General Assembly- Days 1 and 2

I finally arrived in Richmond for the 216th General Assembly of the PC(USA). It has been overcast and rainy since I left Southern California last Wednesday, but today was a sunny day. Mostly.

The big news from Saturday was the election of the new Moderator, Rick Ufford-Chase. He was the youngest candidate, and the most "progressive" theologically. During the election process, each candidate was introduced, and then spoke for five minutes. Then each candidate answered questions for some time, about an hour, I would guess. Rick's answers were energetic, and somewhat visionary, but to me, they lacked depth. He will be the first two-year Moderator in our denomination's history, so it will bear watching.

Saturday morning, I attended a presentation by the Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Church. This group was formed several years ago to study the deep rifts in the PC(USA) concerning Christology, the Bible, and Ordination Standards. This group of 20 scholars from a broad range of positions in the church. Their presentation was balanced, and hopeful. Their preliminary report is found here.

I felt the presentation was balanced, but had not had time to read their report before GA. Evidently, Robert Gagnon did read it, and his evaluation was not as positive as mine. THe Task Force urged dialogue with those we disagree, and I support that. However, at the end of the day, I do not see each side moving very far at all. But I am a poor prognosticator of the future.

I was struck by the Christ-centeredness of the ideas expressed. Frances taylor Gench gave an opening reflection on John 10, which was quitge well done, I thought. Jesus is the door, He is the way. In any conflict, drawing near to Christ may allow him to open up a way forward. More than all the political wrangling and backroom deals, anyway. I was encouraged by this, but I have a real skepticism of how this will play out, knowing our human penchant for self-righteousness, especially when religious issues are at stake.

There were over 400 people attending this very expensive ($36) pre-GA presentation. We each sat at a table. At my table were several pastors, a woman from the Office of the General Assembly (Valerie Small), and Jack Haberer, one of the Task Force members. Jack is from Clear Lake, Texas, and the pastor of the church where one of my church's interns/secretaries came from, Sharon Bell. A small world.

Small indeed, as I have seen several people I know: From the San Gabriel Presbytery, I saw Karen Kiser, Tom Rennard, Bob Wendell, Ben Furuta, and Tony De la Rosa. From the Santa Barbara Presbytery, I saw Ken Working. I also talked with the Executive pastor of the Presbytery of Western Colorado, who worships at the church I interviewed at in Montrose some 12 years ago. And I thought I would not know anybody here!

This morning (Sunday) was the opening worship service, and it was a pageant. Great music. Liturgical dance. Stirring words were read. Great hymns were sung and performed. It was uplifting. The service of communion ended with the commissioning of many mission workers and volunteers.

After the worship service, held in the Richmond Colesium, boxed lunches were served. I ate with a pastor from Cincinnati, Russell Smith. He has been a pastor for about 3 1/2 years. His church, like my own, is a historic downtown church. We had a nice talk about local church issues and preaching. We had a wonderful time discussing 1 Samuel, as Russ has been preaching through 1 Samuel. It was an uplifting and encouraging conversation.

Tomorrow is a slow day. I will attend a Presbyterians for Renewal Lunch, and that is it. I will spend some time tomorrow morning doing some reading. In the afternoon, I will drive north to Fredricksburg to tour Civil War battle sites at Chancellorsville and the Wilderness, and perhaps, Spotsylvania. I toured the sites west and south of Richmond on Friday, including Cold Harbor, Gaines Mill, and the Crater in Petersburg. All very moving stuff.

There may be a parable in these battles. In the 1862 campaigns, General Lee's plans were frustrated time and time again by both lack of communication and lack of coordination. Time and again, troops attacked without backup, or befoer other troops arrived. At other times, troops attacked the wrong positions. Still other times, troops fell back when they should have attacked, and attacked when they should have fallen back. A tragedy of sending so many young men to their deaths so needlessly.

So far, this trip and experience has been very enlightening, enjoyable, and energizing.