Bob's Blog

I believe in America!

I believe in the Spirit of America, a Spirit that has made us as great as we are, and as great as we will continue to be . . . a Spirit of grace, generosity, civility, and love.

I believe that we have proven again and again we have the capacity to move beyond fleeting movements of hatred, rooted in little more than a fear of what the future might hold, and to replace those movements with unified fronts for goodness and hope.

I believe that disingenuous and dangerous attitudes don’t prevail for long, but that eventually light exposes their darkness, and that joy – accompanied by peace and justice – will always come in the morning.

I believe that we are a nation that has learned from our past, and that we continue to learn to ways to recognize, name, and eradicate color, gender, and religious bias from our life together.

I believe that the sins of yesterday will never be given the chance to resurrect themselves, and drag us back to days where differences were hidden rather than celebrated, and where unity meant some kind of artificial and disingenuous uniformity.

I believe that in the end, people do the right thing; that we know the sacred and holy difference between a life of sacrificial-service and a life of self-service; and that we are able to discern when liberty and justice for all is being sacrificed under the guise of ‘law and order.’

I believe that love never fails to trump hate, and that resurrection cannot be entombed by evil; that new life is not about forgetting what was, but rather anticipating what might be; and that learning from  yesterday can enhance and enrich all that tomorrow may hold.

I believe in America . . . through all the seasons of our common life . . . during times of great national triumph, as well as times of embarrassing national tragedy; when inspiring national leaders call upon us to have the audacity to hope, as well as when egos insert themselves into the spot light in order to do little more than acquire power and prestige.

I believe that in America, kindness and compassion infuse the very soul of our democracy; and that the common good, and common decency, are the common goals, of the common people.

I believe in an America . . . that I can believe in!

And I believe that on Tuesday, this is the America that all the world will see.

Yes, I’m a Democrat! Most people who know me, know that; usually intuitively. In the Federalist fashion of Adams and Madison, I embrace the idea of a strong, centralized government; and believe that in an ever-changing world the Constitution must be read and understood as a living document, with implied powers needing to be interpreted and re-interpreted in every day and age. I regard America as one of the first nations on the face of the earth to have made explicit in its founding documents a commitment to the common good; and my liberal mind is quick and eager to consider new ways of thinking, believing, and behaving, particularly when they seek to further ‘liberty and justice for ALL.’

On the other side of the aisle are my Republican brothers and sisters for whom I have a great deal of respect! They are more inclined to favor a government that is strongest at the local level, and believe that the freedoms articulated in our Constitution are, in the final analysis, the catalysts for personal responsibility and accountability. They prefer a government that takes a more ‘laissez-faire” approach to our national economy, peoples’ individual lives, and the affairs of those in other parts of the world; and they place a high value on conserving and maintaining the greatest strengths of our country’s past.

Now admittedly, such descriptions paint the blue and red segments of the American populace identifying with our two major political parties with a very broad brush; but they serve as the foundation for the ‘stuff’ of which presidential elections are made! And throughout my lifetime candidates have sought to flesh out their political ideologies in their party platforms. Healthy, vigorous, informed debate has ensued, and eventually Americans were left to cast their votes for the candidate who best represented the future most deserved by one the world’s greatest Democracies.

Sadly, this year, no such debates are being had. No such policies are being considered and no such ideas are being exchanged. And the reason is simple – Donald Trump!

Today, as much as ever, intelligent and articulate leaders are needed to offer ‘we the people’ sound, practical, and wise council on how to best navigate the sea of change taking place around the world – change involving religious and political extremism that threatens the very fabric of the freedom and liberty for which Americans have given their lives for more than 250 years; change involving globalization and interdependence that cannot, should not, and need not be regarded as an evil to be feared, but rather a blessing to be embraced; and change that fosters a better stewardship of the planet that has been entrusted to our care, as well as of the resources that are found therein!

But unfortunately this election is not about any of these things, because Donald Trump has managed to distract so many people from anything and everything that is truly important. His loud, brash, and childish ways have attracted the affection of the most naïve and vulnerable among us; and as a result we are talking about building walls and carpet bombing neighborhoods. His manipulative and self-aggrandizing attitudes have garnished the attention of those who continue to resist and resent a world that is ‘bending at the elbow of justice’; and where America’s future is no longer only being determined by white, Christian, heterosexual men. As a result, our nation is debating actions that American courts have already deemed to be unconstitutional – like ‘search and frisk’; and that world courts have already deemed to be unacceptable – like torture!

