Then Jesus turned to the host. “The next time you put on a dinner, don’t just invite your friends and family and rich neighbors, the kind of people who will return the favor. Invite some people who never get invited out . . .”

Luke 14:12-13 (The Message)

Next week is our September Presbytery meeting! The meeting is on Zoom, so please remember to pre-register. I look forward to seeing you all there. We will hear from Rev. Dr. Hiheon Kim, International Peacemaker from Korea, our General Assembly Commissioners, and Interwoven and Live Oak new worshiping communities.

As it happens, I’ve had the opportunity to speak about GA a few times this summer. I’ll be glad to hear from our commissioners, Deidra Goulding and Melinda Forbes, because their experience is much more intense than mine, of course—but also because though it’s only been nine weeks since it ended, it seems like a lifetime ago! 

Like with any report, different audiences respond to different elements of the story. For instance, at a typical congregation, very few people have been to a GA, and only a few more understand or connect with what happens there. For others—Monte Vista Grove, for instance—nearly everyone has been to at least one GA, if not many more! For them, GA is a regular touchstone to reflect on the state of the denomination.

For 2024, the lasting memory of this GA was the joyous celebration of the PC(USA) as a faith community that has become a place of welcome and acceptance for people who have not been welcomed by most Christian churches. One story I often recall came from one queer young person who grew up in the Presbyterian Church and thanks God that they have always been loved and affirmed as they came more fully into their identity. Another came from a pastor who saw someone new who took communion, a transgender woman who might have been homeless. She later shared that this was the first time in 20 years that she felt like she could receive communion, because this was the first church where she felt like she could.  

One data point that I have also mentioned was shared at the very beginning of the GA, that the membership of the PC(USA) will dip below 1,000,000 at some point this year. 

For those who remember the PC(USA) as 5,000,000 strong, this is shocking. But for those who are just happy to find (and be) a church where all are welcome—and one with the resources to continue in relative comfort—this is a good moment in the life of the denomination.

An astute leader in the church asked what this GA said about evangelism. I honestly don’t remember the word being used much, but I suggested that much of what the denomination is trying to do right now—starting new worshiping communities, being more open to people beyond our traditional demographic, and taking action on issues that are most critical for our next generations—is our strategy of evangelism. New people are coming to our churches, but most of them did not grow up Presbyterian, and don’t have the same understandings of how to “do” church.

This is good news, but also gives us cause for concern. I have seen the challenge of trying to be a Presbyterian church when the leaders do not understand the system, or the church cannot afford to cover the budget through their members’ offerings. We are likely losing money as a denomination as we lose members—and money and members, along with the Gospel and the land we own (though taken from Indigenous people whose voices are even more silenced), are the most valuable assets that support the church’s continued existence.

So the familiar story of God’s party invitation list feels more real than in the past. We can feel comfortable and pat ourselves on the back when our pews are almost full of cradle Presbyterians, with space for one or two outliers to make ourselves feel like we’re an accepting, diverse church. But what happens when the folks coming in are really only there for the free lunch, or who feel entitled to speak their mind even though they can’t afford to give much for offering, or when some of the only people available to serve on session cannot read, let alone read the Book of Order?

In the foundational principles of the Presbyterian tradition, there is a small note about the extent of our faith as a church body. It was stated in a way that was easily missed before, but when the Book of Order was rewritten a dozen years ago, it was presented in a more compelling way. In the section describing the church as the body of Christ, F-1.0301 begins with this:

The Church is the body of Christ. Christ gives to the Church all the gifts necessary to be his body. The Church strives to demonstrate these gifts in its life as a community in the world (1 Cor. 12:27–28):

The Church is to be a community of faith, entrusting itself to God alone, even at the risk of losing its life. . .

Do we have enough faith to follow Jesus Christ’s commands, even to the point of letting go of what we have always known as the Church? Are we willing to risk losing the Church’s life? All of us believe in and appreciate Jesus for giving up his life for the sake of the gospel. Most of us know of people who gave up their lives for the sake of the gospel. A few of us have been willing to give up our own lives for the sake of the gospel. Are we also willing to give up the institution for the sake of the gospel?

Several years ago, a long-time pastor took another call and left his church. The members panicked, and talked about the end of the church coming near without their beloved pastor at the helm. That pastor told his members something very simple that has stuck with me—he said, “If God wants this church to continue, this church will continue.”

May we be obedient to Christ’s call to welcome even those who never get invited out. May we remember that our churches are not “our” churches, because we are all strangers and sinners, invited into Christ’s church by the God of welcome. May we trust in God’s gracious care to guide us, bless us, forgive us, and provide for us, that we may be a blessing for others.

In trust and in peace,

Wendy

Some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women.

