Linda Valentine

Moderators' Conference

Over 100 middle governing body moderators came to town for three days of meetings in the week before Thanksgiving.  Many of the sessions focused on ways of discernment and decision making under intriguing titles like, Ms. Discernment Meets Mr. Roberts - The Community Gathers in Christ, The Community Listens to the Spirit, Weighing Options, The Community Goes Forth as God's People, and Discerning Praise Meets Regulated Worship.

I had the chance to meet with the gathering and share some of the things we are doing in the General Assembly Council.  Joan Gray made one of those introductions that makes me blush, which for that reason I won't repeat.  One thing that she said which I will repeat was how we realize that an organization that doesn't connect with its constituency isn't a sustainable one.  Or, I would add, isn't one that is fulfilling its purpose.  That, indeed, is one of our important objectives in the General Assembly Council, as we strive to be collaborative and responsive, to tell the stories of the church's mission and to connect all parts of the church with mission endeavors close at home and around the world.  I shared the DVD that we have produced, in which we describe the ministries of the PC(USA) that we do with and through the General Assembly Council.  We distributed copies of the DVD, which is available to anyone who asks for it.  It's one way we are telling some of the stories of the church.

In one exchange of comments, one person questioned whether by emphasizing international mission we are detracting from the needs of our communities.  Two others responded, one by describing how in his presbytery, sessions of several churches meet together to share concerns, ideas, and mission efforts.  Another spoke of the new church in Paso Robles, California, started by two brothers, Graham and Jamie Baird, in 2006.  The Highlands Church meets in a movie theater, where worship is energizing and exciting.  Church attendance has soared from 180 at one service of worship this last January to a current average attendance of 550 at three services.  Last Easter, they dared to put hundreds of chairs on a hillside as they invited the community to worship.  All the chairs were filled as people gathered for worship to the sound of bagpipes.  The sense of this conversation at the moderator's conference is that this is a "both/and" - we proclaim the gospel in word and deed in our communities, other parts of this country, and around the world, serving neighbors at our doorstep and neighbors on the other side of the earth.  We are called to build up the whole body of the church, and this call takes us many places.  What a joy it is to lift up and celebrate the many faithful responses by Presbyterians to God's grace.

Austin Seminary

One of the great parts of my job it is to get to visit our PC(USA) seminaries.  Earlier this month, we were at Austin Seminary in Austin, Texas - "we" being Cliff Kirkpatrick; Lee Hinson-Hasty, Rose Niles and Joe Small of our Office of Theology, Worship and Education; Carol Adcock of GAC and her wonderful husband, Bob; John Purcell of the Office of the General Assembly; and Nicholas Yoda and Joseph Doh of the Committee on Theological Education.  Over a day and a half, we met with Austin's president, Ted Wardlaw, members of the seminary faculty and administration, students and the Board of Trustees.

Austin emphasizes its residential community character and Ted describes the seminary as being committed to "developing a strong and serious theological foundation for the practice of ministry."  We joined in the groundbreaking celebration for Anderson House, a new residence hall, and the completion of the capital campaign that made this building possible, and at night in a dinner with the trustees that also celebrated a generous new gift to endow a chair.

Our conversations were rich and stimulating, many of them centered on the subject of imparting the Reformed tradition.  Some comments from our conversation:  "In our tradition, it's impossible to separate worship from learning."  "Reclaim the language of teaching elder and ruling (as in measuring) elder (which the Form of Government proposal will do)."  "Our research showed that lay people most of all want pastors who are humble, who listen and take them seriously, and that pastors who report being most satisfied are engaged in study formation groups and are excited about life-long learning."  "Tradition is sustained conversation over time."  "Engage traditional writings as conversation partners, which includes recognizing their blind spots and wrestling with ideas."  "As a pastor, I found that community is strengthened when there is energy about teaching."

We spoke about shared concerns of support of pastors in critical first years of ministry, developing habits that will set the ground for a lifetime of discipleship and ministry, opening the church to new expressions and forms of worship and ministry and exciting new ideas and approaches that are emerging in some students that, while very Reformed, both challenge existing structures and processes and show hope that God is moving among us in new ways.

This is one of a series of conversations that we have had with our Presbyterian seminaries which are such a valuable and important part of the ecosystem (to borrow Marcia Myers' expression) of the church.  Oh, how very stimulating these have been.

Mission Development Resources Committee

When the Mission Development Resources Committee (MDRC) met in Louisville in early November, I had the chance to meet this dedicated group.  This committee of 12, elected by the General Assembly through the General Assembly Nominating Committee, reviews applications from presbyteries for new church development and church transformation funds and decides which ones to fund.  Earlier this year, MDRC awarded more than $1.1 million for 16 new multi-year grants for church-related projects.  These are great stories!  Included in the awards last spring were grants for the Iglesia Presbiteriana de Valverde New Church Development in Denver, Colorado, a new congregation in the southwest corner of the city that will share worship space with Valverde Community Church, a declining congregation that's more than 100 years old.  In Paramus, New Jersey, the Trinity Multicultural Congregational Transformation project is adding a Chinese-speaking ministry to provide Reformed spiritual nourishment to this growing, yet underserved, Chinese population.  Trinity United Presbyterian Church in Santa Ana, California, is establishing the Samaritan Care Center to provide its members and the community with resources, educational programs, and counseling to meet their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs.  Tim McCallister, associate in the Office of Mission Program Grants, has said, "Making these grants is proof that the church is still alive.  That the GAC and presbyteries are willing to start churches in new places, and reach out to people who don't have a church home, or may not have gone to church for a long, long time -- or even never." 

It is simply thrilling to know that in the last ten years, more than $33 million has gone to new church developments, church transformation and community organizing programs that are improving neighborhoods.  MDRC will announce its next round of awards in early December.