What a fascinating article. It points to a charge that a Franciscan Friar made
about his own order at a conference my wife and I went to a few years ago. Was
their order "mission" or "museum"? This article tells me we are all about the
museum, and a museum in an economic environment that is tough on museums. Three
things speak to me in this article and 1 makes me weep:
1. Mid-council
levels, did they become the preserve of the issues in Point 1 because that is
where the impetus lay, or were they dumped there because no one else, at
Presbytery or G.A. level, could be bothered?
2. When was the last time
our denomination stood for something? All this conversation about
infrastructure and the loss of relevance in the community, and the attempts to
hold onto something from the past with old wealth and old members-all those
factors strike me as a body without a head. Those elements must exist to
support an ideal, a vision, a purpose. For the last twenty five years, or more,
anyone looking in at our denomination might presume we stand for trying to
figure out the faith status of our gay, lesbian, transgender, and bisexual
brothers and sisters-which, maybe more than metaphorically, has been an amazing
example of our eating our own young.
3. I truly have no problem with
Roberts Rules. They keep us polite, they force us to accept decent modes of
communications, they are established steps in a representative, democratic
process which is how the PCUSA has seen fit to channel the spirit of God
speaking through its members. But in the absence of a clear and present reason
for being, they have, like so much else, become their own reason for
being. When the Rules serve the church, their place works. When the church
serves them, we're up a creek.
"Racism, sexism, multi-cultural
experiences, domestic violence, gender orientation issues, corporate social
justice, disaster relief coordination, Self Development of People options,
international justice, local and state-wide interfaith and ecumenical matters,
public education..." These are the things we are losing, according to the
article, with our mid-council losses. This is what makes me weep. Every one of
these necessary considerations MUST flow from the grace and salvation that comes
in Jesus Christ. The Great Commission carries with it the mandate to create a
world like that of the Kingdom of God. Ours is a liberating religion and the
Presbyterian Church has an incredible history of doing Jesus' work POWERFULLY,
and I believe we can do it again. Out of Jesus, love and light and grace flow
for the church. Out of Jesus, we will see revival, renewal, and resuscitation
in the PCUSA.
Blessings, sisters and brothers, in He who is the Way, the
Truth, and the Life,
Peter Hofstra
Monday, July 30, 2012
From an Email I received...
This email was circulated by a friend of mine in our Presbytery, asking for response. I am posting first the article, then, in the next post, my own response as pastor of our church. I put it out there for your consideration.
PRICES PAID BY THE RAPID DECLINE OF MID COUNCILS IN THE PC(USA)
>
>
> Written by Sam Roberson
>
>
> Thursday, 26 July 2012 21:08 | Presbyterian Outlook
>
>
> The reality that presbytery, synod and General Assembly budgets are
> declining at increasingly rapid rates poses a conundrum: Should they have
> collapsed on their own infrastructures long ago or shall the PC(USA) become
> an even closer reflection of current American culture and politics? History
> will tell the story, and since history repeats its failures and sins at an
> alarming rate, the PC(USA) will likely become one more story of the Gospel
> of Jesus Christ trumped by the idols of the church’s own making.In an
> anxious, divided and highly conflicted church and culture, the PC(USA)
> appears to affirm the status quo, the impossibility of adaptive change, the
> sexual fears of older generations and younger evangelicals, and the
> inappropriateness of social progressives wanting to hold corporations
> accountable. The PC(USA) also seems to read its own demographics and nod
> asleep as though the numbers don’t seem to spell words that begin with d:
> decline and death. The other d word, diversity, shines with glorious years
> of good intentions, policy statements, multi- cultural conferences, racial
> ethnic caucuses, General Assembly offices, and verbal General Assembly
> proclamations as plentiful as conservative talk radio, all simply not with
> much impact.
