Page 14 - Presbyterian Connection, Spring 2020
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PRESBYTERIAN
SPRING 2020
presbyterian.ca
Connection
COMMITTEES
Pray. Listen. Respond.
 The Benevolence Committee
By the Rev. Dr. Bob Faris and Sue Senior, Co-Conveners, Rainbow Com- munion Listening Committee
Imagine hearing the story of some- one who loves Jesus and the church and has known since being a teen that they were attracted to people of the same sex. They also felt a call to ministry in the Presbyterian Church. For decades, they had to bury their feelings and hide who they were and give up any hope of ever being in a loving committed relationship. The pain at times was unbearable. It seemed that there was no one they could talk to who would not shame them or potentially expose their se- cret. As the years and decades went by, the harm increased as they avoid- ed any situation or conversation that would require them to be their au- thentic self.
Rainbow Communion, the Spe- cial Listening Committee re. LGBTQI, has listened to more than 130 people share stories such as this. They are accounts of what it has been like to be a member of a gender or sexual mi- nority and grow up in our church. Are we, the church, willing to hear those stories and respond with grace?
Now the committee is preparing its final report with recommenda- tions for the 2020 General Assem- bly. These recommendations will be presented in response to the diverse stories we have heard across Can- ada, from Newfoundland to British Columbia.
We are very grateful to all those who have responded to our invita- tion and have met with us, or have submitted a written story. This has taken courage and grace. We—and the church—are grateful to your will- ingness to participate.
The mandate of Rainbow Com- munion has been to hear stories of harm done by homophobia, transphobia, heterosexism and hy- pocrisy in the church, as well as stories of grace received even in the midst of the challenges people have faced. What we have heard has been painful and disturbing, interspersed
  The Benevolence Committee admin- isters and disburses many of the be- nevolent and bursary funds entrusted to the denomination. Pastoral care and tangible support for servants of the church who are in need for various reasons are addressed by this com- mittee comprised of five members of the church at large, the Convener of the Life and Mission Agency and two members of national office staff.
Among the funds stewarded by the committee is a gift given by Senator Norman Paterson called the Fund for Ministerial Assistance, which was established in 1951 when he and his wife gave one million dollars to the church from which gifts to min-
isters and their families that receive the minimum stipend and meet other criteria could be given.
The terms of Mr. Paterson’s will stipulated that the minister of St An- drew’s Presbyterian Church in Ot- tawa must be a member of the com- mittee and making decisions about the use of the funds, a condition that continues today. Because this committee also reviews and awards grants from the Cameron Doctoral Bursary Fund, some of the members of the committee have advanced academic theological degrees (such as a Ph.D. or Th.D.). Each year, the Benevolence Committee reports its work to the General Assembly.
by moments of joy and healing. We are working to faithfully convey those stories to the whole church with in- tegrity and authenticity and to pro- pose ways to respond to this harm.
The work of Rainbow Communion continues the process begun in the call to repentance in the 1994 Report on Human Sexuality and the 2018 Moderator’s Letter of Repentance: “This letter of repentance is neither the beginning nor the end; it is but a part of a longer conversation. This conversation is being taken up in part by the Rainbow Communion, a com- mittee with the important mandate of creating a safe space where experi- ences of LGBTQI people will be told and heard.”
Our report will have three major components: identifying harm done, responding to harm done, and en- suring that harm does not continue to happen. The Terms of Reference of Rainbow Communion call on it to recommend concrete actions to address homophobia (transphobia, heterosexism and hypocrisy) to the General Assembly for implementa- tion in the church. During our listen- ing spaces we did receive sugges- tions for such actions that will have a positive impact on the work and witness of The Presbyterian Church in Canada. Repentance will require
change. Over the next few months we will be finalizing our recommen- dations to the General Assembly. We appreciate the constructive feedback provided when we were invited to share our progress with the Life and Mission Agency and the Assembly Council. We are also heartened by our preliminary conversations with some who identify as LGBTQI indi- cating support of the direction we are taking.
Change will be necessary. True repentance is more than just words. There will be financial costs. It will take time. The church must act to address the deep wound that exists in its body to bring healing and rec- onciliation.
“If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together with it” (I Corinthians 12:26 NRSV).
The report of Rainbow Commun- ion will be available in the Book of Reports in May. We encourage you to read the report, to reflect deeply on it and to follow the action of the General Assembly in relation to its recommendations. Once again, we express our gratitude to those who have told their stories and in doing so have called the church to a new sense of communion and have en- riched its life and witness.
 EXPERIENCED MINISTER NEEDED
FOR A CHALLENGING YET EXCITING POST IN DELIGHTFUL SRI LANKA
St. Andrew’s Scots Kirk, Colombo is a congregation of the Church of Scotland. The congregation is set in the busy business district of Colombo. It is surrounded by 5-star hotels, it sits with the manse in a walled compound with gardens on three sides. The congregation prides itself as being Presbyterian, “international, interdenominational, open to all.”
Approximately 70 people, with a good spread of age and backgrounds attend our services. We attract many tourists and numerous weddings. Worship and mission are central for us with several mission projects.
We need a minister who will challenge and inspire us, a leader able to recognise, encourage and coordinate our individual gifts and supportive of our partnerships local and global. The political context remains challenging here with Christians making up only 7% of the entire island population.
      St. Andrew’s profile is available at www.scotskirk.lk
Interest in the position can be expressed to our Interim Moderator Revd. Ian Gilmour
at IGilmour@churchofscotland.org.uk.
  LGBTQI is an acronym used to refer to people whose sexual orientation is not heterosexual and/or whose gender identity does not conform either to binary male/female categories or the “assigned” gender at birth. LGBTQI is an acronym for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning, Intersex.
 
































































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