LOUISVILLE — Twenty-five
former moderators of the General Assembly and current Moderator
Rick Ufford-Chase have issued a statement in support of the
report of the Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity and Purity
of the Church (TTF).
The statement, released to the Presbyterian
News Service on Nov. 16, said the task force document “reflects the best
of Presbyterianism” and “is surely the work of the
Holy Spirit.”
The signers include every living moderator since Presbyterian
reunion in 1983 except William Wilson (1986), the Rev. David
Dobler (1993) and Joan Salmon Campbell (1989), who has left the
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
The signers include moderators of Assemblies of both predecessor
denominations, including Silas Kessler, moderator of the United
Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. (UPCUSA) in 1963, and Jule
Spach, moderator of the Presbyterian Church in the United States
(PCUS) in 1976.
The statement was circulated by Price H. Gwynn III (1990) and
the Rev. Douglas Oldenburg (1998).
The TTF was created by the 213th General
Assembly (2001) “to
lead the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in spiritual discernment
of our Christian identity in and for the 21st century.” It
was specifically asked to address issues of Christology, Biblical
authority and interpretation, ordination standards and power.
Its final report, issued in mid-September, will be acted upon
by next summer’s Assembly in Birmingham, AL.
Response to the report has focused on the ordination of sexually
active gays and lesbians. Presbyterians on both sides of that
debate have been critical of the report.
Supporters of gay ordination are unhappy
because it recommends no immediate action on the church’s current constitutional
prohibition — section G-6.0106b of The Book of Order,
which limits ordination to those who practice “fidelity
within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman or
chastity in singleness.”
Several overtures have been submitted to the Birmingham Assembly
that would delete G-6.0106b.
Those who oppose gay ordination have
condemned the report’s
proposed “authoritative interpretation” of the constitution,
which would give ordaining bodies more leeway in determining
whether a candidate for ordination who expresses a conscientious
objection (“scruple”) to any provision of the constitution,
including G-6.0106b, is questioning a provision that is “essential” to
fitness for ordained office.
The text of the moderators’ statement:
Each of us was extremely
honored and privileged to be elected moderator of the General
Assembly. During our tenure as moderator, we saw many signs
of the “best of Presbyterianism,” but
we also saw destructive conflict that was harmful to the mission
of the church. We have prayed daily that God’s Spirit would
lead our church to a new unity and commitment to Jesus Christ.
We believe God is now answering that prayer.
We believe the Task Force on the Peace, Unity, and Purity of
the Church reflects the “best of Presbyterianism.” The
way this very diverse group of twenty people with convictions
across the theological spectrum came together with mutual respect
and unanimously produced this report is surely the work of the
Holy Spirit. They have modeled for us the gift of unity that
is given to us in Jesus Christ.
We believe their report also reflects the “best of Presbyterianism.” They
strongly urge us to “stay together in one body.” They
call us to follow their example and engage in “discernment
groups” with diverse views that meet for worship, study,
community building and theological reflection. They encourage
us to study together the theological basis of their report in
the prologue. And they invite us to reclaim the long established
principles of Presbyterian polity: having denominational standards
for ordination, yet allowing ordaining and installing governing
bodies to apply them after rigorous examination of candidates, “deciding
whether a candidate has departed from essentials of the Reformed
faith and practice.”
We urge prayerful study and discussion of their report and
its recommendations. With the task force, we believe it “offers
the church ways to live together that may demonstrate to a violently
divided world the peace, unity, and purity given through Jesus
Christ.”
The signers are the Rev. Silas Kessler (1963, UPCUSA); the Rev.
Robert C. Lamar (1974, UPCUSA); Thelma C. D. Adair (1976, UPCUSA);
Jule C. Spach (1976, PCUS); the Rev. William P. Lytle (1978,
UPCUSA); Sara Bernice Moseley (1978, PCUS); the Rev. Albert C.
Winn (1979, PCUS); the Rev. Howard Rice (1979, UPCUSA); the Rev.
John F. Anderson (1982-83, PCUS); the Rev. Harriet Nelson (1984);
the Rev. Benjamin Weir (1986); Isabel Wood Rogers (1987); Price
H. Gwynn, III (1990); the Rev. Herbert D. Valentine (1991); the
Rev. John M. Fife (1992); the Rev. Robert W. Bohl (1994); Marj
Carpenter (1995); the Rev. John M. Buchanan (1996); Patricia
Brown (1997); the Rev. Douglas W. Oldenburg (1998); Freda A.
Gardner (1999); the Rev. Syngman Rhee (2000); the Rev. Jack Rogers
(2001); the Rev. Fahed Abu-Akel (2002); the Rev. Susan R. Andrews
(2003); and Rick Ufford-Chase (2004).
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