Faith
About this blog
Thinking the Faith, Praying the Faith, Living the Faith is written by the PC(USA) Office of Theology and Worship.
Thinking, praying, and living the faith is at the core of ministry in the Office of Theology and Worship. In the following videos, learn more about what thinking, praying, and living the faith means to the leadership of the Office of Theology and Worship. Discover why it matters and what difference it makes in our lives, work, and worship.
Charles Wiley
Barry Ensign-George
David Gambrell
Christine Hong
Karen Russell
Recent posts
- Our Challenging Way: Faithfulness, Sex, Ordination, and Marriage
- Unity, Confessions, and the Book of Order
- Come and See
- Please and Thank You
- Back to Basics on Ash Wednesday
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What will General Assembly be like this year?
I get this question a lot (well, at least a few times): “What’s going to happen at GA this year?” Since I deal with a lot of GA business and have done so for too many years, I have some perspective. So, over the next few weeks I’ll try to post on some of the issues coming to GA. Since I work for the General Assembly Mission Council, it is not appropriate for me to get in the middle of the debate, so I won’t be arguing pro or con, but I will try to put some of the issues in context.
This week: The Big Picture
Everybody views the GA from the place of the issues they care about. For me that means that I look first and foremost for issues the Office of Theology and Worship is responsible for. Comparing these lists over time is pretty interesting. Over the last 4 or 5 assemblies, theological and liturgical work coming to the Assembly has diminished in number. Where we used to have 20 or more items of business, we are down to less than half that amount. It was not unusual to have overtures that asked for a new confessional statement, ask the GA to make a theological pronouncement for (or against) the DaVinci Code, Alpha, or specific ethical issues around euthanasia or evolution. But more recently, energy has been focused on fewer issues. This year Middle East politics and marriage are taking a lot of the focus.
There are several issues that the assembly will decide this summer that Theology and Worship will be paying particular attention to:
- Marriage (overtures 009, 010, 016, 020, 028, 040, 048, 055, 056, 065, 066, 071, 072)
- Nature of the Church in the 21st century (special committee Report)
- Directory of Worship (GAMC report on revision)
- Belhar (039)
- Heidelberg Catechism (special committee report)
[you can find all the business at www.pc-biz.org]
These are important issues, but far fewer than the past. Does this mean that theology is less important to the PC(USA)? It could, but not necessarily. My guess is that two things are going on: 1) There is a lot of attention on the PC(USA) itself. The report by the Mid-Council Commission will be key here as well as other items (I’m working my way through the 111! page report right now). 2) There is less of a sense across the church that the GA is the most important body to decide every theological issue. This is not necessarily a bad thing. When I came to Louisville (almost) 15 years ago, there was a widespread (but by no means universal) sense that the GA was capable of and should solve the major issues faced by the national church. Folks across the theological spectrum no longer see the GA in the same way.
So, how do we do theological work together if the Assembly is only part of the picture? What positive role can the Assembly play theologically in the PCUSA?
Charles
- Posted at 3:28 p.m.
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