> So as a modern-day Jeremiah looking over the PC(USA) and wondering where
> there is any property, vineyard or not, where the Gospel has any
> possibilities for buying, building or growing, a few need to be named by
> category. Food, water and housing are Gospel justice issues, and local
> congregations as well as mid councils have had ambitious and effective
> programs, especially in Latin America, around these matters. Schools are
> another PC(USA) mainstay around which congregations and mid councils have
> shown sustaining support, especially in Africa. The abandonment of campus
> ministry by budget declines within mid councils is deplorable; however,
> non-domestic schools and educational efforts have somewhat escaped the
> collapsing landscape on which mid councils are fundamentally divesting
> everything they ever did in deference to local congregational hegemony:
> admittedly, there are some foundations and merits on which to build, and
> that is a strong positive.
> So, let’s name five big prices the PC(USA) pays with the rapid decline of
> mid councils:
>
>
> 1) Racism, sexism, multi-cultural experiences, domestic violence, gender
> orientation issues, corporate social justice, disaster relief coordination,
> Self Development of People options, international justice, local and
> state-wide interfaith and ecumenical matters, public education: these vital
> Gospel matters plus others that have been in the Mid council bailiwick
> forever are basically gone. When individuals or particular congregations
> wanted to be involved in these Gospel ventures, there was a venue in many
> mid councils for organization and action. Most of these accesses to Gospel
> justice that are going away are not excitedly being taken up by local
> congregations.
>
> 2) The small and middle size congregation may have already passed the
> capacity for viability. Mid councils sought to support and sustain faithful
> mission and ministry in areas of depopulation and urban challenge.
> Relationships of encouragement and hope, mostly with staff and key
> committee members now fade as staff goes away and committee members go
> untrained and often unaware or unchallenged by deteriorating circumstances
> and situations.
>
> 3) PC(USA) demographics indicate that we are old and mostly gathered in a
> small percentage of larger congregations. There are a handful of Fourth
> Presbyterian Chicago Churches that proclaim and enact a progressive and
> vital social Gospel mission and ministry. Yet, let’s face reality. Most
> of PC(USA)’s larger congregations are populated by affluent and
> politically conservative people. Old wealth is still willing to finance
> buildings, even if they are not really needed, and these same people will
> send safe money, sometimes pocket change of 10 percent of local
> self-serving interests, to Africa or anywhere there is a known, trusted
> leader. The number of large church pastors who challenge their members to
> do anything beyond safe, responsible, hands on, give- your- hours- kind- of
> -community service: few and very far between. High profile pastors in my
> area seldom show up in the local newspaper with any kind of community wide
> challenge. Most pastors in my area have long since abandoned ecumenical and
> interfaith involvement. Almost all pastors in my area want their
> parishioners to be content and happy with their local congregation, and
> don’t want to stir the waters, certainly not for Gospel justice issues.
> Yes, the finances and infrastructures of churches demand numbers and money,
> and while souls are saved and lives are supported, the big Gospel picture
> of the losers being the winners, and the last being the first, goes
> unattended. Mid councils used to at least point to and remind local pastors
> and congregations of a larger Gospel world. Rarely anymore.
>
> 4) PC(USA) remains wedded to Roberts Rules of Order, and conventional
> wisdom concludes that any significant changes in the PC(USA) are so
> overwhelming that years and years of catch up are required. In truth, the
> PC(USA) has lost the capacity to adapt and change in ways that could permit
> it to be a relevant and viable institution. While there has been progress
> in being less Roberts Rules bound in some presbyteries, regionally and
> nationally, the Rules still control. Our Christian brothers and sisters in
> Australia and Canada have long since abandoned rule-based systems that
> inevitably make one group a winner and the other a loser. The most recent
> General Assembly dramatically demonstrated how parliamentary procedure can
> be used to hold off and standoff meaningful discussion or action. Grady
> Parsons is among the most caring, informed, and gracious persons in the
> PC(USA) and his reelection represents a bright spot in our denomination. It
> is, however, ironic that a denomination being disassembled by an almost
> rogue disregard for authority, polity, and tradition would so generously
> affirm and embrace the person who daily deals with how disrespectfully,
> self-righteously, and arrogantly we treat one another.
