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Musings of the Synod Executive
by Zane K. Buxton
Synod Executive
zbuxton@att.net |
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Synod Assembly - 2009
The first Synod Assembly to be held other than in Denver in eight years was held in Salt Lake City. Most of the meetings were held at First Presbyterian Church, which is just a few blocks east of the Temple. First Presbyterian Church, which was chartered in 1871, (due to a recommendation from Sheldon Jackson, who visited Salt Lake City in 1871), also was responsible for the beginnings of what is now Westminster College. The current building was dedicated in 1906. In 2004, the entire inside of the building was renovated. It was a great venue. Thanks are due to the Rev. Dr. Michael Imperiale, the pastor, and the staff and session of the church.
We were privileged to have the Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow, Moderator of the 218th General Assembly, with us. He is passionate about how to be the church in ministry and mission with the folks in our society who don’t have much appreciation of organized church life. He has organized a new congregation that makes use of the property of another congregation that is in its final phase of life. Of necessity, the new church has been gathering for its main worship service in late afternoon on Sunday. He said that it has turned out to be a very good time for his congregation, which is not used to Sunday morning worship anyway. There is a real sense of community in the gathering. He invited the commissioners to think about new ways of communicating. He is busy every week in Face Book, blogging, and tweeting on Twitter. Do a Google search and you will see what I mean.
Does that mean that every pastor and every church should decide to spend major time on the web? Probably not. Bruce suggests that if it isn’t your natural way to communicate, you probably will not be very effective. There is little that is less compelling than a website that is out of date. It is pretty clear that I don’t update this page as often as I might.
The Rev. Gradye Parsons, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly, turned the focus to the challenges we face about being a denomination and about the future of the governance structure of our church. He introduced some of the thinking about the “Emergent” directions of ministry. He recommended (and now I recommend) a book by Phyllis Tickle: The Great Emergence: How Christianity Is Changing and Why. If Ms. Tickle is correct in her assessment, we are in the kind of major transition that the church seems to go through (and societies too) about every 500 years. It is worth thinking about whether the things that occupy our attention have much meaning.
Joe Loftin – Head of School at Wasatch Academy for 20 Years
On Saturday evening, April 25, after the adjournment of the Synod Assembly, I had the opportunity to attend the party celebrating the 20th anniversary of Joe Loftin’s service as the Head of School at Wasatch Academy. The party was held in Salt Lake City, but – for those who do not know about the school – the academy is located in the town of Mt. Pleasant, about two hours south of SLC. The academy was founded in 1875 as an educational opportunity for children in the valley. For much of its history, Wasatch Academy has been one of the residential high schools that recognized as part of the mission of the Presbyterian Church. It is one of nine secondary schools still listed as related to our church.
Joe Loftin has been instrumental in continuing the development of the school after some dark days in the era when the church reduced funding for all the institutions and severed formal connections with their boards.
A New Toy
Last time, I was musing about mystery and shared some books that I had been reading. This time I want to reflect a bit on the mechanics of reading. One aspect of one of the “great” transitions that Phyllis Tickle identifies (The Great Reformation) was the invention of the printing press and movable type. The availability of books, particularly the Bible, to many more people led to literacy and the availability of information to ordinary people. It was a formative piece of the development of a middle class in societies.
There is always a stack of some books on the corner of my desk, some in process of being read, others waiting their turn. But now I have a new way of reading books, particularly when I am traveling. Yes, it is the Kindle Reader.
Mine is the second edition, introduced in February. There is now a bigger version, said to be better for reading periodicals, but I am happy with mine. It combines the ability to subscribe to newspapers (that name may need to be changed as “papers” disappear from cities), periodicals, and to carry multiple “books” on one thin device.
I can also carry the Bible on my Kindle and will also carry the Book of Order that way as soon as I can take the time to get it “translated” to a format that works on the Kindle.
Does it change the experience of reading? Maybe a bit. But it is not like reading a long article on a computer screen. I hold it like a book (close anyway). I turn the pages in a similar fashion. And without backlighting, the Kindle does not seem to strain the eyes. It is interesting that Amazon reports that sales have been different that was thought likely. They really expected younger readers to lead in use of the Kindle, like I-Pods and other tech tools. But apparently something like 60 percent of Kindles are being purchased by people over 40. The light weight and ease of “page-turning apparently appeals to those with arthritis problems. And one can adjust the font size to accommodate aging eyes. This is particularly helpful for those with serious vision problems.
Will there be a Kindle displayed next to a Gutenburg Bible in a museum in 500 years? Perhaps not. But it is surely good news that the written word is still treasured and enjoyed, no matter the technology that makes it possible.
Mission and Mission Funding
As the fall-out of the economic melt-down of the financial enterprises of the nation (and world) continues to be analyzed, we are not sure what its impact will be on the funding and, therefore, the doing of mission in the church.
Some things are obvious. The General Assembly Council (GAC) of the PC(USA) has had to go through another reduction in force. The GAC staff are on furlough as I write this. No work is supposed to be done (as part of the legal responsibilities to staff). The Presbyterian Foundation has offered early retirement to staff, has terminated staff, and closed offices. The seminaries are reducing staffs and trying to control expenditures. Churches are deciding not to fill pastoral positions. Various non-profit social services are seeing a severe decline in donations.
On the other hand, there are signs that church members are re-accessing what is important in their lives in light of the changing economics. There are signs that giving to churches, anyway, may not decline as much as was feared. Why? Who knows for sure. But maybe the followers of Jesus are being reminded that all the things of the world that we were promised would make us happy have not had that effect. There are signs that people are reaching new conclusions about what is really important. There are signs that the needs of others are reminding us that God’s abundance is not for hoarding, but for sharing.
Of interest in relation to this is a book (by Michael O. Emerson and Patricia Snell) titled: Passing the Plate: Why American Christians Don’t Give Away More Money. [I found this in the January 2009 edition of CONTEXT, Martin Marty’s review of writings on religion and culture). The authors list five reasons why American Christians do not give generously:
1. Many have not seriously confronted and grappled with the theological and moral teachings of their traditions on giving generously.
2. Many churches settle for low expectations.
3. Many Christians lack confidence in the trustworthiness of churches and charitable organizations.
4. There are few or no real consequences or costs for stingy giving.
5. Most American Christians tend to practice giving on an occasional and situational basis, not as a structured, disciplined practice.
Interesting thoughts, are they not?
WNLT – 2009 (October 7-9) “HUMOR, HEALING, HOPE.”
It is almost time to register for the 2009 WNLT Event. I mentioned earlier who our main presenters will be, but it is perhaps appropriate to remind you. Please note these names:
The Rev. Dr. Gary Eller, President of the Omaha Seminary Foundation, and the Rev. Dr. Cynthia Campbell, President of McCormick Seminary, will be our plenary speakers. The Rev. Dr. Jennifer Lord, a professor at Austin Seminary, will lead our Bible Study.
Regarding Atheism
A brief quote for reflection (again found in CONTEXT – in February 2009): From novelist David Foster Wallace:
In the day-to-day trenches of adult life, there is actually no such thing as atheism. There is no such thing as not worshipping. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship. And an outstanding reason for choosing some sort of God or spiritual-type thing to worship – be it J. C. or Allah, be it Yahweh or the Wiccan mother-goddess or the Four Noble Truths or some inviolable set of ethical principles – is that pretty much anything else you worship will eat you alive.
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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