There were times in the first few weeks when I seriously questioned the actions of the General Assembly Council in deciding to dismantle the organization without a plan for putting it together. As I worked with staff and elected members, I came to realize that you had given us a great gift. By setting the old structure loose, and trusting that we would find a new way, we were able to design a structure, re-position some of our most valuable and experienced leaders and bring in new leaders who bring revitalizing energy and fresh perspectives. I do sincerely believe we are positioned to bring the General Assembly Council into a new day. 

 

As we all well know, the church and the world around us are in a time of great change. The church in particular is a swirl of many dynamics that affect how we relate to the many parts of the church body and carry out our mission with and on behalf of the church. Middle governing bodies seek to re-define their purposes and forms and many even struggle for continued existence; churches seem to be moving into different camps - the big and the small, the conservative and the progressive, the emerging and the traditional, the healthy and the conflicted. Some are even making plans to leave the camp and that is taking a lot of our time, attention, energy and prayer, and even more of some of our Presbytery executives and stated clerks. The conflicts and defections garner more attention in the media than the magnificent acts of grace and service going on throughout the church, so it’s hard to get the good news out. Many of the most committed and active congregations and mission groups clamor for communication, support and connection with us and at the same time we work to support middle governing body leaders, and so we wrestle with how to relate and support each other in a flat and networked world with an old hierarchical structure and, in some places, mindsets.

 

Yet, through it all, I have great hope. I sense that we are more open to God’s renewing work in the world and the church and that God will lead us through this. I sense that because I see the Council taking bold and brave steps into the future without all the plans laid out. I sense that because I see middle governing body leaders meeting and talking, genuinely trying to discern their future. I see that because the Form of Government Task Force isn’t just tweaking the Book of Order, it is making radical changes to make the organization of the church vastly more fluid and flexible so it can move in new “missional” directions. I sense that because we have been able to attract outstanding new talent into the General Assembly Council even when people said that wouldn’t be possible – that the staff was too downtrodden. “Who would want to work there?” they asked. Well, the answer is, some wonderful, talented and committed people do and I’m excited to be working with them.

 

Mostly I have great hope because through all of this I see people starting new churches and transforming old ones, educating young people and training new officers, supporting people young and old who are discerning a call to Christian vocation, even sometimes to ministry, pursing college and seminary educations, moving into called positions, finding new forms of leadership for the church, serving the poor, the hungry and victims of violence, injustice, war, disease and disasters, studying and articulating what we believe, seeking reconciliation within the church and in the world.  And I take enormous joy in knowing that the General Assembly Council is at work in these endeavors and that I am part of it.

 

We now have 140 Presbyteries signed up to host mission workers in October as part of the Mission Challenge ‘07 – that’s over 80% of the Presbyteries in the PC(USA). This is an initiative to connect the international mission work of the Presbyterian Church (USA) to our congregations. This initiative began as the dream of a few people on the General Assembly Council, and is exceeding the original goals largely by the efforts of a Bruce and Lora Whearty (themselves former mission workers) and a few other hard working and dedicated people and, no doubt, the working of the Holy Spirit.

 

Bruce writes: “We are coming across stories of initiative being taken on behalf of mission.  Columbia Church, in Middle Tennessee Presbytery, decided to take up a special offering for mission support, not just in October, but the first Sunday of every month in 2007.  Central Florida Presbytery selected several missionaries to highlight as priorities to support, and has produced a DVD that they are currently showing throughout the presbytery.  In effect, they are running their own Mission Challenge right now.

 

“There are also some good stories of collaboration coming out of this experience.  Yukon and Alaska Presbyteries have worked very hard to mesh their schedules so that their speaker, Bev Booth from Nepal, can not only speak at both presbytery meetings (which overlap) but can also travel during the day so that she can enjoy aerial views of glaciers.  Northern Plains and South Dakota Presbyteries are cooperating with the non-geographic Dakota Presbytery to make sure that as many little rural churches as possible can be served by their speaker, Burkhart Paetzold from Germany.  And everywhere presbyteries are talking with each other about how to move the speakers from one host to another.  Sometimes this will be by airplane and sometimes by car, but each trip has to be cooperatively arranged between the host presbyteries.

 

“We have also been impressed by the level of collaboration within the Center.  Debby Vial, of the International Peacemaking program, had too many invitations to fill for the speakers from partner churches.  She is personally phoning each of the IP contacts in presbyteries that cannot host an IP and encouraging them to work with the presbytery mission committee to support the MC'07 speaker instead.  The office of Small Church and Community Ministry has approved a grant to Alaska Presbytery that will allow their speaker to visit two remote churches that otherwise could not have been involved in MC'07.  And, in one way or another, most of World Mission has been helping on MC'07.”

 

Last week, Allison Seed and I met with the General Assembly Agency heads and chairs. Together we agreed to undertake intentional collaboration in “equipping the saints for ministry”, in communications, funds development and church relations.  This meeting was followed by the Pastors Sabbath, a marvelous and restorative three and a half day gathering of a few hundred pastors in the awe inspiring Wabash mountains of Utah. Cynthia Rigby of Austin Theological Seminary led us in reflections on Isaiah 40, calling us to our roles in as participants God’s creation, encouraging us to live imaginatively – imagining what God desires and not being afraid of being wrong, losing control, or looking foolish – and lifting our voices with strength in creative contribution to the kingdom of God.

 

A voice calls out:

‘”In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,

make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Every valley shall be lifted up,

and every mountain and hill be made low;

the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.

Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,

and all people shall see it together,

for the mouth of the Lord has spoken”. . .

The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of God will stand forever.

Get you up to a high mountain,

O Zion, herald of good tidings,

lift up your voice with strength,

O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings,

lift it up, do not fear;

Say to the cities of Judah,

“Here is your God!”

Isaiah 40:3-5, 8-9

 

How blessed we are to be joined together in ministry as we seek to imagine the Kingdom of God and serve together in God’s creation.

 

Linda