>
> 5) Last, but not least, PC(USA) congregations have determined that their
> money, property, mission, and ministry belong to them alone. Any sense of
> connectionalism is either graciously bestowed and/or traditionally
> obligatory. As if flash-frozen in 2012, pastors and congregations are
> willingly and intentionally throwing under the bus all those generations
> that they have already deposited in their graveyards, believing that they
> have every right in this time and place to do whatever they deem best for
> their congregation. History, tradition, theology, commitment, loyalty: all
> gladly abandoned. The self-centeredness and arrogance of such positions are
> Gospel despicable. The very conservative pastors, usually leading their
> falsely fired up congregations, are running off to hide in safe religious
> territory and by doing do, have already doomed their future and that of
> their congregation to an even more limited connection with reality. They
> must love the old hymn: This world is not my home, I’m just passing
> through….because passing through is all the Gospel work they are doing.So
> what is the big picture? Christianity lost its credibility in Europe almost
> 80 years ago as the Lutheran and Catholic Churches failed, as a whole, to
> oppose Nazism and stand up with Jesus for the rights of all people. Casting
> stones against Republicans or Democrats is not the point; however, whether
> history tells the story of the rich winning out over the poor or by the
> poor creating chaos and change in defiance of oppression, the PC(USA) has
> already played itself out of being a meaningful and significant player in
> the future of USA culture and politics. We are the Lutheran and Roman
> Catholic Church in Germany. Whatever may happen in our country, we will not
> be players. We’ve continually committed to paralysis, and fighting over
> the idols of our own creation, checked out with younger generations and
> abdicated any authority we might have had in culture and country.
> Sam Roberson has recently completed service as a long-term mid council
> staff leader.
>
>
> Grace and peace,
>
>
> Molly
>
>
> The Rev. Molly Casteel
>
> Assistant Stated Clerk and Manager, Representation and Inclusiveness
> Services
PRICES PAID BY THE RAPID DECLINE OF MID COUNCILS IN THE PC(USA)
>
>
> Written by Sam Roberson
>
>
> Thursday, 26 July 2012 21:08 | Presbyterian Outlook
>
>
> The reality that presbytery, synod and General Assembly budgets are
> declining at increasingly rapid rates poses a conundrum: Should they have
> collapsed on their own infrastructures long ago or shall the PC(USA) become
> an even closer reflection of current American culture and politics? History
> will tell the story, and since history repeats its failures and sins at an
> alarming rate, the PC(USA) will likely become one more story of the Gospel
> of Jesus Christ trumped by the idols of the church’s own making.In an
> anxious, divided and highly conflicted church and culture, the PC(USA)
> appears to affirm the status quo, the impossibility of adaptive change, the
> sexual fears of older generations and younger evangelicals, and the
> inappropriateness of social progressives wanting to hold corporations
> accountable. The PC(USA) also seems to read its own demographics and nod
> asleep as though the numbers don’t seem to spell words that begin with d:
> decline and death. The other d word, diversity, shines with glorious years
> of good intentions, policy statements, multi- cultural conferences, racial
> ethnic caucuses, General Assembly offices, and verbal General Assembly
> proclamations as plentiful as conservative talk radio, all simply not with
> much impact.
> So as a modern-day Jeremiah looking over the PC(USA) and wondering where
> there is any property, vineyard or not, where the Gospel has any
> possibilities for buying, building or growing, a few need to be named by
> category. Food, water and housing are Gospel justice issues, and local
> congregations as well as mid councils have had ambitious and effective
> programs, especially in Latin America, around these matters. Schools are
> another PC(USA) mainstay around which congregations and mid councils have
> shown sustaining support, especially in Africa. The abandonment of campus
> ministry by budget declines within mid councils is deplorable; however,
> non-domestic schools and educational efforts have somewhat escaped the
> collapsing landscape on which mid councils are fundamentally divesting
> everything they ever did in deference to local congregational hegemony:
> admittedly, there are some foundations and merits on which to build, and
> that is a strong positive.
> So, let’s name five big prices the PC(USA) pays with the rapid decline of
> mid councils:
>
>
> 1) Racism, sexism, multi-cultural experiences, domestic violence, gender
> orientation issues, corporate social justice, disaster relief coordination,
> Self Development of People options, international justice, local and
> state-wide interfaith and ecumenical matters, public education: these vital
> Gospel matters plus others that have been in the Mid council bailiwick
> forever are basically gone. When individuals or particular congregations
> wanted to be involved in these Gospel ventures, there was a venue in many
> mid councils for organization and action. Most of these accesses to Gospel
> justice that are going away are not excitedly being taken up by local
> congregations.
