly and its Permanent Judicial Commission.

Third, installing bodies (which might be a Session for elders and deacons, or a Presbytery for Ministers) have the responsibility to apply these standards -- this means they must determine whether a candidate has departed from scriptural or constitutional standards for fitness for office, and whether any such departure should bar the candidate from ordination and or installation.

Fourth, the decisions of the ordaining body are always subject to review by higher bodies (meaning a Presbytery might review a Session's decision to ordain or install a particular elder, General Assembly might review a Presbytery's action)

And finally, all parties should endeavor to outdo one another in honoring one another's decisions.

Some saw this as an affirmation of what the church has always taught. Some saw this as permission for "local option," allowing individual presbyteries or congregations to decide independently whether they can ordain active and and self-professing gays and lesbians.

I attended the press conference following the General Assembly's session. Other press conferences this week have been attended by 6 to 12 folks. This conference was standing room only.

Joan Gray spoke first: "We saw the Presbyterian process doing what it does best, decently and in order. It was done fairly and justly." She spoke of how proud she was of how the Assembly had handled itself.

I counted at least 7 times that someone used the phrase, "The standards of ordination have not changed."

A reporter from the L.A.Times asked if this opened or closed the door for ordaining gays. Clifford Kirkpatrick again repeated, "Our standards have remained unchanged." More weight and responsibility is given to the local sessions and presbyteries to be sure that candidates fulfill those standards."

Prior to the press conference, I noticed Parker Williamson, of the Presbyterian Layman newspaper, instructing a large group of people to meet and demonstrate their dissatisfaction. After the conference, they gathered and read a statement that proclaimed that today's adoption of the Peace, Unity and Purity report "marks a profound deviation from biblical requirements, and we cannot accept, support or tolerate it. We will take the steps necessary."

When asked if this meant that there would be a split in the church, Williamson said, "Schism has already happened."

As for me, I prefer the words from the press conference spoken by the chair of the task force, "My great hope is that commissioners can gohomee and spread the news that this is a new day... our conflict is over. The church has been given a gift."

(Photo of Marge Carpenter by Danny Bolin. Other Photos by Maynard Pittendreigh)

Monday's Business at General Assembly

Committee work is over and the commissioners of the General Assembly are now gathering together as one body for their plenary sessions.

Joan Gray is doing a great job moderating the meetings. At one point, commissioners suggested she was moving the meeting along too quickly for them. I've never seen a Session or General Assembly move TOO quickly, but Joan promised to slow down a bit.


The hard work began early in Monday's plenary session with intense debate over what to do with a theological paper on the Trinity. Deborah Block, one of the candidates for Moderator, spoke in favor of the document, describing how helpful she had found it in explaining this difficult doctrine to her new membership class. Many others, however, pointed to what they saw as problems in the document. Greater Atlanta Presbytery's Dorothy Hill, shown here, referred to the third Commandment that we not misuse the name of God. "God is able to name himself," she said, "and this report makes the mistake of using metaphors about God and uses them as names of God." The paper was approved 283 to 226.

Two overtures before the Assembly called for the ordination of Christian Educators -- one called for creating the "office of minister of Christian education" and the other would have created the "office of educating elder." Both overtures were referred to the Office of Theology and Worship, which is currently studying the ministry of all church members, both ordained and not ordained.

The Assembly approved a motion that calls on all congregations "to renewal, through Word and Sacrament, of our life together in Jesus Christ, by engaging in practices that deepen baptismal life and discipline." Specifically, congregations are invited for the next two years to set the baptismal font in full view of the congregation, open the font and fill it with water as part of each Sunday's worship, set the chalice and Communion plate on the Lord's table on every Lord's Day, lead appropriate parts of weekly worship from the font and from the Table, and to increase the number of Sundays on which the Lord's Supper is celebrated. This is an invitation to our church, and our Music and Worship Team can discuss how we might do this at Good Shepherd.

Another issue related to worship is the approval of a new hymnal and a study of the possibility of a new "E-Hymnal" that would be an electronic, computer hymnal. This was an appropriate measure, as this year all commissioners are provided with laptops with network connections that replace the 1,000 page books that commissioners had to tote around in previous Assemblies.

In other actions"
>The Assembly expressed its support for the human rights work of the Presbyterian Church in Colombia in that South American nation, but it referred a number of specific requests for more overt action directed at the U.S. government’s support of the Colombian government and military to the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy and the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program for study.

>The assembly made the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) a provisional member of Christian Churches Together (CCT), a new ecumenical organization more broadly-based than older organizations such as the National Council of Churches.

