At the direction of the 212th General Assembly (2000) a task force, which came to be known as the Trinity Working Group, was formed to study the doctrine of the Trinity in Presbyterian theology and Worship. The assembly charged the group to pay particular attention to the need to recover the terms and images that refer to the being of the persons of the Trinity, as stated in Definitions and Guidelines on Inclusive Language. "God's Love Overflowing" is written in three parts: Confessing God's Overflowing Love (more doctrinal in mode), Participating in God's Overflowing Love (more liturgical), and Shalom: Embodying God's Overflowing Love (more missional). The paper treats the Trinity as a treasure to understand and live out more than as a problem to be solved: "The church's doctrine of the Trinity proclaims that God's abundant and costly love is present to the world through Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit." How might this understanding of God permeate our theology? How might it saturate our worship? How might we understand our mission in the world to be participation in the mission of the Triune God?
Take the opportunity to engage the issues around the doctrine of the Trinity by having your Sunday school class, congregation, presbytery, or any other body of Presbyterians to study "God's Love Overflowing." You can download a copy from the PCUSA website: www.pcusa.org/theologyandworship/issues/trinityfull.pdf. We in the Office of Theology and Worship would love to receive whatever feedback you might have on this important document. Send them to Charles Wiley in the Office of Theology and Worship. Responses will be used to help re-draft the paper in time for the 217th General Assembly in the summer of 2006. |