The “Grand ‘ol Party’s’ opportunist nominee for President has already so denigrated the office of the President of the United States, that for a time, conversations about his qualifications were reduced to the size of his genitals! He has not been held accountable for his juvenile name-calling, nor for his infantile emotional outbursts. His blatant lies have been repeated so often that people have written them off as some new form of political and/or social expression; and his grandiose promises, all of which lack substance and realism, have blinded people to both the promises in, as well as the limits of, the Constitution. Worst of all, under the guise of ‘wanting to be fair and unbiased,’ the national media, and even average people like you and me, have failed to name his nonsense for what it truly is – nonsense!

But no more.  At least not for me!

As a pastor, I have spent 31 years trying to avoid being partisan during national elections. We live in a country where our most knowledgeable citizens value and honor the separation of Church and state, and I respect this interpretation of what I believe to be a constitutional mandate. But there are very few things about this election that can be considered partisan; for in the final analysis, this election really has nothing to do with political parties or ideologies. This election is all about a personality – that of an arrogant bully, who will do and say anything to add POTUS to a resume that lacks any substance worthy of such a title.

After carefully watching all that has gone on over the past 15-plus months, it has become clear that this election is not about Republican or Democratic party platforms. It’s not an election about big government or small government, “guns or butter”, rights or responsibilities, or any of the other important issues that have been debated and discussed in America for the past 250 years. Such conversations have kept our nation balanced and even-keeled, and on track to continue moving forward toward a future that is bright with social optimism, intellectual strength, and moral integrity. But this year, such conversations have not been had. Instead, Donald Trump has given voice to an angry, fearful, racist, sexist, homophobic and xenophobic segment of our society – a dark corner of the America psyche that truly CAN be described as nothing less than . . . deplorable. And the political conversations that have ensued should embarrass us all!

There are many reasons I will be voting for Hillary Clinton this year; but most of those reasons are private. I respect the beliefs of many who think it inappropriate for someone in my position to be proclaiming personal political opinions in such a public way. But once more I say, this election is not about politics! It ceased being about politics on June 16, 2015, when Donald Trump entered the race! So what I CAN do, is denounce a candidate who does not represent the values of either major political party in this country. What I am compelled to do, is call him out for simply being unqualified and unworthy to lead our democracy; for being tempermentally ill-suited to serve as a leader of the free-world; and for being far too uninformed to be regarded as anything even close to presidential!

This is not a partisan blog; for Donald Trump represents no political party – not really! This is not the blog of a devout Democrat who disagrees with the candidate of an opposing political party. This is not even the blog of Christian pastor who thinks it is his job to tell other Christians how to vote. This is the blog of a simple American, who loves his country, and who is concerned about the values that we stand for around the world.

On Tuesday, November 8, I hope you will join me in proving all the polls wrong, and vote in a landslide to keep Donald Trump from ever making his home anywhere on Pennsylvania Avenue but in that old post office that now bears his name! I know I cannot change the minds of those who have already sold out to The Donald; but to those who have not yet made a decision, or worse yet who have made a decision to stay home on election day, I hope you will reconsider the stakes. Whether you like Hillary or not; whether you embrace everything that she and the Democratic party stand for or not – Donald Trump is not worthy of the White House, and this year, Hillary is the only other viable choice.

So on November 8, vote to KEEP American great, by having the courage to say . . . ‘I’m with her!’

 

Americans love Happy Hour! I know I do! I’m not normally a big drinker, but who can argue with $3.00 drafts, $5.00 glasses of wine, and cheap specialty cocktails – not to mention half-priced sliders, calamari, and nachos? They are enticing; and I’m sucker for a deal!

Like restaurants and bars, religious groups and political parties also work hard to “bring people in!” Theologies are fabricated with eschatologies that can save people from a ‘hell’ish eternity, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth; promising instead an afterlife in the heavens, complete with the joyful music of fat little babies plucking on harps, and/or the affection of 72 virgins.

Similarly, party platforms and candidates proclaim whatever needs to be communicated in order to grow their audience. They promise everything from the appointment of Supreme Court Justices who will never allow women to lose the right to make their own reproductive choices, and the establishment and enforcement of laws that will protect us from companies destroying our environment; to building walls that will safeguard Americans from rapists and murderers, and ridding our culture from attempts to abolish the second amendment.

And people are enticed into these camps, all of which promise a safety and security designed to shield us from all who are trying to take away our rights and freedoms, as well as from those who are trying to physically hurt or harm us. Portions of our religious community, as well as certain segments of the political establishment, stoke the fires of fear, encouraging us to suspiciously question the agendas and motives of those who do not think like us, look like us, believe like us, or behave like us. And sadly, the solutions they offer are nothing less than evil.