>The Assembly confirmed the Rev. Bill Carl as the new president of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.

>The Assembly confirmed Davis Perkins to a fourth four-year term as president and CEO of the Presbyterian Publishing Corporation.

>Monday evening after worship, the Assembly celebrated the 50th anniversary of the ordination of women as ministers in the PC(USA). The Reverend Margaret Towner, the first woman minister in our denomination, is present at this General Assembly. Towner was ordained in 1956.

Not all of the General Assembly is business. As one wanders around the Birmingham Jefferson Civic Center, you never know what you might run into -- groups engaged in deep theological discussions, groups who carry signs advocating for a particular position on any given issue, or as shown in this picture, a group of musicians singing praise to God. This group came to the General Assembly from the Congo and sang during Sunday's worship. They sing in their native language, but it is clear they sing with passion and joy.

Sunday Worship

One of the highpoints of the General Assembly is the large gathering for worship on Sunday.

The service usually lasts two hours or more. The music is wonderful. Choirs from the local churches and from the mission fields make a joyful noise as they sing with skill and passion. One of the choirs came from the Congo, while a large choir came from representatives of the many area Presbyterian congregations. There were liturgical dancers from one of the congregations from here in Alabama.

One tradition of the General Assembly worship is the chalice. A unique chalice is designed for each General Assembly. Hundreds are made for use in the service. These are usually sold after the worship service as a way of raising funds to cover the cost of the worship.

The host Presbytery for this year's General Assembly (Sheppards and Lapsley) has a strong bond with the Congo, so they selected as the design for their chalice one from the Congo (the name of the presbytery honors William Henry Sheppard, an African American pastor, and Samuel Lapsley, a white pastor, who served together as Presbyterian missionaries in the Congo in the 1890s). The original design was carved by a member of the Bakuba tribe of the North Kasai Synod. The designs encircling the chalice are traditional Kuba designs that represent linked arms. People working together.

John Rodgers of Chelsea, Alabama, made about 300 chalices for the Communion services. These are traditionally made available to those who wish to buy them. Selling them not only prevents any one church or person from being burdened with 300 chalices, the funds also raise money to pay for the cost of the worship service. I always buy one -- next time you come into my office you'll be able to see not only this year's, but a few previous chalices as well.

Blogging On The Sabbath

It seems that I am the first "blogger" to be approved by the General Assembly to receive press credentials. Everyone wears different colored badges during the General Assembly. Voting commissioners wear blue. Registered observers wear yellow. Advisory delegates wear navy. There is a long list of different colors. About a dozen of us wear green -- meaning we represent the press -- the Presbyterians Today magazine, the Outlook magazine, reporters from various newspapers, and me -- the lone blogger.

So what does wearing a green press pass get you?

Actually, not a lot more than any other observer. I get to sit in on press conferences, which are almost as exciting as committee meetings. The biggest advantage is that get to sit at a table with Internet access during committee meetings and the plenary sessions of the General Assembly -- which helps in putting these reports on the blog.

I ran into Mike Kaufield -- he is one of the voting commissioners representing Greater Atlanta Presbytery (You can see he is wearing a blue badge). Our presbytery being so large has (I believe) more commissioners than any other presbytery. Many of our members will know Mike because he is helping our Associate Pastor Nominating Committee as our liaison with Presbytery. Other commissioners from Greater Atlanta are elders Andrew Fellers, Linda Lehfeldt, Bob Siegmann and Valerie Zaleski and ministers Tim Dalstrom, Joan Gray, Mark Lomax, Larry Owens and Wendell Phillips. Our Youth Advisory Delegate is Miranda Brownlee.

I also ran into Pix Mauler, who is the partnership facilitator for Haiti. She promotes and interpretes Presbyterian ministry in Haiti, and is very helpful in getting churches and presbyteries working together -- and in working as a channel of communication between Presbyterians and the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti. She's a familiar name to the Mission and Outreach Team at Good Shepherd, but it is the first time I've met her face to face.

Here is an update on some of the things that have been happening at General Assembly -- to learn more about any of these issues, click the highlighted word and your computer should take you to the Presbyterian news service.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY WAS ELECTRIFIED BY AN UNEXPECTED GIFT when a Colorado businessman and elder announced a gift of $150 million to the church. The gift will be used to help presbyteries start new churches, and to transform struggling congregations.

AN ELDER DIED ON THURSDAY NIGHT. Commissioner Nelson Erwin from Texas, age 70, was found in an elevator after suffering an apparent heart attack.

