Being Church Together – Laura M. Cheifetz
I horrify my mother by thoroughly enjoying the particular manifestation of the church that is the General Assembly. At our first GA, I got totally hooked by the potential for meeting so many Presbyterians and partners, and finding ways to make a difference in the life of the church on a large scale. She got so stressed out she vowed never to attend another one.
I have attended several General Assemblies for one reason or another. I understand they’re not all rosy and fun. I find some of our interactions as church disturbing, or at least a little bit sad. The things we say to each other during debate and discussion can be hurtful, ignorant, condescending, or bigoted. I keep a list of particularly memorable “worst offender quotes” from the floor debates. But I live for the moments when bits of grace seep through, during worship together, when people who came determined to disagree find a way to talk over and through their differences, when a young person finds the GA a place for faith and advocacy. And yes, I love the process. Every process is dysfunctional and can be manipulated and is biased toward those who understand how to navigate it, but I much prefer this process to one in which only bishops get to vote, or one in which every decision by a larger body is nothing more than a non-binding statement.
I have yet to attend a General Assembly free of controversy. Some of the more controversial topics of late are in regards to sexuality, sexual orientation, and gender. The primary sex discussions at most of the assemblies I have attended were over ordination of gay and lesbian persons called to ministry. Now that the ordination conversation appears settled, for the moment, we as the church have moved on to what I would call the new sex controversies.
To me, a sex controversy is not about the content of the business, but the ways in which we as the church interact.
The markers of the sex controversy are these:
-Multi-General Assembly battles over both strategy and deeply held faith convictions
-Heartfelt pleas from multiple perspectives
-Appeals for the children
-Appeals for the state of our partnerships/relationships around the world
-Extremist stances
-Discussion and votes followed by non-Presbyterians
-Moderators taking a stand
-Mischaracterization of the “other side”
-Dire warnings about who will leave if the vote passes/doesn’t pass
What’s the new sex? The first is the definition of marriage, of course. And the second new sex is divestment.
I can be flippant to a fault, but I believe the reason why sex controversies take so much out of us is because they go to the heart of what we believe the gospel leads us to do or to say or to believe. These are not political decisions alone, but processes of discernment led by our reading of the Bible, our understanding of who God calls us to be. We are led by what we have learned through relationships, whether they are friendships or family ties, whether they are interfaith, interreligious, or international. Our disagreements over marriage or divestment are not about the petty ways in which we wrest power from others. They are our flawed and inadequate attempts to be Christian.
Another year, another General Assembly, another series of votes that divide us. What are we to do? How are we to mend, or be mended?
Regardless of what people believe about divestment from companies as appropriate Christian witness, or about marriage of same-sex couples, and regardless of how the presbyteries vote regarding the constitutional language change, we can still be church. I believe it.
The way forward is complicated. It is. I’m not going to pretend that some people just need to get over it, or that others need to give up. Being in relationship in the midst of disagreement is fairly unpleasant. But we could choose to live fearlessly.
Is the church shrinking from its former robust membership numbers? Yes, it is. Is the church facing significant conflict? Yes, it is. But we don’t have to walk around under a gathering cloud of doom when there is still ministry to do. There are thousands of congregations still needing pastors, denominational resources, and the good news. Jesus is still risen. We could choose to be church by living compassionate and fearless abundance. There is more than enough, and in sharing our energies, our faith, our financial resources, our compassion, our love with one another and with the world, particularly those who are suffering and dying right now, as we speak, we might remember what brings us together in the first place.
We believe. We believe that Jesus Christ is risen. We believe church and worship and prayer matter. We can speak truth and love into violence against transgender people, into the criminal justice system, into exploitation and abuse of women, into hunger and homelessness among children and families, into persistent and growing inequality. We can do all this while starting new churches, lovingly pastoring those already among us, and while mending our broken relationships. We can raise up mission co-workers and Teaching Elders who pastor churches. We’re the church. God still loves us. And we can choose to love each other.
This week we discuss what is next for us after a contentious General Assembly. Tomorrow, the Vice Moderator of the 221st General Assembly, the Rev. Larissa Kwong-Abazia, writes of all that brings us together as members of different churches, and the identities we bring with us to the table. Wednesday, the Rev. Donna Marsh of National Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C. writes about the desire for simple solutions, which will not serve us. On Thursday, the Rev. Brian Ellison of the Covenant Network explains how the conversations we as the church will have on decisions regarding constitutional definitions of marriage might provide an opportunity to come together.
I hope and pray these perspectives shed just a little light on the ways we might continue to be church together.
The Rev. Laura Mariko Cheifetz is executive director of church and public relations for the Presbyterian Publishing Corporation.