They’re evil because they are birthed in fear; and operating out of place of fear is rarely a good thing! Karen Armstrong, in her book “12 Steps to the Compassionate Life” says that “fear (makes) us flee or fight anything that threatens us. (It) makes us hate those we regard as dangerous. (And) it makes us wary and suspicious.” When fear is the foundation from which we attempt to make important decisions, Armstrong says that it will often prevent us from reaching out to others, and cause us to shrink back into ourselves, all in an attempt to ward off the impending menace that we perceive to be intimidating us.

Fear is something that blinds even the best of us, leading us to operate in ways that are often irrational, unreasonable, and sometimes, downright foolish. We make decisions that are not grounded in reality, and thus fail to take into account the kindness, compassion, gentleness, and generosity of others. Fear normalizes suspicion and mistrust, thereby causing us to question the motives of people and political parties, churches and governments, and most organizations and institutions – all of which are regarded as . . . “out to get us!”

And if this kind of fear isn’t dangerous enough, today, it is being mixed up with a shot of religious fundamentalism, and a splash of political extremism, thereby creating a very dangerous and toxic cocktail – one that has the capacity to destroy the very religions people believe they are saving, and the very governments they believe they are protecting.

This is what we are currently seeing in America!  Fearful religious fundamentalists have made disagreeing with their theology a heretical affront to God, deserving nothing less than excommunication or at times even death; and fearful political extremists have crafted an ideology that, if rejected, is deemed to be unpatriotic and even anti-American. Everything is regarded as a conspiracy; and the misinformation and suspicious nature of these fear-mongers threatens the very fabric of the America that many of us love.

These religious and political zealots believe that their theology is the only acceptable way to talk about faith and God; and that their religion is the only acceptable foundation upon which this nation can and should be built. And rather than regarding their loss of majority status as a movement of God’s sovereign Spirit, it is regarded as something to be feared, and thus resisted. Further, the political dogma of these faithful patriots is nothing less than extreme – where the government is regarded as the enemy, and governmental institutions are perceived as only interested exercising power and taking away individual rights and freedoms.

Sadly, the drunken stupor of this segment of the American populace is actually more of a danger to our nation than those this segment of the population fears; for this stupor, more than anything, is what threatens the soul of America. This group’s understanding of justice and law too often minimizes the role of ethics in decision making, as well as the very morality that they claim to hold dear. Their perception of unity is in reality a bland and controlling state of uniformity; primarily because embracing the diversity that has allowed America to be regarded as the melting pot of the world simply requires too much work and demands way too much compromise. And their supposed commitment to freedom continually blinds them to the inequality that has for too long been the fruit of America’s pursuit of ‘liberty and justice for all.’

Fear is bad enough; but when mixed with religion and politics, it becomes downright evil. And the results won’t make America greater, or safer. They won’t make us more Christian, more Godly. Rather, they will cause us to become more and more suspect of one another; they will continue to divide our nation into privileged and oppressed groups of people, that are alienated from and angry toward one another; they will sap the beauty and joy living together in a beloved community; and most tragically, they will only multiply and increase the fear that in the end, will become the root of all our evil!

The hour has come for us to stand up and caution people against being suckered into chugging down the poisoned cocktails being offered up today, by both the religious fundamentalist and the political extremist. So stick with a Mojito, and the calamari!  All the other stuff, is nothing short of evil!

I remember first being concerned last September when a Presidential candidate, speaking to the “Values Voter Summit” in Washington, DC, boldly, and with way too much pride and arrogance declared, “We will never have smart people on our side!”

I was stunned when I heard it.  “Is that a badge of honor?” I wondered.  If anything, I would think it would be rather disconcerting, especially for someone interested in being the President of the United States of America.   Don’t we WANT smart people to be on our side . . . with us, behind us, supporting us?

Since that time, again and again, many in the media and entertainment industry, politicians and their handlers, and even leaders of the church and other religious institutions, have continued talking about knowledge and education as if they were four letters words – as if being ‘smart’ was something to be shunned, or worse yet, feared.  The ‘educated elite’ as they (we?) are called, are viewed with suspicion, and with an agenda that for some odd reason is not in the best interest of the average American.

Scientific theories, whether on global warming or evolution, are called into question, as if those who have given their lives to study of things we will never fully understand are out to get us, or lead us astray.  Instead, people are quick to embrace those with the loudest voices, those who say what we want to hear, and those who are quick to offer simple answers to life’s most complex questions.

In many circles today, people are no longer looking for wise and informed women and men to lead our country.   People don’t appear to want knowledgeable and astute visionaries setting the course of American’s future, or negotiating with other nations of world in determining the course of our history!   Instead, people are crying out for something else.  You’ve heard it, I’m sure.

“We want people like us running our government!”

“I want someone like me making decisions about my future!”

