Page 40 - PC Fall 2023

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PRESBYTERIAN
FALL 2023
presbyterian.ca
Connection
JUST WONDERING...
How are elders supposed to vote when they go to presbytery and General Assembly? Do they vote according to what the majority of the Session thinks is right or based on their own opinions?
Afewyearsago,IwasvisitingafriendonaSundayand theirmothermentionedthatshewasdelightedtohave attended “an old-fashioned standard church service” earlier in the day. That prompted a discussion of what constituted “an old-fashioned standard service” and it didn’t matter if one came from Ontario, Quebec or the Maritimes, it seemed that they all shared common attributes, such as: the service started off with “Holy, Holy, Holy” (Nicaea), the doxology was sung to the tune “Old 100th,” and all prayers were conducted with the congregation standing (likely a nod to the covenanters praying in a field and on the watch for red-coats). Would you be able to list the probable elements of a “standard” service, their meaning, and which branch of the PCC they came from? For example, Church of Scotland or the Free Church? You don’t know who you are unless you know from where you came. Thank you.
Answered by the Rev. Don Muir, Deputy Clerk
Part of the covenant between God and the church is that God’s will is to be done. We seek God’s will by praying, reflecting on scripture, listening and sharing ideas whenever the church gathers to make deci- sions. Therefore, elders (and ministers) are
expected to seek the will of God in collabo- ration with other presbyters at presbytery and with other commissioners at General Assembly before voting on the business of those bodies. While elders (and ministers) may take their Session’s discernment into consideration, they are not obliged to vote according to the majority of the Session while at presbytery or General Assembly.
At General Assembly, the church decided to write a letter supporting the rights of gay people in other countries and the church found money to support groups that support gay people around the world. How can we pick sides when this goes against the church’s teaching and definitions of marriage, which lets people decide about gay marriage?
Answered by the Rev. Ian Ross-McDonald, General Secretary
Thank you for your questions about deci- sions made at General Assembly in 2023. We believe your question refers to the dis- cussion connected to the following four mo- tions proposed and approved by commis- sioners during the report of the Committee on International Relations this year:
1. That the moderator write to Global Af- fairs Canada (The Honourable Mélanie Joly) to express suppor t for the effor ts of the Gov- ernment of Canada to stand with the LGBT- QI+ community in Uganda and around the world and for its call on the Government of Uganda to revoke its 2023 Anti-Homosexu- ality Act. Further, to call on the Government of Canada to do everything possible to sup- por t the LGBTQI+ community in Uganda and around the world by working with part- ners suppor ting communities in situations of vulnerability and persecution.
2. That the moderator work with the Ca- nadian Council of Churches to prepare and issue a unity statement by Christian lead- ers in Canada in connection with ending harm and violence toward the LGBTQI+
Answered by the Rev. Ian Ross-McDonald, General Secretary
Thank you for your question about worship in the PCC. We receive questions about worship more than about any other topic. These questions show the church’s inter- est in knowing more about why we wor- ship as we do. Because of the consistent interest in worship, we are going to include a brief article about aspects of worship in forthcoming editions of the newspaper and there will be online webinars on worship in the winter of 2024. We hope these resourc- es will respond to your question, and those of many others in the church, about ele- ments of our corporate service of worship and their meaning in the reformed tradition.
I understand what you mean about an “old-fashioned standard service,” but we need to begin by admitting that there is no such thing. Orders of worship and the elements of a service varied greatly from place to place and time to time, as they do today. Of course, many congregations of a certain tradition did do similar things. But that meant that there were several versions
of an “old-fashioned standard service.” For many years, different congregations have begun worship with “Holy, Holy, Holy” (sung to the tune of “Nicaea”). But to my grandparents, who grew up singing only metrical psalms led by a precentor, singing a hymn would have been unsettling and an- ything but old-fashioned or standard. What was considered standard in one congrega- tion in one place, would have been strange in another place in the same time period. Worship in a congregation with Church of Scotland roots might differ significantly from congregations with Free Church tra- ditions. And those are only the congrega- tions that were composed predominantly of people of Irish or Scottish backgrounds. Hungarian congregations had many dif- fering traditions. Korean, Dutch and other congregations that reflected various branches of the Reformed church all had varying traditions that would have reflected local customs and practices and empha- ses picked up from theologians, ministers and missionaries of different traditions and from different places, just as all congrega- tions did and do now.
community.
3. That congregations be
encouraged to consider responses in their local com- munities to acts of hate and harm toward the LGBTQI+ community and sponsorship
suppor t of LGBTQI+ refugees.
4. That the International Affairs Commit-
tee and the Life and Mission Agency Com- mittee work together to allocate $50,000 to agencies in Canada that help to settle people who identify as LGBTQI+ and seek refuge.
In the case of the first three decisions outlined above, expressing concern about situations where people are persecuted (and potentially executed) is not only in line with the church’s statements and theology about sexuality and people who identify as LGBTQI+ but also the PCC’s advocacy against the criminalization of homosexuality. In 1969, the PCC wrote to the Government of Canada to suppor t the decriminalization of homosexuality in this country. While the church has adopted two equal, parallel and protected definitions of marriage that people have the liberty to choose from, the church did not make decisions that gave people the liberty to belittle, harm, shame, perse- cute or execute a person because of the
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gender identity or sexual orientation. More about the church’s decisions in this regard can be read on the Social Action Hub at presbyterian.ca/justice/social-action/gender- sexuality-inclusion.
In the case of the fourth resolution about refugees, the organizations that the church is supporting are groups in Canada that help LGBTQI+ people escape persecution in other countries. The PCC has a long- standing practice of sponsoring people who are identified by the United Nations
High Commission on Refugees as most in need of resettlement because of persecution or other severe situations they may be in. Many of the people settled by congregations working through PWS&D and Action Ré- fugiés Montréal over the years would have been people who identify as LGBTQI+, who were rescued from persecution by family, religious groups, political parties or govern- ments. And again, this too is in line with the decisions that the church has made about sexuality in the last few years.