With
continuing talk of a possible war with Iraq, this month's issue features
a sermon by the Reverend Thomas C. Davis, III, Ph.D. Tom is the pastor
of Hanover Street Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, Deleware. In
his sermon, "Preemptive Good," Tom says, "The issue
is war; and not war of the type to which Americans are accustomed,
that is, war in response to an aggression already suffered; rather,
preemptive war, a first strike intended to prevent an anticipated
aggression." You can reach Tom by email at tcdavis@dol.net.
With
her permission, we include a prayer by Helen Baily Cochrane, Executive
Director of the Greater Bethlehem Area Council of Churches, Bethlehem,
Pennsylvania. Helen's "Prayer for Reconciliation" was first
published in Remembering September 11, 2001: A Community's Thoughts
and Prayers of Reconciliation and continues to be timely.
C.
Laurie Griffith, Manager of Judicial Process and Social Witness for
OGA, offers the following introduction to a special section of this
month's issue: In 1925, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church
in the United States of America organized as a judicial court. It
heard and confirmed a preliminary judgment rendered by the Permanent
Judicial Commission as the final judgment of the General Assembly
in conformity with the Constitution of 1925. The issue was whether
the Presbytery of New York had erred in not deferring the licensing
and ordination of a candidate until the candidate was clear and positive
in doctrine considered essential to the Presbyterian faith. This case
was the culmination of years of unrest on these issues in the denomination.
The 1925 General Assembly then appointed a special commission, commonly
known as the Swearingen Commission, to study the "spiritual condition
of our Church and the causes making for unrest, and to report to the
next General Assembly, to the end that the purity, peace, unity and
progress of the Church may be assured." Currently, there are
some in the denomination who are urging the General Assembly to address
issues of discipline against individuals, congregations, and presbyteries
that are perceived as defying the Constitution. The wisdom of the
Swearingen Commission, adopted by two subsequent General Assemblies
of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America seems particularly
appropriate to the church today. Some of the illuminations may enlighten
our current conversations; others may seem stale and historic. The
Commission's work is published in two separate reports, both of which
appear here. I hope that you will find as much pride in the polity
and reformed theology of the antecedents to the Presbyterian Church
(U.S.A.) as I did after reading and reviewing these reports.
The
Presbytery of San Joaquin is one of eleven presbyteries that are at
various stages in the process of looking at what it means to be a
missional church, based on the work of Darrel Guder. The Reverend
Dr. Clark D. Cowden is Evangelist Presbyter for the Presbytery of
San Joaquin. He writes, "As an executive presbyter, I look out
at my group of churches, and I want desperately to help them. I love
the church very much. I care so much about our denomination. But,
I see so many congregations that are struggling…They don't seem
to know how to change…How can we help?" We present here
Clark's paper on the missional church framework, which appears to
offer some helpful answers.
Finally,
from the Presbyterian Historical Society (PHS) this month we feature
a brief portion of a special recent issue of The Journal of Presbyterian
History that looks at Presbyterian and Roman Catholic relations. The
editors of the special issue, James H. Moorhead and Frederick J. Heuser,
Jr., offer their reflections here. Visit the PHS online at www.history.pcusa.org.
