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Musings of the Synod Executive
by Zane K. Buxton
Synod Executive
zbuxton@att.net |
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Easter
As I write it is the Tuesday after Easter Sunday. It is a beautiful day in Denver (about 70 degrees today). But a bit of snow is predicted for Friday. Perhaps that is a good reminder that Easter is not really about the coming of spring, even though that is a sub-text of the cultural development of Easter.
In that regard, I heard today about another in the long history of “Times with the Children” that have gone awry. It seems that as the children were to return to their parents, one young boy grabbed the microphone and reported all the candy the Easter Bunny delivered. So an older boy grabbed the microphone and announced to everyone that there is no Easter Bunny, parents provide the candy.
What’s a pastor to do? It seems that in this case the pastor felt compelled (before starting his sermon) to announce that there is both the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus exist. He suggested he would pray for all parents concerning the lunch conversations that would follow worship. Did he help?
To some degree, the older boy reflects the questions we have about the Resurrection of the Lord. The report of the women (perhaps the first apostles – using the criteria of Acts) was not initially believed. Nor was that of the two men – at least not by all their friends. And, if we are honest, we don’t know entirely what to make of the story. Jesus himself could only give hints about what it all means. But I derive hope from what I consider to be among the best of commentary on the Resurrection, captured in “A Brief Statement of Faith:” “With believers in every time and place, we rejoice that nothing in life or in death can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Our Lord calls us to live together as the foretaste of the fulfillment of God’s intent to reconcile all things to God’s self.
Changes Continue within the Synod
I reported last fall that Jim Cory has come to be the General Presbyter in Western Colorado.
No sooner had he joined us than Marvin Groote left the Presbytery of Utah, where he served over 11 years, to become the Interim Executive Presbyter in the Presbytery of Grace (the Dallas area of Texas). We wish him and Adele well. So far, the work seems to be very rewarding. In Utah, the Rev. Laura Stellmon, who had been an associate pastor at First Church, Ogden, has become the Transitional Presbyter for that presbytery.
The vision team in the Presbytery of Glacier has presented and the presbytery approved their report. Two major changes result: First, both Elder Don Patterson and the Rev. Scott Anthony will be wrapping up their service as Co-General Presbyters, with the presbytery beginning a search for an interim. Second, a new Stated Clerk has been elected by the presbytery. She is Gail Collins, an Elder from the Kalispell congregation. Don Patterson has served as Stated Clerk of the presbytery for 21 years.
WNLT
Preliminary publicity about the 2008 WNLT has already been made available to presbyteries and their congregations. The registration information will be available in mid-May, both online and in paper form.
I am excited about having Hunter Farrell, Director of World Missions, as our plenary speaker. His presentations will reflect our WNLT theme: “Faithful Mission in a Fearful World.” That will be the title of his first presentation. His second title is “Rachel’s Children: Transforming Mission in a World of Injustice.” His third is “Presbyterian Mission Comes of Age.” I can hardly wait.
The other big news about WNLT, of course, is that we will be holding the event at the Presbyterian Church of Jackson Hole. We have enjoyed for several years the delightful setting at the Episcopal Church in the downtown. However, space we could use there grew increasingly limited. AND… The Presbyterian Church has completed a major second phase and renewal of the original space. So we will have a lot more room for our event. We will be providing some shuttle service to get back and forth.
I hope to see you in Jackson October 8-10.
The Form of Government (FoG) Project
The Form of Government Task Force has published its final report (both online at pcusa.org and in a paperback book. I had earlier commented on the effort to make our polity a bit more flexible and more missional.
My earlier reactions had been two-fold. The first was that, in the end, the project did not go far enough. In fact, months back I offered a proposal to the task force for a more thorough-going revision of the BO. But the mandate to the task force was limited.
The second reaction was that the church was not ready for significant changes to the rules by which we live and serve together. That assessment has been affirmed by the overtures going to the General Assembly in June, including one from the Presbytery of Plains & Peaks, calling for the report to the referred to the 219th General Assembly (2010) – with time for more intentional study of the proposed language.
I can add a third reaction. The proposed two-part document does provide for a more mission-focused polity. It is probably a good idea to make the foundational chapters (now largely found in Chapters 1-4 of the Form of Government) more prominent. The remaining chapters of polity continue to reflect our understanding of Reformed church order, and advisory manuals could be largely uniform.
Conversation
I am always interested in your ideas about the health of the church and its responsibilities in mission, particularly your ideas about our shared regional ministry. Send me email (zbuxton@att.net), call me, or visit with me when I’m at your presbytery meeting or at your church.
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