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Connection
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Mr. Balpreet Singh from the World Sikh Organization of Canada addressed the Assembly as an interfaith guest.
PRESBYTERIAN
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 presbyterian.ca
SUMMER 2018
     The Rev. Daniel Cho, Moderator of the 2018 General Assembly.
   With Glad and Generous Hearts
The General Assembly of The Pres- byterian Church in Canada gathered over 330 participants, including commissioners, staff and resource people, in Waterloo, Ont., from June 3–6, 2018, to discuss and discern matters of importance to the church. General Assembly is an annual event and is a time to bring together com- missioners—both clergy and lay people—from across the country to make decisions on policies and issues that affect the direction and future of the church. Reports from departments, agencies and com- mittees of the national church were presented, drawing attention to key topics that needed to be addressed. The Assembly was enriched by guest speakers from around the world who spoke about their work, enhancing our connection to the wider church and society.
Worship and praise were sprin- kled throughout Assembly, allowing commissioners to lift their voices to- gether. The worship team throughout Assembly was led by the Rev. Hugh Donnelly, Daniel Kendall, the Rev. Stephen Kendall, Sydney O’Brien and Rich Richards.
Opening Worship
The Rev. Peter Bush, moderator of last year’s General Assembly preached
and celebrated communion during opening worship. Peter reflected on 1 Corinthians 13 and spoke of divi- sions in the church. “The numerous conflicts among us have engaged some in heated, at times angry, de- bate,” he said. But the reading from Corinthians invites us “to think about how we talk with, be with, people we disagree with. People, in fact, we don’t like. How do we show love to our opponent?”
Peter drew attention to the need for humility, which is at the heart of love. “Speaking with humility is rooted in the recognition that God is God who knows all things, and I am not God and I do not know all things. What I believe may need to be adjusted in the light of God.”
Just as the disciples were divided on many things, members of the church may be in disagreement at times. However, God calls his disci- ples his friends. “If you are a friend of Jesus—and I am a friend of Jesus— then we’d better figure out how to be friends of each other... We don’t have to like each other, we just have to love each other.”
Moderator’s Comments
After worship, the Rev. Daniel Cho was elected and installed as Modera- tor of the 2018 General Assembly.
In Daniel’s opening reflection, he spoke about the honour of being named moderator. He shared person- al experiences of growing up in Can- ada as a child of immigrant parents from South Korea and the challenges of growing up as an ethnic minority, feeling different and isolated because of it. He felt marginalized and deval- ued—and ultimately ashamed of his identity, and of how he looked.
“Looking at one another’s face, really beholding one’s face, is what makes the link, the connection, to the heart of the person.” He expressed a desire that, during the meetings and
discussion of Assembly, all commis- sioners of Assembly listen to, learn from and truly see one another.
Daniel’s message also looked to the future of the church, highlight- ing the action and activity required
for intentional connection with one another in order to bring mutual em- powerment as a form of worship. He spoke of building bridges with youth, building bridges with one another, building bridges laterally and building bridges forward with Christian hope and joy for the future.
Read a Message from the Modera- tor on page 2.
Interfaith Visitor
Mr. Balpreet Singh, Office to the Legal Counsel at the World Sikh Or- ganization of Canada, enlightened the Assembly about the Sikh religion
and interfaith dialogue. Mr. Singh’s work focuses on human rights law and religious accommodation. He explained that Sikhs approach peo- ple of different faiths with an attitude of humility, acceptance and service.
In Sikhism, dialogue is important, and practitioners of the faith must be willing to ask questions, learn, respect and welcome people, even if in disagreement. This allows for understanding and builds a sense of community.
Ecumenical Visitor
Reflections from Mennonite Church Canada were shared by executive director the Rev. Dr. Willard Metzger. He spoke about the seven-year dis- cernment process on same-sex marriage that the Mennonite church recently completed. After years of careful study, listening and engage- ment, the Mennonite Church did not change their confessional standards at their 2016 Assembly, however a large majority voted in favour of cre- ating space for congregations to dif- fer from one another when it comes to same-sex relationships.
He also described how Mennon- ites have found ecumenical dialogue to be a gift, providing them with a different lens through which to view their own history.
Moments of Appreciation
Three moments of appreciation were held during Assembly: for in- ternational mission staff, Dr. David
Continued on page 8
Ecumenical guest, the Rev. Dr. Willard Metzger, Executive Di- rector for Mennonite Church Canada shared reflections with the Assembly.
 To learn more about the Rev. Daniel Cho, Moderator of the 2018 General Assembly, go to presbyterian.ca/moderator
 The Rainbow Communion is a special committee formed by the 2017 General Assembly that has been empowered to invite LGBTQI people to tell stories of harm done to them within and by the church, and to share their experiences of God’s grace in Christian ministry.






























































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