So, How was General Assembly?

So, How was General Assembly?

As it happens, the question is not an easy one. I loved being in Pittsburgh, reliving fond memories while marveling at the transformations. I appreciated the opportunity to speak to representatives of our agencies – the Board of Pensions, the General Assembly Mission Council (now called the Presbyterian Mission Agency), The Presbyterian Committee on Congregational Song, the folks responsible for the new hymnal, Glory To God - and others involved in mission and witness. I got to see some old colleagues and truly enjoyed the fellowship of our commissioners. I even enjoyed reading (some of) the committee reports, and listening to (some of) their presentations during our plenary sessions. On balance, I think the decisions reached were probably best for a church still seeking to live out the promise and pitfalls of the new form of government. But I was also disappointed.

Almost before the Assembly began, there were opportunities lost; for pastoral sensitivity, and transparency; for open minds and open hearts; for a willingness to trust in the theology behind our polity. Far too many debates were derailed by parliamentary procedures intended to short circuit the process of discernment; far too much was heard from the same few people on the farthest fringes of our denomination, while the vast majority of were held hostage to their take no prisoners attitude.

In the end, I think the things which unite (most) of us Presbyterians are:

A deep and abiding love of Jesus Christ, and for the world

A true appreciation for doing things decently and in order, and

An almost visceral reaction to the extremes

which seek to either purge or re-imagine our denomination

I saw this at work within the delegation from Shenandoah Presbytery. While no one would ever accuse us of agreeing on much of anything, we were able to pray together, look after one another, talk – and listen – about divisive issues, then vote without fuss and bother. In the end, I think it safe to say we found ourselves in one accord: when it came to the anger and frustration, the parliamentary wrangling, and dire predictions about the future we all wished those folks had come from a Presbytery where people treat each other better than that.

Like ours.