But sadly, too often, ‘like us’ and ‘like me’ mean little more than uniformed and unaware; and these people, the ‘outsiders’ as they are often called, are frightening!  They have the arrogant audacity to believe that as outsiders, they are the only ones who can solve the problems facing our world; for they are not part of the current ‘system,’ and thus their perspective is the only one we dare trust!

Unfortunately, their ‘perspective’ has been birthed in nothing more than ignorance . . . pure and simple!  And people love it!  They quote Ronald Reagan, repeating his criticism of that ‘intellectual elite in a far distant capital,’ as if the uttering of this ridiculous mantra will somehow justify a person’s admiration of the uninformed or veneration of the ignorant.

Nineteenth century British philosopher Bertrand Russell one said “most people would sooner die than think; in fact, they do so.”  He believed that one of the problems with the world is that “fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves” and that people, are too quick to follow them.

Knowledge is essential for healthy living.  The future of any democracy is dependent upon an educated populace; and wisdom is our world’s only hope.  So let’s stop dumbing down our society by exalting the ignorant.  Let’s stop lifting up those who don’t know how much they don’t know, and instead pay attention to those who have given their lives to the discipline of growing, by learning.  Let’s stop honoring those who regard their being ill-informed as a badge of honor, and push one another toward the transformation that comes with the renewing of our minds.

Knowledge is NOT a four letter word.  So let’s stop living, and voting, as though it is!

This morning, I’m not interested in peoples’ politics. I’m not interested in what religion people practice, if they’re from the north or from the south, or whether they consider themselves liberals or conservatives. I’m not interested in whether or not people think the “Black Lives Matter” campaign minimizes the lives of white people, or cops; or if people think that the liberal media’s reporting of the number of Black men being killed by police officers is blowing things out of proportion. I’m certainly not interested in whether or not people believe that it’s political correctness to think that “today, everything seems to be about race!” I don’t care about any of it – your religious affiliation, your political party, your personal opinion about the work of CNN or Fox, or your take on what is or is not ‘politically correct!’ Something is terribly wrong in this country and all of us, regardless of the ideology to which subscribe, need to wake up, open our eyes, and deal with it! Racism abounds in America, and it simply must be addressed – openly, and honestly.

In the 1960s, Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Right Movement shed much needed light on the consequences of 400 years of oppression and injustice in America. And while great strides were made, evil was more driven underground and inward, than eradicated from American society or from the hearts of the American people. That is one of the reasons why it is rearing its ugly head again today, and with great vengeance! Because that is what happens when we suppress deep seeded thoughts, emotions, and feelings, brushing them under the carpet, and pretending that there’s no problem.

The current trend toward an acceptance of racist thinking and ideology – whether the result of the election of our nation’s first Black president, or the realization that within 20 years Caucasians will no longer be the majority in our country – must be named and rejected, by everyone!

Eric Garner, Eric Harris, Freddie Gray . . . and now, in less than 24 hours we have added two more names to the list, Alton Sterling and Philando Castille . . . these are just a few of the Black men killed by police officers in the last three years. And they are just the ones we’ve heard of! In 2015, more than 100 unarmed Blacks were killed by police, five times the rate of unarmed Whites! And that is just wrong!

Regardless of whether or not these people were in ‘white’ neighborhoods looking suspicious in their ‘hoodies’; whether or not they ran away when they saw cops coming; and whether or not they may have even had a weapon on their person (which remember, IS legal in this country!) – such behavior simply does NOT warrant being shot and killed! We can argue all day about the circumstances surrounding these murders, and we might even agree on the inappropriateness of some of the victims’ actions.  We can debate the behavior of the police officers involved, and perhaps even agree on the pressure they are forced to deal with each and every day. But there is absolutely no way to justify the killings. Nothing any of these men and boys did, warranted their death at the hands of the people who were supposed to protect them.

Today, many, perhaps most, will go about their business as if nothing out of the ordinary has happened. And therein lies the problem. Nothing out of the ordinary HAS happened. Another Black life has been lost, needlessly. But the fact that has become so ordinary must concern us! It should concern ALL of us. And while I don’t know when or how the system is going to change, I DO know that it has to begin with us. It has to begin with me.

So, today, I am going to recognize and acknowledge my tendency to ‘profile’ those who don’t look like me. I’m going to catch myself doing it, and I’m going to admit it, at least to myself. Then, once I do, I’m going to consciously change my attitude, smile, and speak kindness.

Today, I’m going to try and engage those who don’t look like me in conversation; and I’m going to shut up and listen to what they have to say! I’m going to stop talking long enough to hear THEIR thoughts, THEIR pain, THEIR frustrations, THEIR fear. And I’m not going to judge their words – I’m just going to let them soak in, and marinate my soul.

