Random Thoughts from Jan Jose

This morning dawned California sunny. The fresh air feels almost delicate as I brush against the morning breeze. Delicate. Maybe that's a word describe the General Assembly this week.


Delicate when it comes to positions on marriage, sexuality, gay marriage, ordination, Palestinean-Israeli relations and the American presence in Iraq. I use the word delicate because the issues themselves have emotional content that can divide us from the tough work of prayerful reflection through the lens of the Gospel.


Over twenty proposals on these issues await debate this week at our General Assembly. For some of us the issue may be a "no-brainer." For others of us we wonder if we should even be talking about such issues. That gap is "delicate" because it exists between sisters and brothers in the same Body of Christ.


As your Interim Pastor to the Presbytery of Pittsburgh, I ask you to be in prayer. This is not about politics -though at times it may sound and feel like it. General Assembly is about mission and witness. I am proud of our church because, despite any delicacy, we have the grand opportunity to witness to the Gospel in the midst of difficult cultural and societal shifts.


I also ask you to be patient. Discernment is not a quick "that's a no-brainer" response. Prayerful discernment is not about what I want. It is about stepping back from preference and acculturation to dive into the motley gray seas of interpretation and opinion. To do so means I have to step back from my personal preference and be prepared for the surprises of diverse conversations, all steeped in prayer, study, and love.

Be in community with your GA Commissioner. The local San Jose newspaper this morning quoted someone as saying that many of the proposals that will be debated do not reflect the "people in the pew." Not his pew, I suppose. We must remember that these overtures came from elders and ministers in presbyteries like ours. Indeed, we have submitted some of our own. They will be debated by 500 plus elders and ministers who have given up significant portions of their lives to take on the burden of discernment with those of us who sent the overtures. With prayerful patience we can celebrate our Presbyterian heritage that allows all the church to be represented in decision making rather than one strong person or group.


In the midst of this week's news coverage that will unsettle me, at least, let us celebrate the work of God in our Presbyterian Church (USA):

• Last night I rode the light rail with a pastor from Florida. He led a 60 member downtown church that once boasted a membership of over 2,000. Eight years of sweat equity and prayer have created a congregation of 600 and growing.
• The new Moderator, Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow gave personal witness to the mission of the Presbyterian Church in his own commitment to Jesus Christ.
• The General Assembly Council is seeking to add 35 new mission workers this year. Immigrant ministries are expanding with new fellowships and congregations.
• New Church developments are expanding with the use of "coaches" trained by the church.
• Our PCUSA special offerings last year exceeded the budget expectation by nearly a 1/2 million dollars.
• The Presbyterian Disaster Assistance program has led the way in disaster relief. Whitewater Valley Presbytery in Indianapolis received a $10,000 grant just days after floods wiped out the homes of residents near their churches this month.
  
  Delicate issues abound. But we are a church resiliant and courageous enough to engage our world as leaders. I am not always comfortable with the direction the journey takes, but I also know that the big change points in my life came because someone challenged my personal parochialism. I may get nervous at the challenge, but I do not fear. In my conversations with commissioners and colleagues this week, I experience women and men for whom God is not some dry theological abstraction, or a divine social action agent. The witness I hear is of a God who is changing lives. And changing our world. I am priveleged to be part of a church that loves God, follows Christ Jesus into the world, and is empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Good News abounds. Thanks be to God!


Yours in Christ,

Bob Anderson

Interim Pastor to the Presbytery of Pittsburgh