Acts 17:4

As Presbytery staff, my preaching schedule runs roughly opposite of most pastors. I often joke that I am rarely asked to fill in during the holidays, especially Advent-Christmas and Lent-Easter, because that’s when the pastors earn their keep. But I have offered to churches that I will preach once a year to give the pastors—and the church budgets—a little relief. So I tend to preach more during the summer, when the pastors are on vacation. This month, I’ve preached at three churches, and it’s been a joy to see how folks are doing.

Yesterday I preached at Filipino Community United Presbyterian Church (FCUPC) in Azusa, as Tracey Shenell has been on vacation. Because I’m always worried that I will get the worship time wrong, I looked at their Facebook page, and was thrilled to see how active they have been, including two large teams doing a work day with Habitat for Humanity (one team on a worksite in Azusa, the other at a ReStore nearby), and an upcoming beach cleanup day. At the church, several elders shared how much they love Tracey, and this coming Sunday, they are going to meet to decide on a new name for the church, which has been a long-time topic of discussion as the church looks to broaden their ministry to include all of the Azusa community, which means multiple races, LGBTQ folks, immigrants, and families. How exciting to see this loving, vibrant community achieve some long hoped-for dreams with their new pastor! I shared with them that later that day, the Presbytery would be installing Elizabeth Wang as pastor of First Presbyterian Church Altadena, so we can celebrate the great gifts of our women pastors in San Gabriel Presbytery, including now Tracey and Elizabeth.

Tracey is using Wil Gafney’s Women’s Lectionary for worship, so she assigned to me Acts 17:1-7, which included this reference to Paul’s ministry with the leading women of the Thessalonian community. I am much more familiar with Acts 16, which recounts Paul’s encounter with Lydia and also the unnamed prophesying enslaved young woman, and I shared with the Azusa folk how a clear mark of the spread of the Christian faith has been the empowering impact on women. Just in Acts 16 and 17, Paul doesn’t just meet several women, but they represent wildly different classes: a businesswoman, a slave, and these unnamed “leading women”—I surmise these are women who have influence in the community. As a professor at Fuller said many years ago, it makes total sense that women usually outnumber men in church attendance, as Jesus’ ministry gave respect and added purpose to women in revolutionary ways, regardless of background or social status.

The installation service in Altadena went well, and I was happy to see several members of the Presbytery in attendance. I filled the pulpit at Altadena during Lent, not long after Elizabeth started, and I could see the renewed energy at the church, especially with a Lenten Bible study that Elizabeth organized, with several church members acting as small group facilitators for the study. Elizabeth asked Mariko Yanagihara to give the charge to her, and she asked me to give the charge to this, my family church. This church has a long history of leading women, including my aunt Sophie Toriumi, and several clergywomen who have been ordained in connection with this church. Mariko was ordained at Altadena a few decades ago, Ellen Tanouye and I were formed by the church prior to being ordained elsewhere, Stephanie Kang was ordained there, and now Elizabeth Wang has been installed as their pastor (after having two excellent interim pastorates with Ann Oglesby-Edwards and Vikki Randall). It wasn’t until the evening that I found out that Joe Biden had ended his reelection campaign and has fully endorsed Kamala Harris to run for President, and the Democratic Party seems to have coalesced in support of Harris within hours.

The Presbyterian Church (USA) has been ordaining women for so long that I need to be reminded that many denominations still do not allow women to follow the call they discern. We have benefited from the rigidity of other traditions, as many women (and now several LGBTQ leaders and their
allies) gratefully come our way, that they might serve Christ’s church in ordained ministry as they feel led. What a gift! It would be hard to measure what would happen to our ministry efforts if we lost our women teaching elders—not to mention ruling elders and deacons!

Being a more inclusive church is not just a statement; as more of God’s children feel welcomed into our churches, our ministry becomes stronger, broader, and more versatile with their contributions.
Thanks be to God! AMEN.

Your sister in Christ,

Wendy

Keep your tongue from evil,

and your lips from speaking deceit.

Depart from evil, and do good;

seek peace, and pursue it.             

Psalm 34:13-14  

It’s now been ten days since General Assembly (GA) ended, but some of us are still talking about it.  Unfortunately, a key part of this GA’s aftereffects is the number of people who caught COVID during the event.  Several folks tested positive during GA or upon their return home.  I have had the blessing of preaching at two churches since GA ended, so I have tested myself several times, all with negative results.  But at one church, it turned out that they had been hit with COVID outside of GA, so several of their staff were out already!  While many people tested positive, I have not heard of anyone suffering from serious symptoms, so that’s good news.  Please pray for everyone’s recovery, without serious complications.