CATHERINE GONZALES received an award for excellence in theological education. Some of our members of Good Shepherd will know her. She was the first woman to serve on the faculty of Columbia Theological Seminary.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY COMMISSIONED 200 MISSION WORKERS and other volunteers serving around the world in a worship service held on June 16th.

I won't go into all the decisions of the committees. These will go before the General Assembly starting Monday and it will be simpler to wait and see what the whole Assembly approves or disapproves.

Our Youth Make A Difference The Presbyterian Church

I ran into Kayce Mobley this morning. She is an interesting lady for two reasons. First, she from the Altama Presbyterian Church of Brunswick, Georgia, where I served as pastor from 1986 until 1994 -- and it is always interesting to run into old friends. I guess the last time I saw Kayce she was around 8 years old.

But the second reason I say she is an interesting lady will probably be of interest to you as well.

Kayce is a Youth Advisory Delegate -- or as we say in the alphabet soup of the PCUSA, she's a YAD.

YADs are high school and college-age commissioners elected by the presbyteries. They add a youthful voice and a valuable perspective to the General Assembly.

Like all other commissioners, YADs are assigned to committees, where they have full "voice and vote." They can ask questions, enter into debate, and vote with the rest of the committee. Kayce is in the Health Issues Committee.

In the plenary sessions in which the entire General Assembly gathers together as a single body and votes, the YADs have full voice and can called upon to speak on any issue they desire. Their votes in the plenary sessions, however, are only advisory -- but that is important. Prior to every vote, the YADs are polled and the commissioners will see their opinions before being asked to cast their own votes.

The youth matter to the Presbyterian Church and it shows here at General Assembly. Kayce came to be interested in the work of the larger church through her pastor and her work on the Session. Altama Presbyterian Church takes advantage of youth elders, as permitted by the Book of Order. She served a two year term and sees this as another opportunity to serve her church before going to college in the Fall at the University of the South.

The Work of Committees

So how does the work of General Assembly get done? Once the moderator is elected, everyone goes separate ways, doing what Presbyterians love to do -- committee work. It will be Monday before the General Assembly again gathers as a single body.

As committees meet, commissioners will find some items of business exciting and others a bit boring -- but they are all important.

Take "Divestment" for example.

Sounds boring!

"Divestment."

But mention the word and people begin to raise their voices, jab index fingers into another person's chest and make bold declarations that often begin with the phrase, "The trouble with you people..."

What is divestment?

Read the Presbyterian Layman and you'll be told that divestment is a "resolution called on the denomination to begin "phased, selective divestment" of corporations that do business with Israel."

Not quite!

Divestment is a plan that was approved in 2004 for the Presbyterian Church (USA) to study the possibility of divesting its holdings in companies profiting from Middle East conflict and war. So far, not a dime of our $8 billion dollar portfolio has actually been divested. But the last I heard 5 companies have been identified as companies that profit from the Mid-East conflicts -- Caterpillar Inc., Citigroup Inc., United Technologies Corp., Motorola Inc. and ITT Industries Inc. Caterpillar, for instance, sells heavy equipment used in the demolition of Palestinian homes. Caterpillar says it has no control over how its products are used.

It is a complicated issue that is made more complex because for many it is an emotional issue.


Yesterday I listened Dr. Judea Pearl implore the Presbyterian Church not to continue with the plan for divestment. Standing with several Jewish men in front of a banner that read, "End Divestment Now," Pearl frequently lost his place in his manuscript. He spoke in angry tones about how the Presbyterian Church has betrayed him and his people.

Pearl is the father of Daniel Pearl, the Wall Street Journal reporter who was beheaded in Pakistan by Islamic terrorists.

In his mind, divestment empowers the Islamic terrorists.

Today, however, I attended a committee meeting that was addressing the issue of whether or not to continue the plan for divestment. One Presbyterian elder, speaking in favor of divestment said, "I can't understand the conflict in the Middle East, and never will. It is beyond my understanding. I don't have the wisdom to know how peace can be established there. But one thing I know, as a church we should not be making money off of the suffering of any people."

Betty Dobson told the committee, "I have no credentials. I'm not a politician or a military strategist. I'm just an American and an elder. Our church went to the Middle East for a short term mission. I stayed in the home of a Palestinian family who lived in fear of a knock at the door and a message that they would have to immediately vacate their as-yet-unfinished home so it could be bulldozed by Israel."

It is not a simple issue.

It is one filled with tragedy and dispair and fear and confusion.

One way or the other, the General Assembly will vote on whether or not to continue divestment.
Someone will rejoice. Someone will be angry. Whatever the decision, these pastors and elders who vote will certainly do so prayerfully and with a heavy heart at the stories they have heard.

