We spent most of our time discussing the facts and our
feelings about same-gender marriage and divestment Caterpillar, Hewlett-Packard
and Motorola Solutions. As I suspected, there were people on both sides of both
issues, showing that this church is a “big tent” allowing for diversity of
opinion. I wanted people to be able to express their opinions in a loving way
and for voices to be heard. I wanted people to know the actual facts of the
decisions. I handed out Frequently Asked Questions on both issues which contain
the actual verbiage with explanations on what they mean (and what they don’t
mean).
I hope that you were able to walk away feeling like we’re
all going to be okay even if you don’t like what has happened. Presbyterian
polity has never enforced a top-down approach which enforces a litmus test on
certain issues. And we have historically asked that we gracefully defer to each
other out of our love for Christ (Eph. 5.21). These are some of the historic principles of
Presbyterian polity--freedom of conscience within certain bounds and mutual
forbearance.
Conformity in all things has never been a principle of
“mainline” churches or Presbyterianism. Of course this is what makes it messy
as well. Ambiguity, not knowing, makes us feel uncomfortable. It is anxiety-producing.
Yet our not-knowing about some things forces us to trust in God more completely
in all things. We are not called to feel settled because we have it all figured
out. We are called to feel secure in Christ because of God’s providential care
for all of creation.
Thank you for being a faithful congregation. Thank you for
agreeing to disagree. Thank you for staying clear on our mission to worship
God, prepare disciples and serve the world. We are at our best when we worship,
pray, learn, serve and grow together. God will complete whatever we leave
undone. So be it.
David