And today, I’m not going to be afraid to challenge those who express thoughts or ideas that are rooted in privilege, that perpetuate stereotypes, or that deny the seriousness of the problems facing our nation.

So this blog comes as an apology – in advance! If I ‘overreact’ to your Facebook post; if I offend you in person because I challenge something that you say; or if openly disagree with you on a position you take; forgive me! Forgive me taking a stand for what is right. Forgive me for being sick and tired of white America’s ignorance. Forgive me for no longer being willing to accept the status quo, and for believing that America is better than this. Forgive me for not remaining silent while too many of our brothers are being killed needlessly!

Call what’s going on in America today whatever you want. But in the end, it’s all racism. And it’s time for all of us, to acknowledge that, and to do something . . . anything . . . about it!

For the past week, my windows into GA have focused on all kinds of blessings – grace, love, polity, science, community, and connectionalism. Today, as I try to pull together my last 36 hours in Portland, I think the word to summarize my Friday and Saturday is gratitude! Like so many of the assemblies I’ve attended, I’m returning home to the everyday tasks ministry with a heart that is full, and a mind that continues to expand – grateful for the church that I’m proud and privileged to call my ‘home’!

On Friday morning, J. Herbert Nelson was elected Stated Clerk. Grayde Parsons had been faithfully and effectively serving in that position for the past 8 years and is now retired; and while sad to say good bye, the church remains extremely hopeful about the next chapter in our life together.

We then had what have almost become routine discussions on divestment, both from companies producing weapons used in the Middle East, as well as from the Fossil Fuel industry. Moderate stances were taken in both instances.

We made apologies to those we’ve hurt, offered thanks to mission workers around the world, took bold stances on issues related to justice and peace, and sought to continually side with those on the margins of society. In so many ways, the assembly lived up to its theme, providing at least this commissioner with great . . . hope in my calling! As always, what we have given to the church in our service can’t begin to compare to all that we have received from one another, and from God. Such gatherings push, challenge, inspire, and grow me, and for that, I am grateful to Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church for the gift of time to be here, and to National Capital Presbytery for the privilege of serving as a commissioner.

Of all that I am grateful for, at the top of the list is the growth I continue to experience in settings such as this. And for the past week, this growth has involved a deepening understanding of what it means for me to be as privileged as I know I am! But more than just knowing I am privileged . . . as a white, heterosexual, Christian man . . . I’m learning that my walk with Christ involves allowing that knowledge to truly shape and inform the person that I am becoming. And slowly, very slowly, I see this beginning to happen.

I am learning that I need to do more listening, than speaking. Anyone who knows me knows that I have opinion on everything, and I’m rarely timid about sharing those opinions. But the world has heard a lot of white, heterosexual, Christian male voices over the years, and perhaps it’s time for us to start hearing from others. That doesn’t mean that my voice isn’t important, or that it doesn’t count, or matter; rather, it simply means that chances are pretty that what I have to say, has already been said, and heard. There are no doubt, other voices that need to be heard . . . different voices, with different perspectives, and it’s time that they were honored.

I’m also learning that when I DO speak up, I need to do so in a less authoritarian manner. I need to be a little kinder, and softer, and gentler, displaying a modicum of humility, born in the realization that I don’t know everything, and that the world will continue spinning without having heard my words of wisdom.

I’m learning too that perhaps sometimes my voice needs to be added to the voices of people long silenced. When people unlike me offer perspectives, opinions, and ideas, I need to only support them, and encourage them, but I actually need to side with them . . . perhaps, even at times when I may be inclined to disagree.

And finally, I’m learning that I need to be more intentional about engaging and interacting with people who are not like me – such a basic tool of evangelism and community-building, but one that too often still escapes me.

General Assembly 2016 in Portland has ended, and one last time I will say that we Presbyterians should be proud and grateful. God is at work in a mighty way, and if we would stop focusing on numbers, we might be able to see that! In the words of a hymn that was sung over and over again, ‘the world is about to turn’. So let’s boldly proclaim that love is love is love is love; and then let’s share that love – God, revealed in the person of Jesus Christ – to all creation!

So before I offer my take on Friday at General Assembly, and without wanting to in any way neglect the election of J. Herbert Nelson as the denomination’s new Stated Clerk, I think it’s important for us to be clear about something!

On Thursday evening, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) received a report from our Committee on Social Issues, and approved an overture regarding the church’s treatment of the LGBTQ/Q community over the past . . . I don’t even know how many years! We expressed ‘regret’ for all that we have done to make them feel as though that by simply being true to who they were created to be, they somehow fell outside of God’s grace and love. And if there were any reservations in anyone’s mind about the appropriateness of such action, the events in Orlando two weeks ago should have quickly resolved such doubts.