>
> 2) The small and middle size congregation may have already passed the
> capacity for viability. Mid councils sought to support and sustain faithful
> mission and ministry in areas of depopulation and urban challenge.
> Relationships of encouragement and hope, mostly with staff and key
> committee members now fade as staff goes away and committee members go
> untrained and often unaware or unchallenged by deteriorating circumstances
> and situations.
>
> 3) PC(USA) demographics indicate that we are old and mostly gathered in a
> small percentage of larger congregations. There are a handful of Fourth
> Presbyterian Chicago Churches that proclaim and enact a progressive and
> vital social Gospel mission and ministry. Yet, let’s face reality. Most
> of PC(USA)’s larger congregations are populated by affluent and
> politically conservative people. Old wealth is still willing to finance
> buildings, even if they are not really needed, and these same people will
> send safe money, sometimes pocket change of 10 percent of local
> self-serving interests, to Africa or anywhere there is a known, trusted
> leader. The number of large church pastors who challenge their members to
> do anything beyond safe, responsible, hands on, give- your- hours- kind- of
> -community service: few and very far between. High profile pastors in my
> area seldom show up in the local newspaper with any kind of community wide
> challenge. Most pastors in my area have long since abandoned ecumenical and
> interfaith involvement. Almost all pastors in my area want their
> parishioners to be content and happy with their local congregation, and
> don’t want to stir the waters, certainly not for Gospel justice issues.
> Yes, the finances and infrastructures of churches demand numbers and money,
> and while souls are saved and lives are supported, the big Gospel picture
> of the losers being the winners, and the last being the first, goes
> unattended. Mid councils used to at least point to and remind local pastors
> and congregations of a larger Gospel world. Rarely anymore.
>
> 4) PC(USA) remains wedded to Roberts Rules of Order, and conventional
> wisdom concludes that any significant changes in the PC(USA) are so
> overwhelming that years and years of catch up are required. In truth, the
> PC(USA) has lost the capacity to adapt and change in ways that could permit
> it to be a relevant and viable institution. While there has been progress
> in being less Roberts Rules bound in some presbyteries, regionally and
> nationally, the Rules still control. Our Christian brothers and sisters in
> Australia and Canada have long since abandoned rule-based systems that
> inevitably make one group a winner and the other a loser. The most recent
> General Assembly dramatically demonstrated how parliamentary procedure can
> be used to hold off and standoff meaningful discussion or action. Grady
> Parsons is among the most caring, informed, and gracious persons in the
> PC(USA) and his reelection represents a bright spot in our denomination. It
> is, however, ironic that a denomination being disassembled by an almost
> rogue disregard for authority, polity, and tradition would so generously
> affirm and embrace the person who daily deals with how disrespectfully,
> self-righteously, and arrogantly we treat one another.
>
> 5) Last, but not least, PC(USA) congregations have determined that their
> money, property, mission, and ministry belong to them alone. Any sense of
> connectionalism is either graciously bestowed and/or traditionally
> obligatory. As if flash-frozen in 2012, pastors and congregations are
> willingly and intentionally throwing under the bus all those generations
> that they have already deposited in their graveyards, believing that they
> have every right in this time and place to do whatever they deem best for
> their congregation. History, tradition, theology, commitment, loyalty: all
> gladly abandoned. The self-centeredness and arrogance of such positions are
> Gospel despicable. The very conservative pastors, usually leading their
> falsely fired up congregations, are running off to hide in safe religious
> territory and by doing do, have already doomed their future and that of
> their congregation to an even more limited connection with reality. They
> must love the old hymn: This world is not my home, I’m just passing
> through….because passing through is all the Gospel work they are doing.So
> what is the big picture? Christianity lost its credibility in Europe almost
> 80 years ago as the Lutheran and Catholic Churches failed, as a whole, to
> oppose Nazism and stand up with Jesus for the rights of all people. Casting
> stones against Republicans or Democrats is not the point; however, whether
> history tells the story of the rich winning out over the poor or by the
> poor creating chaos and change in defiance of oppression, the PC(USA) has
> already played itself out of being a meaningful and significant player in
> the future of USA culture and politics. We are the Lutheran and Roman
> Catholic Church in Germany. Whatever may happen in our country, we will not
> be players. We’ve continually committed to paralysis, and fighting over
> the idols of our own creation, checked out with younger generations and
> abdicated any authority we might have had in culture and country.
