July 9, 2010 

Dear Sisters and Brothers of Grace Presbytery:

 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

 You are receiving this letter as the 219th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) comes to a close.  During this past week the General Assembly has been engaged in prayerful discernment as it has acted on the business it was asked to consider.  The numerous overtures and commissioner resolutions were carefully considered in the 19 committees Sunday through Wednesday, with Wednesday afternoon through the remaining days of the Assembly in plenary as the whole body acted on their recommendations.  As of the writing of this letter the General Assembly is still meeting and their actions being reported on www.pcusa.org as well as in a variety of other media - both religious press and secular press.  As is always the case, people react and respond in a variety of ways to the actions of the General Assembly.  As sisters and brothers called together in the Body of Christ we experience as the Presbyterian Church (USA), we are grateful for the passionate faith and commitment to Jesus Christ we share in common.

Our common faith and commitment to Jesus Christ binds us together as a denomination and as Grace Presbytery.  One of the many gifts we are privileged to share is the responsibility to humbly discern together the will of Christ for our church.  Several actions approved by the General Assembly this week will come before Grace Presbytery (and all presbyteries) as we join in discerning proposed changes to The Book of Confessions and the Book of Order.  Discernment involves prayer, study, reflection and conversation with one another.  Rest assured that as the Presbytery Council meets July 22 we will be making plans for our presbytery to be engaged in faithful discernment.  Conversations with one another and our commissioners, opportunities for study and reflection, and time spent together in prayer and worship will help us to not only participate faithfully in the necessary  discernment required of us as presbyters, but will give us an opportunity to strengthen our bonds with one another as disciples of Jesus Christ seeking to be faithful together.

There are many issues before General Assembly - as many as 900 items of business are to be transacted.  What the press picks up is often what will prompt the most discussion publicly and among Presbyterians, even if it is one of many issues.   Many actions taken this week have addressed our confessional positions, have asked us to stand in solidarity with Christians under persecution in many parts of the world, have addressed issues of our own polity, and many other important issues and concerns.  People of diverse opinion have found their commonality in Jesus Christ - just as we have, and will continue to do, in Grace Presbytery. 

Among the issues in the press which we know have been reported by our local papers are the issues related to marriage and civil unions, and ordination standards.  Specifically, presbyteries will be asked, among other issues, to consider amended language for G-6.0106b, as listed below.  It should be noted that the action of the General Assembly is somewhat different than what Associated Press reported in its article.

Final Text:

Shall G-6.0106b be amended by striking the current text and inserting new text in its place: [Text to be deleted is shown with a strike-through; text to be added or inserted is shown as italic.]

"b. Those who are called to office in the church are to lead a life in obedience to Scripture and in conformity to the historic confessional standards of the church. Among these standards is the requirement to live either in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman (W-4.9001), or chastity in singleness. Persons refusing to repent of any self-acknowledged practice which the confessions call sin shall not be ordained and/or installed as deacons, elders, or ministers of the Word and Sacrament. Standards for ordained service reflect the church's desire to submit joyfully to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in all aspects of life (G-1.0000). The governing body responsible for ordination and/or installation (G.14.0240; G-14.0450) shall examine each candidate's calling, gifts, preparation, and suitability for the responsibilities of office. The examination shall include, but not be limited to, a determination of the candidate's ability and commitment to fulfill all requirements as expressed in the constitutional questions for ordination and installation (W-4.4003). Governing bodies shall be guided by Scripture and the confessions in applying standards to individual candidates."

For more information on the specific actions taken by the 219th General Assembly, we encourage you to visit www.pcusa.org and read official texts of actions taken.  Many other sources will provide selected portions of actions taken, often with interpretation.   While it can be good and helpful to read responses to actions from a variety of sources, it is important to read in their entirety the actual actions taken by the General Assembly.  As we come together over the next months we will have ample opportunity to then be engaged in informed dialogue together as we consider the actions of the 219th General Assembly.

We invite you to join us in prayer for our denomination and our presbytery. Prayers of thanksgiving for the gift of being called together by Jesus Christ, prayers for wisdom and humility as we discern together, prayers of hope as we move into our future together, and prayers of trust that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who alone is the Head of our Church, blesses us with all we need to be faithful together.  We look forward to our future conversations together.

God's Peace to You,

Rev. Dr. Janet M. DeVries, General Presbyter

Elder Connie M. Tubb, Stated Clerk

Rev. Michael Waschevski, Moderator

Elder Paul Williams, Moderator of Council