Now there’s no question that this was kind gesture. It was nice, the way the church likes to be ‘nice’, to  display our sensitivity to having hurt their feelings. And it was sweet of us to extend our hand to try to make up. We’ve told them for years and years that they had abandoned Scripture, and that the expression of their sexuality was deviant and an abomination to God. So it was . . . sweet . . . of us to let them know we ‘regret’ that they have been so hurt by our words and behavior . . . sweet . . . like a big, glass of thick, unhealthy, southern sweet tea!

Sweet or not, our actions fell woefully short of both the intent of the original overture from the Presbytery of New York, as well as any attempt to be faithful to call of Jesus. And we need to be clear about that!

The title of the overture was “On the Admission of, and Apology for, Harms Done to the LGBTQ/Q Members of the PC(USA), Family and Friends.” However, there was no apology in the motion, and more importantly, there was absolutely no confession of sin on our part.

Expressing ‘regret’ over having hurt someone, is not apologizing. And I know, because I’ve weaseled out of making real apologies with just such language . . . on more occasions than I’d care to admit.

“I regret that I made you feel that way.” “I regret than you are so upset my words.” “I regret that you have been so offended by my actions.”

Some may have thought I was apologizing to them with those kinds of statements, but I was not. What I was doing, was avoiding responsibility for my actions. I was refusing to admit that I had done anything wrong; and instead, simply recognizing the others persons’ pain, while at the same time putting responsibility for that pain, on them! And that is what we have done with this motion. We’ve basically blamed the LGBTQ/Q community for their own alienation, rather than taking responsibility for it ourselves. And that is not what an apology or a confession are all about.

An apology, a genuine and authentic apology, involves the one making the apology taking responsibility for the offense. It is me, admitting that I have done something wrong. It is me, saying I am sorry. It is me, asking for forgiveness.

And confession? Confession involves me actually repenting! It’s about ME, admitting that I have acted in ways that deny the Gospel, and acknowledging the error of my ways. When we offer prayers of confession to God, we don’t say “Hey God, I regret that I’ve offended you and your Spirit!” We don’t just say “We regret we’ve done things that we should not have done”; or that “we regret leaving undone the things we should have done.” Repentance is so much more than mere regret. It is important, but it is only a part of the larger acts of confession and repentance!

Further, not only does the first paragraph of the overture fail to truly apologize and confess the sin of our church; in the second paragraph, in an attempt to be ‘inclusive’ of all people and churches, the overture expresses “deep sorrow” over the number of individuals and congregations who have left our fellowship as a result of recent decisions to fully include the LGBTQ community in our church.

Deep sorrow? Really? What exactly does that mean?

Am I sorry that there are still people in the Church who are unwilling to allow people with a different sexual orientation to live their lives as they believe God desires? Well yes; I have deep sorrow over that! Am I sorry that there are people in the Church who are unwilling to accept that there is more than one way to read and interpret Scripture? Of course, I have deep sorrow over that as well? Am I sorry that there are people in the Church who would choose to separate over a matter that we in the church believe to be vital matter of justice? Most definitely – deep, deep sorrow over that!

But do I want to express deep sorrow that those people who think there is only one way to understand sexual expression, one way to read the Bible, or who want to single out one specific group of people in the church and claim that they are unworthy of the justice demanded in the Gospel. . . do I want to express deep sorrow that they have chosen to move on?

Well, I don’t know! Do I? Do you?

Fifty years from now, will the Church look back on this decision, and scratch their head, puzzled? Will they ask themselves, why did the Church never express ‘deep sorrow’ for those who left the church when we first began ordaining women, or when we first began taking a stance on integration? Will the Church of the future say to themselves, “wasn’t that overture kinda’ like Dietrich Bonhoeffer expressing ‘deep sorrow’ over those who left the church because of it’s opposition to Nazism!”

I don’t mean to be harsh here . . . honestly, I don’t! But it’s taken us 400 years to understand what we did to Native Americans, Native Alaskans, and Hawaiians, and to then offer an apology. It’s taken over 60 years to apologize for our actions in No Gun Ri, during the Korean War.  And I just don’t want to take that long this time around. When it comes to issues related to the treatment of the LGBTQ by the Church of Jesus Christ, they deserve a REAL apology; and any feelings of ‘deep sorrow’ should be directed to them, and only them!