> Sam Roberson has recently completed service as a long-term mid council
> staff leader.
>
>
> Grace and peace,
>
>
> Molly
>
>
> The Rev. Molly Casteel
>
> Assistant Stated Clerk and Manager, Representation and Inclusiveness
> Services
Thursday, July 19, 2012
July-August Herald Letter
Dear
Friends,
Slowly, we have been working through
the prophet Hosea. And each week, with all
the talk of judgment and punishment, I entertain the thought of just moving out
of this book and into something else. Am
I allowing the Spirit to lead or I am just being stubborn about pressing on?
All this punishment, week after week, it gets depressing. We don’t like to talk about the dark stuff generally. Add to that the general reputation that the Old Testament has for being angry and vengeful, and Hosea has 14 chapters of it.
The recurring message of the prophet is “obey God” and you grow. Don’t, and you won’t grow-in fact, you wither. For the last ten years, as a church, we’ve not grown. Ever dare to wonder out loud if we are not growing because the Lord has something against us? Are we doing something that is deserving punishment? Have we been in survival mode for so long that we’re just stuck here?
That
thinking leads to doubt. Is this
wrong-headed thinking? “Good Christians”
aren’t supposed to think that way, are they?
Besides, wasn’t Jesus supposed to change that whole way of doing
business? Isn’t it about the faith and
not good works?
I believe we have to lay all those questions before our Lord. The whole point of the prophecies was that punishment was NEVER the end in itself. There was always the way back to God, there was always hope.
What amazes me right now in the life of this church is that all the elements are coming together to give us the hope to become a Neighborhood in God’s Kingdom.
Starting from the Jeremiah’s Journey, working with Mary Lu to give Spirit to the worship service, drawing in resources to do effective Latino ministry, working through the police to serve the needs of the community, this is the church God is envisioning this church to be!
The question is, are we going to do something with these opportunities? We say that we want to, but will we? Two points of view evolve when in survival mode.
The first is to tread water, ready to agree on what we ‘should’ do, but no more.
The second is to start swimming, to embrace these opportunities the Lord has given to us, to dare to believe that NOW is the moment of our renewal.
Hosea is clear on what happens when we stay put. We need to learn that lesson very, very well.
Rev. Peter Hofstra
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Getting Serious About Ministry to Young Families
As we prepare for the fall, there is a phrase that is oft-repeated in our church. We need to do things to attract young families. We feel that is the dynamic of growth and for a future in our church. There are a couple of ways to consider that. One is from a cynical point of view. That point of view will say that "Of course that is what our church wants, it is what every church says it wants".
But aren't young families what are expected and desired in up and coming neighborhoods? Kids playing, out and around, parents keeping a watchful eye, friendships built, a zone of safety created, isn't that the dream and aim of a great neighborhood? Sounds a lot like Sesame Street, doesn't it? We could do a lot worse for an inspiration!
The history of our church is one that appeals to and ministers to young families. We have a tremendous legacy in Christian education that continues even as our membership has changed. The time for children in the worship service is consistently the most memorable time in the worship and praise of God. We have been clear and deliberate in what we have tried to build in Perth Amboy.
So what is the next step? How does the church go about even more intentionally setting up for the lead of families in the worship of the Living God? What steps forward are taken in the structure of the worship service? In the various elements? In the music? In the preaching? In the direction and tone of the liturgical elements?
I am not asking any of the questions of whether or not kids or young people can meaningfully participate in something like this. The ministry of Camp Johnsonburg answered that question now and forever. In fact, J-Burg's ways and methods of worship and bible study are precisely the places that I know we can go to in what comes next.
