When the Fog Lifts

“Presbyterians Vote to Change Form of Government!” Unlike our vote to allow gay clergy, this one will not make a single newspaper or news site headline. Commentators won’t comment and analysts won’t analyze. The world out there doesn’t care a bit, and, frankly, nor do most of us inside the Presbyterian Church.

The story is this. In our drawn out pass and ratify system, it was not until this past Tuesday that the new Form of Government, nFOG as it is known, reached approval by 87 presbyteries, the number necessary for it to become church law. The final count will be very close, maybe 88-85, almost as close as you can get. But close vote or not, on July 10, nFOG will become FOG, the law of the land, as it were. Continue reading →

On Renouncing Evil – at age 15

Awhile back, maybe a dozen years or more, our PCUSA Book of Order was changed to include new wording about Confirmation.  Here’s what we now say:

The church nurtures those baptized as children and calls them to make public their personal profession of faith and their acceptance of responsibility in the life of the church.  When these persons are ready, they shall be examined by the session. After the session has received them as active members they shall be presented to the congregation during a service of public worship.  In that service the church shall confirm them in their baptismal identity.  They shall reaffirm the vows taken at Baptism by Continue reading →

A Shepherd After God’s Heart

The elders currently serving on the Session just this week committed themselves to two months of listening for God’s voice speaking to the modern church though the ancient words of the prophet Jeremiah. What might God be saying to us especially in terms of those issues that divide our denomination and hinder its effectiveness as Christ’s faithful evangelist, as our Book of Order puts it (G-3.0300)? Continue reading →

Prayers for Kim Jong-il

My friend and our seminarian (soon to be pastor, God willing), Josh Andrzejewski, has the Facebook thing down. His posts are frequent and interesting and often provoke some good conversation among his “friends.” Josh often links to news articles and opinion pieces he has read, sometime with comment and sometimes not. The links are reliably worthwhile even, say in the case of opinion pieces, when I don’t always agree with what’s being said.

So does this make you a Facebookie, Josh?

One of Josh’s current links, with brief comment about it having been done elsewhere, is to a Time magazine newsfeed about a Roman Catholic Church in Florida where a parishioner has asked that prayers be said for Osama Bin Laden. Apparently not all the folks at Holy Name of Jesus Church in West Palm Beach are happy with the request and the priest’s decision to honor it. Continue reading →

Betwixt Christ and His Church

The wedding of the century, though the century is still young, is now over. I never received my invitation, so I am making do with news reports and videos for my information. Clearly, though, William and Kate are now married. The clean-up crews are putting Westminster Abbey back in shape and who knows what the women are going to do with all those hats.

“Storybook” may have been the most used and overused adjective to describe it all, and let’s face it, it was pretty storybook. Kate’s gorgeous gown and the groom and best man in their dress uniforms. The music, the setting, the pomp and circumstance. Storybook, for sure. Continue reading →