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Connection
PRESBYTERIAN
3
Connection
Presbyterian Connection is a quarterly newspaper published by the national office of The Presbyterian Church in Canada.
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Oops!
In the Summer 2019 edition, the Let- ter to the Editor written by Joshua Weresh (p. 13) incorrectly used the word “ironic” when it should have said “irenic.” The section should have read: “...In Jesus’ words, love your enemies and do good to those who hate you. If military chaplains truly refuse to bless or endorse war, it seems clear that such irenic ad- vice to those in charge should form a large part of their care, and, for the laity, such advice should be coupled with a refusal not only to fight but also to pay any taxes that are spent on national defence, which should be directed instead toward a conscien- tious-objectors’ fund.” Our apologies for this error.
presbyterian.ca
FALL 2019
MESSAGE FROM THE GENERAL SECRETARY
PRESBYTERIAN
Stormy and Messy Times
By the Rev. Ian Ross-McDonald, Life and Mission Agency
Commissioners at this year’s Gen- eral Assembly dedicated time to dis- cuss their feelings as they wrestled with the decision to recommend that ministers be permitted to officiate at same-sex marriages and that people in same-sex marriages be eligible to be ordained as elders and ministers. Reactions ranged from a mixture of surprise, confusion, joy, grief, anger and hope. Details for further oppor- tunities to share feelings about these recommendations can be found at presbyterian.ca/feedback.
During the discussion time, the Rev. Paulette Brown said, “Let’s talk about what the Holy Spirit was do- ing: maybe the Spirit wants us to be in this kind of mess so we can work it out.” I don’t know all she meant, but I do know that we were in a mess at Assembly and the PCC will probably be in a bit of mess for a while. And that’s okay. If we are in uncertain and difficult times, certainly the Spirit has led us into them, certainly the Spirit is abiding with us in them and cer- tainly the Spirit will work resolution among us.
Life in the Spirit is no defence against difficulty: people of faith are called to unrest and the his- tory of faith and church has always been more than a little messy. We barely get into the second chapter of
Genesis before humanity is plunged into a mess—and we have been in one ever since. And faith, far from an inoculation against mess, is more often than not a catalyst for messy circumstances. Abraham’s life was relatively quiet until the day God called him. Then Abraham had to leave his home (Genesis 12), change his name, raise an unex- pected child in his old age (Genesis 17), deal with tensions between his wife and his concubine (Genesis 16 and 21), banish one son (Genesis 21) and nearly slaughter the other at God’s direction (Genesis 22). That’s messy. The prophet Hosea’s life was unquestionably messy when he married and had children with a prostitute at God’s bidding (Hosea 1:2-4). St. Paul’s life was supremely well ordered until he was blinded by a light and called to min- istry; thereafter he was homeless, shipwrecked, imprisoned, flogged, persecuted and endlessly embroiled in conflict. The crisis of Good Friday when God in Christ died and day turned to night, the earth quaked, rocks split and the dead walked is an existential mess on a cosmic scale. Messes that, by grace, God works to redeem are part of church life and wanting a pure church, therefore, is wanting no church at all.
A friend of mine serves in a con- gregation in a region of USA often ravaged by wild storms. A hurricane
recently ripped through his city leav- ing a mess in its path. The congrega- tion rose to the challenge of helping rebuild the neighbourhood and city that had many pre-existing problems and inequities related to race and poverty. The congregation’s mantra became “let’s not waste a disaster” and they became energized for re- newed service, pursued unexplored opportunities, exercised old muscles in the service of new missions— they found a new focus. In working through the mess left by the hurri- cane, the congregation came to know the truth we all have been taught in Romans 5, that: “suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, charac- ter; and character, hope.”
The PCC has been called to minis- ter in stormy and messy times. There are endless challenges and endless opportunities for the church to find a voice and play its role. We have work to do to push open the doors of heal- ing and reconciliation with Indige- nous peoples in Canada; to advocate for persecuted peoples around the world; to push for change in a society that silently tolerated more than 600 missing and murdered Indigenous women in this country; to minister and be the church in a changing and tricky context; to help heal creation that is in crisis; and to speak amid the dangerous rise of nationalism, racism, religious persecution and extremism at home and around the
world. If the church has been given the mess then we have also been given: the Spirit to lead us; the grace to know how to be and speak and what to do when things are messy; the faith that trusts that the kingdom comes; the hope to move ahead; and the good news to share. Maybe part of the mess we think we are in re- garding sexuality is the Spirit’s way of waking us from our slumbers to pay attention to how we deal with each other and to see the reality of what else matters and what resourc- es we have been given.
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