It is my experience that the truly exciting places to be to worship are those places that know what they are doing and why they are doing it-exciting for all ages. We look forward to putting up the signs for our Neighborhood in God's Kingdom.
But aren't young families what are expected and desired in up and coming neighborhoods? Kids playing, out and around, parents keeping a watchful eye, friendships built, a zone of safety created, isn't that the dream and aim of a great neighborhood? Sounds a lot like Sesame Street, doesn't it? We could do a lot worse for an inspiration!
The history of our church is one that appeals to and ministers to young families. We have a tremendous legacy in Christian education that continues even as our membership has changed. The time for children in the worship service is consistently the most memorable time in the worship and praise of God. We have been clear and deliberate in what we have tried to build in Perth Amboy.
So what is the next step? How does the church go about even more intentionally setting up for the lead of families in the worship of the Living God? What steps forward are taken in the structure of the worship service? In the various elements? In the music? In the preaching? In the direction and tone of the liturgical elements?
I am not asking any of the questions of whether or not kids or young people can meaningfully participate in something like this. The ministry of Camp Johnsonburg answered that question now and forever. In fact, J-Burg's ways and methods of worship and bible study are precisely the places that I know we can go to in what comes next.
It is my experience that the truly exciting places to be to worship are those places that know what they are doing and why they are doing it-exciting for all ages. We look forward to putting up the signs for our Neighborhood in God's Kingdom.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
210th Anniversary
I know it is peering into the future, but much is coming together at First Church this fall. One thing we are celebrating is our 210th anniversary. Please mark Sunday, October 21 on your calendars for this wonderful day. The celebration will follow the morning worship service that day. Stay tuned for more details as to the program and the event.
If anyone would like to participate in the planning and carrying out of this special celebration, contact Fran at the office, either by phone or office@fpcperthamboy.org and she will put you in touch with the team that is organizing the event.
I came to this church on the eve of its 200th celebration. The motto of that milestone was "Looking Forward to the Next 200". Well, we have 190 years left to go.
Seriously, what a momentous occasion, celebrating 210 years in the same location! We have a grand history to be very, very proud of. In the last ten years, we have continued to build an incredible community right here. In the next program year, we are going to see how we can take that community building to the next level. How do we reach out more effectively to our community? How do we take seriously the often repeated desire that we wish to attract young people and young families to our church? How are we going to implement reach transformation in the life of our church? How are we going to be relevant in the neighborhood where we are called to minister?
Are those too many questions for one church at one time? All flow out of one desire, that our church lives as a Neighborhood in the Kingdom of God.
Blessings Neighbors...
If anyone would like to participate in the planning and carrying out of this special celebration, contact Fran at the office, either by phone or office@fpcperthamboy.org and she will put you in touch with the team that is organizing the event.
I came to this church on the eve of its 200th celebration. The motto of that milestone was "Looking Forward to the Next 200". Well, we have 190 years left to go.
Seriously, what a momentous occasion, celebrating 210 years in the same location! We have a grand history to be very, very proud of. In the last ten years, we have continued to build an incredible community right here. In the next program year, we are going to see how we can take that community building to the next level. How do we reach out more effectively to our community? How do we take seriously the often repeated desire that we wish to attract young people and young families to our church? How are we going to implement reach transformation in the life of our church? How are we going to be relevant in the neighborhood where we are called to minister?
Are those too many questions for one church at one time? All flow out of one desire, that our church lives as a Neighborhood in the Kingdom of God.
Blessings Neighbors...
Monday, July 16, 2012
Week at Johnsonburg
It was a delight to spend the last week at Camp Johnsonburg. I really felt like I was living in a Neighborhood in the Kingdom of God, that very thing we aspire for here at our church. It was not until Saturday, after the kids had been released to their families, when the entire staff was gathered in the Ampitheater, that I really could take in just what it means to "do" Christian camp.
It is labor-intensive, but it was labor that grew every one of those councellors and staff members, as much as it grew each camper. For one week, I was a part of that Neighborhood. For the next fifty one weeks, I am going to work to bring that Spirit, that Joy, that Wonder, to our neighborhood.
I invite you to join me!
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