The window into Thursday’s focus at General Assembly is all about connectionalism! As Presbyterians, we throw around that word all the time; but today it was as evident as ever, and very much at work in our plenary sessions. Moving us beyond community, a connectional church is one that acknowledges we are all in this together. None of us succeeds unless all of us succeed; and what hurts or injures you, hurts and injures me! We are not just sisters and brothers in Christ who work hard to care for one another; we are one! We are connected!

As I reflect on all that has been accomplished today, signs of our connectedness were everywhere. One of the first items of business involved acknowledging our support of the Presbyterian Mission Agency’s “We Choose Welcome.” This ministry is all about recognizing that there are 60 million displaced people in the world today, 20 million of whom are refugees, and they are the ‘strangers and aliens’ that Scripture calls us to love and care for! Rather than building walls to shut them out, or voting to separate ourselves from people who welcome them in, we in the PC(USA) desire to live in a land that welcomes and embraces these who are the margins of society. 60,000 children arrived in the United States from Central America in 2014, alone! And we are connected to them.

We also heard from a Native American representative from the Synod of Lakes and Prairies, who reminded us that we are connected to her, and her people. Her people, are our people; for we too are connected. We are one! She offered us a powerful reminder that contrary to all that we’ve been hearing the past 10 days, the worst mass-killing of Americans was NOT in Orlando, last weekend. Rather, it was in places like Wounded Knee, on December 29, 1890, where almost 200 native men, women, and children were massacred. And when we acknowledge that, and become aware of how incomplete America’s ‘doctrine of discovery’ really is, we have no choice but to heed the call to work to do a better job of seasoning the earth with justice.

Following our dinner break, we heard the report of the Committee on Social Justice, and several other important overtures were approved, all intimately related our understanding of what it means to be ‘connected.’ We approved an overture addressing the worsening plight of the African American male – targeting Baltimore, Charlotte, Cleveland, New York, and Pittsburgh! Not in any way wanting to pat ourselves on the back for the adoption of Belhar, we affirmed our desire to engage, study, and actively remain involved in the process of racial reconciliation. And repudiating the ‘Doctrine of Discovery,’ the assembly also decided to apologize not only to Native Americans, but to Alaska natives and Hawaiians as well!

Finally, the overture that kept the assembly in session to well past 11:00 pm, was the Social Justice Committee’s recommendation that we apologize to all those who have been hurt as the church has struggled through issues related to LGBTQ/Q ordination and marriage. We expressed great regret that our attitudes and behavior led a certain group of people to feel as though they stood “outside the grace of God,” and that they found “cause to doubt being loved by God.” Further, we expressed sorrow over those who felt the need to leave our fellowship; and sincere appreciation for those who have maintained faithfulness to God’s call be one, by remaining inrelationship with our church despite profound disagreement on this issue.

The Mid Councils Committee’s report to NOT make any changes to the boundaries of our Synods was approved after a great deal of discussion and debate; and The Way Forward Committee’s report rejected most of the overtures from the Foothills Presbytery. While attempting to honor their concerns and recommendations, the committee recommended and the assembly approved the creation of “Way Forward Commission” to continue to explore how our church continues to adapt to the changing nature of our community of faith in the coming years.

On Friday, we will elect our new Stated Clerk, and receive a variety of additional committee reports, including those from the Committee on Middle East Issues and the Committee on Peacemaking and International Issues – all of which, I expect, will continue to reveal our sense of connectedness, particularly with those suffering from injustice at home, and abroad.

Thus far, the ‘windows’ of GA have revealed an abundance of hope and love, and a focus on polity and science. If I had to summarize my Wednesday experiences with one word, that word would be “community”; for as we leave committees and come together as an assembly, that is what we are about. Community!

Community is at the heart of the Church; and the polity of the Presbyterian Church is rooted in the idea that when two or three are gathered together, God is present, and God’s Spirit is at work. So when an assembly such as this convenes to discuss, wrestle, explore, dream, plan, process, and yes . . . vote, we believe that God is moving in us . . . not just in me, but in US! And the implications of such a belief are profound.

What is so important about our church’s polity, and I would contend our theology as well, is that when it comes to discerning the will of God, ‘us’ is always better than ‘me.’ Each of us is indeed created in the image of God, and we all bear the holy mark of the Divine. However we are NOT, the Divine. We are broken, sinful, and all too often, a people falling short of all that we’ve been created to be.

‘Us,’ helps us see this. ‘Us’ help us accept this reality. And ‘us’ helps us to correct the brokenness that abounds in ‘me.’ We are better, together. For when we are together, we are more able to discern what God is doing in the world, as well as what God would have us do in the world. Because . . . “it is not good for us to be alone”, God has gifted us with one another – with a ‘beloved community,’ so that our faithfulness might be deepened, and our obedience might be strengthened!