I estimate there were 240 people in the room to listen to the discussion on divestment. Once that was over, many of these left the room leaving some 60 to 70 to listen to the next item of business -- Haiti.

It is not that one issue is more important that the other. But those of our church who work with Haiti know that the plight of Haiti is easy not to notice.

When a committee considers a motion that comes from a Presbytery, the first person to speak on the motion, or overture, is a person designated as an "Overture Advocate." In this case, it was the Reverend Ray Anglin from Tropical Florida Presbytery. It was his job to explain the purpose and need for the overture and to answer any questions the commissioners might have. He spoke eloquently about the suffering of the Haitian people.

The overture calls on the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to “express to the president and the Congress of the United States of America the church’s concern for the people of Haiti, to request the president and the Congress to address the political and social situation in Haiti with the resources available to our nation, to provide for welcome and relief for Haitian refugees, and to cease the current practice of immediate deportation of those who are attempting to escape the horror that exists in that troubled country.”

Speaking of Haiti, one of the reasons this issue is important to many of the members of Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church is the work we do in that country. Our Mission Team arrived there today! To read their blog, click here.

Today and tommorrow committees will be meeting and talking about a wide range of issues. Some might bore you, some might excite you, but every issue has been deemed by people of faith as important enough to be brought to the attention of the whole General Assembly.

The Election of Joan Gray

We have a new moderator -- Joan Gray.

It was not an easy process.

Early in tonight's meeting commissioners had to deal with a few items of business before getting to the election. There seemed to be some frustration among the commissioners. Until this year commissioners had to carry around a large and heavy volume made up of two or more reams of paper. Thanks to the wonderful technology of the 21st century, all commissioners have laptops and wireless internet connections with which to view the necessary documents.

Well, that is the way it is supposed to work.

Sometimes moving into the future takes time, and work, a few tears, groans and moans.

Voting on an early item of business, the commissioners discovered that only half of the body was able to access the necessary information.

“What are we voting on,” became a frequent question, prompting the retiring Moderator Rick Urford-Chase to ask the delegates to vote yes or no – “Do you have the proper Internet connection so you can view the documents you are voting on?”

The vote was 48% yes, but 51% no.

Technology is a wonderful thing – when it works.

Fortunately, laptops were not needed for the election of the moderator.

First came the auditor's report. Each candidate was limited to spending no more than $1,500 on their campaigns, not including travel costs. All four candidates were within the stated rules on spending.

Then came the nominating speeches. Each one was limited to 5 minutes, and a countdown on a screen reminded them of the time remaining.

A Native American gave the nominating speech for Joan Gray, and she began with an introductory sentence in Spanish. As she continued in English, the person nominating held up Joan's book on church government and said, "Joan not only knows church polity, she wrote the book."

After the nomination speeches, the candidates were given an opportunity to give a five minute acceptance speech.

The first to speak was Tim Halverson, who gave what might have been the most dynamic speech of the four candidates. One of his memorable statements came toward the end when he said, "I would rather fail at doing God's ministry than simply whine and complain that our church is dieing. It is time for us to grow. It is time for us to regain our passion."

In her acceptance speech, Joan said, "Polity is not going to save us. One thing will save us and that is a God who makes a way for us." She talked repeatedly about how God makes a way. In what was probably a reference to Clifton Sanctuary, Joan talked about a church in Greater Atlanta in which God made a way for a small congregation to reach out to the homeless.

In talking about her Interim ministry with conflicted churches, Joan said, "Some of them were so broken we disparied if things would ever get better. As long as we focused on fixing the problems of the church we made no progress. Only when we focused on Christ did we start to move forward. God makes a way where there is no way."

After the four acceptance speeches, an hour was allowed for questions from the floor.

When asked "tell us about your experiences with multicultural churches," Joan talked about how the last three churches she had served had immigrant fellowships and shared what she had learned from them.

After about a dozen questions, the four candidates were escorted off the stage by one of the former moderators, Susan Andrews, and taken to a private waiting area.

Before each ballot, the advisory delegates voted. Their votes do not count, but simply advise the comissioners. Youth Advisors, Seminary Student Advisors, and Missionary Advisors all voted fairly evenly across the board -- which was what the commissioners did on the first ballot:

Deborah Block received 143 votes, or 28 %
Kerry Carson received 109 votes, or 22%
Joan Gray came in second to Block, with 139 votes, or 28%
Tim Halverson had 113 votes, or 22%.

After a silent prayer, another ballot was taken. Support for Carson and Halverson declined, and Joan moved into first place -- but with only 40% of the vote, she still did not have a clear majority.

