Hello all,

The committee work began Sunday afternoon (the 4th, although my committee had met Friday to get started) and really gathered steam today.  I only caught a glimpse of Mary Ellen Keller Monday twice, and one of Mariana Berbert Sunday.  I’ve caught up with Michael Lukens occasionally (and needed to get polity clarification from him); I’ve also seen Lucy Rupe .  So today you will get my notes only – no impressions from everyone else.

As I’ve mentioned, my committee is the Form of Government revision committee – this is the committee that is taking the work of the Form of Government Task Force, as well as overtures from presbyteries in support of the revised Form of Government and presbyteries who oppose the revisions.  We are charged with deciding what to do with the work of the Task Force, who was charged by prior GA’s with developing a new form of government (the first part of the Book of Order) that would provide more flexibility to fit a variety of circumstances, with the hope that the result would resemble a constitution more than a manual of operations.  Many of us have worked with the Book of Order for a long time, are familiar and comfortable with it.  But the goals are admirable, and seem good for the church – mandating  functions rather than structures, so that presbyteries and sessions can find way to do what is required in ways that work for their circumstances: standards are not eliminated!

Naturally, any time a change of this scope is proposed, there is a lot of anxiety and resistance.  One idea behind the new Form of Government is to begin to rebuild trust in our denomination by substituting relationships for regulations.  The visions is to have that people engage with one another and with God as we discern how to best accomplish a given goal in our circumstances – rather than merely providing long lists of requirements!

And here is the exciting part — it is happening even as we work together on this committee!  Already, we have people of all sorts of backgrounds and  experiences, working together just as the Form of Government Task Force envisioned that people would.  We are working hard, and getting to know one another.  Many many amendments to the proposed FOG have been voted on, and it is exciting that factions haven’t formed on the committee.  Each vote is different, as we all seek to serve Jesus Christ faithfully, rather than hew to some line of some group.  God is present everywhere, of course, and in Minneapolis, at General Assembly, we are not only aware of God’s presence, but depending on the work of the Spirit!

Today all the committees will finish their work.  Tonight the Rev. Dr. Michael Lukens will be honored with the formal presentation of the Fred Jenkins award he was given in 2009.  Tomorrow the full assembly begins to meet in plenary sessions again (which you can follow on the internet – go to the new, redesigned pcusa.org website to learn how).

Please continue to pray for us all.

Peace, Rev. Susan Zencka

Hello from the 219^th General Assembly!

Mariana Berbert and I arrived in Minneapolis on Thursday evening, because we both had assigned meetings on Friday.  Elder Commissioner Mary Ellen Keller arrived, fresh from a mission trip, today – just before the Opening Session convened!  Stated Clerk Michael Lukens came to greet us just before the meeting.  It is a huge hall, and we are assigned wonderful seats, in the center section, 10 rows back.

Already, we have been each drawn into the experience of the General Assembly – my committee (Form of Government Revision) had 8 hours of meeting yesterday, Mariana had a full day of training, and Mary Ellen is quickly catching up with the flood of paper that we were each presented with upon arrival.

There were “Riverside Conversations” this morning, before the Assembly officially convened.  These were opportunities for commissioners, advisory delegates and observers to hear presentations and participate in conversations around some of the big issues facing the denomination: our confessional standards  (there are overtures around adding a new confession – the Belhar Confession from South Africa – and retranslating the Heidelberg Catechism in our Book of Confessions); marriage and civil unions; Middle East peacemaking issues, the proposed new Form of Government, reports from the Executive Director and Stated Clerk, and equipping the church for ministry with God’s diverse family.

It is a fascinating event, General Assembly – as Presbyterians, we value our connectionalism.  We value the bonds that connect us from church to church, presbytery to presbytery, and especially the bonds that grow among us personally.  Already I’ve run into several volunteers from Winnebago Presbytery: Rev. Ted and Mary Sperduto, Nancy Siewert, Rev. Lois Swanson!  I also finally saw Lucy, and of course,  friends from other times and places.  We are a large Presbyterian family.

Tonight, Saturday night, we heard from the six candidates to be Moderator of the General Assembly.  The candidates included 5 ministers, 1 elder; 3 women, 3 men; 1 African-American, 1 Korean-American; 4 Euro-Americans.   And finally, on the 4th ballot (?) we elected Elder Cindy Bolbach, as the Moderator for GA 219 and for the next two years.  She is an elder who doesn’t work for the church – a real person with a real job!  She also has been the co-moderator of the Form of Government Task Force, the moderator of National Capital Presbytery, the clerk of session of First Presbyterian Church of Arlington, Virginia.   I had communicated with her by email before GA, and had a couple of conversations with her Friday, and found her to be very smart, very perceptive, deeply faithful, and a real visionary with a practical side.

But it’s not all work – tomorrow we will start with worship in the morning , and in the evening, there will be a picnic on Nicollet Island in the Mississippi River, where we will meet the new moderator and watch fireworks!  [Given the forecast, I hope there are contingency plans in case of rain.]  We are doing the work of the Church, worshiping God, and enjoying a large PCUSA family reunion.

Keep us in your prayers.

Grace and peace,

Rev. Susan Zencka

Surf’s up!

BY THE REV. GRADYE PARSONS

GENERAL ASSEMBLY STATED CLERK

LOUISVILLE — Each year, the Mavericks Surf Contest attracts the top surfers in the world. The competitors watch the Mavericks’ Web site until they see the words, “It’s on.” They then have 48 hours to get to the designated beach and compete for the prize money.

This year, the beach was Half Moon Bay in northern California. The surfers had to be towed out to the starting point because the breaking waves were so monstrous in size. Lifeguards zoomed around on jet skis to watch over the competitors.

Naturally, many spectators came to watch the excitement. Some observed from the bluffs; others, from the shore. Many of those who stood and watched from the shore were injured when a couple of the giant waves made it all the way onto the beach and crashed upon them.

An insightful bishop from the American Methodist Episcopal Church observed with interest that no active surfer was hurt while in the middle of riding a board on those huge waves. It was only the passive spectators on the unmovable shore who were injured.

We are facing a wave of change in our communal life of faith. It seems logical that the safest way to weather that change would be to observe it from the unmovable shore of “We’ve always done it this way.”

But could it be that the safer, though perhaps scarier, place to thrive in this change is in the middle of the wave?

In Danielle Shroyer’s study guide for Phyllis Tickle’s book, The Great Emergence, shewrites:

“Perhaps surfing is an apt metaphor for the kind of dual action required of us. Though we may choose our surfboard, our spot in the ocean, and the wave we take, we are not, in the end, able to control the movement of the ocean. We cannot determine the tide, or the length of the wave, or its intensity. It is our duty to ride it, and ride it well, in hopes that we arrive safely (and, with a little luck, gracefully) on the shore.” — (Reader’s Guide to The Great Emergence: How Christianity is Changing and Why, Baker Publishing Group, 2008, p. 20)

Surf’s up. It’s on!

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Happy New Year!

We look forward to working with you in 2010