A Palestinian human rights activist told a pre-General Assembly gathering Saturday morning that the Presbyterian conversation about Israel-Palestine needs to change to concentrate on people rather than policies.
“The conversations here are completely different than the conversations in Palestine,” Bassem Eid told the Presbyterians for Middle East Peace (PMEP) Breakfast just before the 223rd General Assembly convened.
The Fellowship Community isn’t about advocating for a position, the Rev. Gale Watkins said.
“We’re here to encourage the evangelical community.”
That declaration was part of the Fellowship Community’s welcome-to-the 223rd-General Assembly (2018) reception Friday evening. The event drew about 15 people and was one of several welcoming and orientation events on the eve of the Assembly.
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assembly Stated Clerk the Rev. J. Herbert Nelson, II, issued a statement from the denomination’s 223rd General Assembly condemning the Trump administration’s new policy of separating young children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border.
“We have come a long way. We have so much to celebrate. And we have a long way to go.” That was the theme expressed repeatedly at the joint celebration of the Covenant Network of Presbyterians and More Light Presbyterians June 15, the night before the start of the 223rd General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
It was the first time the two groups had ever held a joint event. The mission of the Covenant Network of Presbyterians is to further the inclusion of LGBTQ persons in ways that are as “just and generous as the grace of God.” More Light Presbyterians also work for the full participation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people of faith in all aspects of the PC(USA).
Addressing both the minutiae and the gravitas of a General Assembly with equal measures of grace and good humor, Martha Miller, manager for ruling elder resources and educator certification for the Office of the General Assembly, oriented the Assembly’s 15 Theological Student Advisory Delegates (TSADs) to the adventure that awaits them at the 223rd General Assembly.
But first, she had a little fun.
Tracing centuries of shared values tempered by tensions, historian the Rev. Beth Hessel on Friday showed members of the Way Forward Committee that this isn’t the first time Presbyterians have worked to realign how they’re governed.
Leadership implies movement and change. People who have no desire to go anywhere usually do not need a leader; they will be most happy with someone who functions as a guardian or custodian. Leaders, on the other hand, are heading for a destination and want to take others with them. They see things that could be and are drawn to put their energies into galvanizing others in order to make those visions realities.
The Office of the General Assembly (OGA) is looking for 200 good men and women with a keen eye and ear for what happens in committee meetings. Process Observers will be sitting in on the 12 assembly committees, not to participate, but to measure who participates and when.
리더십은이동과변화를의미합니다. 어디로든움직일의사가없는사람들은일반적으로지도자가필요하지않습니다. 그들에겐안내자또는관리자로기능하는사람들과함께함이제일만족스러울것입니다. 반면에지도자들은목적지로향하고있으며다른사람들을데려가고싶어합니다. 그들은그러한비전을현실로만들기위해자신의힘을다른사람들을자극하기위해행할수있는시각으로바라봅니다.
El liderazgo implica movimiento y cambio. Las personas que no desean avanzar generalmente no necesitan liderazgo; estarán más felices con alguien que funcione como guardián o custodio. Por otro lado, los/as líderes se dirigen a una meta y quieren llevar a otras personas con ellas. Ven cosas que podrían hacer y se sienten atraídos/as a poner sus energías en galvanizar a otras personas para hacer realidad esas visiones.