After the third ballot, Moderator Rick Urford-Chase announced, we have a new moderator, and that moderator is Joan Gray. With 307 votes, Joan had received 62%.

When the vote was announced to the four candidates, tradition calls for them to pray for one another. Joan Gray was then escorted back into the assembly hall and a service of Installation was held. She was given symbols of her position -- the moderator's cross and the moderator's stole, which she will wear at church functions for the next two years.

Following the Installation service, the evening session was closed with prayer by one of the Youth Advisory Delegates.

Since I am writing not only for this blog, but for other publications, I have press credentials that permitted me to attend Joan's first press conference. She and Vice Moderator Robert Wilson, seen here, did very well in answering questions about their plans.

During the press conference Joan had high praise for the other three nominees, whom she said had all been called by God to be part of this process. As for her own election, Joan said she felt humbled at being given this gift from God.

The Family Reunion Has Begun

General Assembly is off to a great start.

Forest Palmer from our Presbytery's office had a good observation today. If you wonder what General Assembly is like -- think "Family Reunion."

I have seen some of the "close kin folk" I often see -- staff persons from the office of the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta, pastors and elders from Atlanta area congregations, and Joan Gray.

I am also running into some of the "distant cousins" I don't see often -- missionaries back from the field, friends from other presbyteries, seminary class mates and such.

And like any family, sometimes there are the feuding cousins. One such family division is caused by the "divestment issue." A recent General Assembly voted to divest certain church investments from businesses that the church believes supports the violence in the Mid-East. One key issue was the constrution of a "wall of separation" in Israel, designed to keep Palestinians out. Jews and many Gentile supports see this as divestment of Israel. On the other hand, many people are expressing deep gratitude for what the church has done. The issue will come up at this General Assembly, and the family is fussing already. It is one of the topics of discussion you hear around the assembly. There will be other family arguments before the meeting is over -- but hopefully, we'll stay a family.

Joan Gray is doing a great job today. She has been on her feet all day as she greets commissioners and members of the press. Many of the commissioners come to the General Assembly with a good idea of who will get their vote for Moderator. They have read the position papers and biographies and faith statements of the four candidates for Moderator. But meeting the moderators and listening to them speak is a very important part of the process. Commissioners will either find confirmation for their previous decision, or they will decide they like other candidates better.

The process of electing a Moderator is different from anything else we do in the Presbyterian Church. Nominations and elections are common -- but not the kind of campaigning we see with the Moderator of General Assembly. Some candidates have campaign buttons, one is giving away bottled water, and another from Florida is giving away orange juice. Everyone seems to be giving out cookies. Go by Joan Gray's booth and she is giving baggies with two cookies and a strip of paper that reads, "Joan Gray is one smart cookie, and Robert Wilson makes two!" Robert Wilson is her running mate and he is running for Vice Moderator.


The voting will take place this evening. I will post another entry on this blog as soon as we know something. I know a lot of the readers of this blog are from Greater Atlanta, which has endorsed Joan as moderator, and you will be looking forward to the news.

The Commissioners and staff members of the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta have their own blog -- for a different point of view on things, click here!

Gathering Together At General Assembly

Commissioners and observers have arrived in Birmingham and have registered and settled in for several days of intense work.

Members of Good Shepherd and of Greater Atlanta Presbytery should keep Joan Gray in prayer. Joan and the three other candidates for the Moderator of General Assembly will have a long day tomorrow. They all need your prayers for stamina and clear minds. Joan and the others will need to stand at a special area set aside for the candidates.

From 8:00 AM until 12:45 PM Joan and the other candidates will be meeting commissioners and observers. Anyone can stop by and meet the candidates, ask questions and seek answers.

From 1:00 PM until 5:30 PM the General Assembly has its first official session - and Joan is a voting commissioner as well as a candidate for Moderator, so after greeting people for almost 5 hours, she will then sit through a 4 1/2 hour business session.

From 5:30 PM until 7:15 PM, Joan can enjoy a dinner sponsored by the Presbyterian Outlook Foundation. Well, she might enjoy a few bites of the dinner -- she and the other three candidates are also the special speakers for this dinner!

At 7:30 PM the second business session of the General Assembly convenes -- and the top issue of business is the election of the moderator. Joan and the other candidates will have an opportunity to give a speech and to answer questions in debate format.

Sometime around 9, or 10, or even later, voting will end. It is not unusual for the voting of the moderator to take more than one ballot.

So you can see that win or lose, Joan and the other candidates need your prayers for the facing of a long day.

As soon as I learn who is elected moderator, I'll post the news -- I know a lot of the readers of this blog are anxious to learn if Joan is elected.