June 21, 2006

Dear Friends in Christ,

As many of you know, the General Assembly of our denomination has been meeting in Birmingham this past week, and recent media coverage has drawn attention to the actions of this Assembly. Some of the decisions that have been made I believe are good and reflect a positive development on several fronts. For example, the Assembly wisely decided to replace a 2004 divestment resolution (which was widely perceived as unfairly targeting Israel) with a more balanced approach to working for peace and justice in Israel/Palestine. However, the decision regarding the Peace, Unity, and Purity (PUP) report is a tragic failure in leadership and has only dug the hole deeper for the PC(USA).

Recommendation 5 of this report was designed to pave the way for non-celibate homosexuals to be ordained at the local level as elders and pastors. By a vote of 298-221 (57%-43%) the Assembly approved an “Authoritative Interpretation” of the church’s constitution. The new Authoritative Interpretation maintains current ordination standards for church officers but gives ordaining bodies greater latitude in applying those standards to individual candidates for ordination. In an ironic twist, minutes later the Assembly voted by an 80% majority to reaffirm the denomination-wide Authoritative Interpretation of 1979 which states that those ordained by our denomination are to be chaste in singleness or faithful in marriage. So, on the same day, the Assembly reaffirmed the rules with a strong positive vote, but we also voted to allow people not to follow those rules. The combination of these votes reflects the schizophrenia and dysfunctionality of the PC(USA).

Simply put, the PC(USA) has authoritative standards for ordination. Until today, candidates were expected to follow these standards if they are to be ordained. However, as of this week’s vote, when it comes to “fidelity and chastity”, an ordaining body has the freedom to decide that a candidate’s departure from a constitutional standard, namely fidelity and chastity, is not a failure to adhere to the essentials of Reformed faith and polity. Both straight and gay people who engage in sex outside of marriage may be ordainable, depending upon the ruling of individual sessions and presbyteries.

Some believe this is the beginning of the end of the PC(USA). They contend our denomination has abandoned the historic faith of the Church. Time will tell. One could argue that any institution that says, “Here are the rules, but you can decide whether the rules have to be followed or not,” is doomed. I am sure these matters will be tried in the church courts of our denomination in the next couple of years. The fragile peace of the PC(USA) has been ruptured by this vote. Our institutional unity is indeed threatened.

Where do we go from here? Our session is deeply concerned about these matters, and we will be maintaining a careful eye on how this new policy is implemented, both in our presbytery and at the denominational level. We are in consultation with many other like-minded Presbyterians around the country to strategize as to what we might do together in response to these developments. Whatever we do, we want to do in concert with other faithful friends. In addition, our session has signed on to being one of the inviting sessions to a new Presbyterian Global Fellowship. The first meeting of this group will take place on August 18-19, 2006, at the Peachtree Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, Georgia. It is a positive new development which I believe will bode well for our future expression of faithfulness as Presbyterians in these difficult times. And the Session will take whatever steps we deem necessary to keep body and soul together as we seek to discern the leading of God about how to deal with this matter. We covet your prayers in this regard.

One thing that has encouraged me during these difficult days has been my recent trip to Germany and Switzerland to study the lives of the Reformers back in May. Through my recent study of the events leading up to and throughout the Reformation, I have seen once again how Christians in every age have had to battle error in doctrine and practice in the church of Jesus Christ in their own day. One could argue that the Roman Catholic Church of the 16th Century was in much greater error and immorality than is the PC(USA) today. Yet never once did the Reformers urge, “Come out from among them and be separate”. Rather, they sought to bring reform within the church and to protest what they perceived were abuses in practice and errors in doctrine. The Protestant church was not formed until they were thrown out of the Roman Catholic Church. Perhaps there are lessons for us to learn from their example as we seek to discern God’s leading for our church today.

Let us be much in prayer in these days ahead, and may we keep our eyes upon Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask me or any of the pastors on our staff or elders on Session. Let’s keep the conversation going. We want to hear from you.

Your friend and pastor,
Peter B. Barnes
Senior Pastor
First Presbyterian Church
Boulder, Colorado

Resources
The Denominational Concerns Committee of our church, in consultation with our Session, has prepared material to aid in understanding two of the controversial issues addressed by the General Assembly. Click on the appropriate link for further information about the Israel divestment issue and the Peace, Unity, and Purity Report.