All this is to say that the mere act of voting at GA deeply moves me. It’s not all that different from the voting in any of the other governing bodies of the church, except that the General Assembly is much larger, and far more diverse. Here, the only thing many of us have in common is that we love Jesus, and are passionate about the portion of his Church known as the PC(USA). But that is enough. We are still, ‘us.’ And so when we act, our actions, while they remain flawed, are better! Because we are making the decisions together, they are closer to what God desires for God’s Church, and they allow our community to function in a manner that moves us, our church, and our world, closer to the ‘kin-dom’ of God.

So . . . as a community seeking to be faithful to God this day, several actions occurred. The revised Directory for Worship was approved, as well as the other overtures recommended by the Committee on Theological Issues and Institutions referenced in yesterday’s blog. We spent time praying for the persecuted portion of the church around the world, as well as the persecuted of every faith. And then finally, in what can be described as nothing short of historic, we amended our Book of Confessions by adding the Confession of Belhar!

Dr. Allen Boesak, Moderator of the Uniting Reformed Church of South Africa in 1986 when the confession was first adopted, spoke about the journey, and gave thanks for “the things we did not know, but are now blessed to see.” Thirty years ago he never would have imagined that he would see churches literally, around the world, embrace a confession grounded in a theology that rejects racism in any form or function.

Tonight, this reality has become part of the DNA of our church. We are affirming what science began telling us years ago: that is that there is only one race in this world – the human race. And anything that seeks to divide people, that threatens our oneness or prevents us from actually living into our unity, or that in any way fosters alienation, hatred, or enmity, is not acceptable in the Body of Christ. Privilege for some means injustice for all, and the Church must fight this reality wherever it exists.

And friends, as a community, we can do this! We can do this, because of Jesus. In the words of Boesak, we SHALL overcome. Whatever we face, whatever the race, whatever befalls us, and whatever confronts us . . . we CAN overcome. We SHALL overcome.

Thanks be to God!

Tuesday’s window into the 222nd meeting of the General Assembly shifted from polity, to science: the science of creation, the science of death and dying, and the science of sexuality. The Theological Issues and Institutions Committee dealt with two of these important subjects, first, by wrestling with two overtures acknowledging that “the truths of the Bible and the discoveries of science with regard to creation, may comfortably coexist.” And considering the fact that one of the primary reasons so many people see the church as irrelevant and out of touch today is because of our anti-intellectual approach to life, both motions were enthusiastically approved.

A third overture involved approving a new pastoral guidebook titled “Abiding Presence: Living Faithfully in End-of-Life Decision.” The piece is declared to be a “theologically and ethically grounded resource for pastoral care in light new medical and legal choices involving the prolongation or cessation of life” – something essential for the church, as countless families continues to struggle with ethical decisions surrounding the end of life. Death is just as much a part of living as birth is, and too often, being an advocate for ‘death with dignity’ has been regarded as being anti-life. This document clearly proclaims that “while sharing in the historical Christian opposition to suicide, we do not find it condemned in Scripture nor see ourselves called to judge others, particularly those facing irreversible deterioration of awareness and bodily function.” Medical science is not the only determining factor in the when, where, and how death comes; and the Church must continue to address the ethics involved with both living, and dying.

Science was also on display in another committee, and the only reason I raise it here is because I was confronted with it on Monday morning as I entered the Convention Center. Flyers were being distributed touting what has become known as a ‘reparative therapy’ for gays and lesbians, and I was both saddened and angered! Men who were clearly uninformed with regard to the science of sexuality were seeking to perpetuate what can be described as nothing less than nonsense.

Fortunately, this afternoon, the GA committee on Social Justice Issues approved a motion that “expressed disapproval of sexual orientation and gender identity change efforts . . . (and that encourages) congregations to equip themselves to provide accurate information about sexual orientation and gender identity.”

Yes, the Presbyterian Tent is large. We work hard to be inclusive and are always willing to make room for those with whom we may disagree. We can, and will, debate everything from the theology of the incarnation and the meaning of resurrection, to Biblical interpretation and how to balance the unity and purity of the Church. And we will no doubt deliberate and discuss the implications of the Christian faith upon American politics, and our understanding of justice.

But the world is longing for an intellectually credible faith – one that does not deny the theory of evolution, reject climate change, or claim that the earth is no more than 6000 years old. So if you bring such ideas into the tent, know you’ll be welcomed, but you’ll also be challenged. You’ll be cared for, but you will also be held to a higher standard. You’ll be embraced, but you’ll also be encouraged to experience the transformation that comes with the renewing of your mind. For science is not the enemy of God.

Tonight, committee meetings have ended.  Tomorrow, plenary meetings begin.