Another lingering aftereffect of this GA was gratitude for the peaceable spirit of the meeting.  One of our commissioners commented recently on the impact of this, her first GA, as her eyes were opened to the breadth and depth of the work of our denomination.  While there were many actions taken by this GA, two issues took the most time and discussion up to and during GA.  Last week I attempted to explain one of them, the issue of investment in and possible divestment from companies that profit from fossil fuels.  The other issue raised the most attention before GA, which was first called OVT-01, then POL-01, as it was assigned to the Polity Committee.  Because POL-01 suggests amendments to the Constitution of the PC(USA), the recommended amendments will be presented for ratification by presbyteries in the coming year; the recommendation requires a majority of presbyteries to ratify it before it can be inserted into the Book of Order. 

Last week I decided not to attempt to discuss divestment and POL-01 in the same column, so I planned to write about POL-01 today.  But then the shooting at Butler, Pennsylvania, happened, resulting in injury to former President Donald Trump and death for Corey Comperatore, an attendee of the rally.  But in one important way, both seemingly disparate topics have an essential aspect in common:  the importance of pursuing peace, even in the midst of disagreement.

First, a little background.  POL-01 was presented as a two-part recommendation.  The Polity Committee ended up splitting the overture into two separate recommendations, with the first recommendation being approved with little dissension and no revision.  The proposed amendment being sent for presbytery consideration is underlined and in brackets:

1. Shall F-1.0403 be amended as follows:

The unity of believers in Christ is reflected in the rich diversity of the Church’s membership. In Christ, by the power of the Spirit, God unites persons through baptism, regardless of race, ethnicity, age, sex, [gender identity, sexual orientation,] disability, geography, or theological conviction. There is therefore no place in the life of the Church for discrimination against any person. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) shall guarantee full participation and representation in its worship, governance, and emerging life to all persons or groups within its membership. No member shall be denied participation or representation for any reason other than those stated in this Constitution.

The second recommendation in POL-01 was more controversial, as it would require added emphasis on adherence to the first recommendation for anyone being examined for ordination.  For some folks, this seemed to be a return to the control imposed on presbyteries that was decried when the Book of Order prohibited the ordination of LGBTQ candidates—but this time, the control was to require presbyteries to assess specifically a candidate’s ability and commitment to the “principles of participation, representation, and non-discrimination found in F-1.0403”:  

2. Shall G-2.0104b be amended as follows:

“b. Standards for ordained service reflect the church’s desire to submit joyfully to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in all aspects of life (F-1.02). The council responsible for ordination and/or installation (G-2.0402; G-2.0607; G-3.0306) shall examine each candidate’s calling, gifts, preparation, and suitability for the responsibilities of ordered ministry. 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-4.0404) [and in the principles of participation, representation, and non-discrimination found in F-1.0403]. Councils shall be guided by Scripture and the confessions in applying standards to individual candidates.

After much discussion in committee and plenary, the second recommendation was amended and approved for consideration of the presbyteries:

Shall G-2.0104b be amended as follows:

1. Standards for ordained service reflect the church’s desire to submit joyfully to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in all aspects of life (F-1.02). The council responsible for ordination and/or installation (G-2.0402; G-2.0607; G-3.0306) shall examine each candidate’s calling, gifts, preparation, and suitability for the responsibilities of ordered ministry. 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-4.0404)[, the Historic Principles of Church Order (F-3.01), and in the principles of participation and representation found in F-1.0403]. Councils shall be guided by Scripture and the confessions in applying standards to individual candidates.

By adding the “Historic Principles of Church Order,” this recommendation raises up the principles of individual conscience and mutual forbearance as well as inclusivity. 

Perhaps just as important as the result was the discussion that led to it.  Those who suggested the addition of the Historic Principles spoke with humility, and those who agreed to the changes made it clear they acknowledged the concerns of the minority.  This is a huge improvement over the prior conflicts from a dozen years ago.  While I don’t think our past conflicts led to physical violence, there were angry verbal attacks and the use of God’s name and word that approached spiritual abuse.  I am encouraged that none of those attacks were brought back up.

In response to the assassination attempt of Donald Trump, there have been calls to dial down the vitriol in political rhetoric.  Differences in policy are real and should be acknowledged, but there must also be concern for the humanity of political rivals.  My hope is that this appeal for peaceable discourse will be honored.  And I hope that our GA could continue to be a demonstration to this hurting world that differing opinions can be voiced in a context of mutual respect and love.

Praying for and pursuing peace,

Wendy

God has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

Luke 4:18b-19

General Assembly ended last week, as we all came home on the 4^th of July. Thanks to technology, you can relive practically all of the GA by going to https://ga-pcusa.org/. There are videos of all the committee meetings and the plenary sessions last week that are easily accessed from that website.

When I look back on this GA, especially the plenary meetings, I was impressed with the generous spirit that seemed to permeate the body. There were multiple stories of folks, especially queer folks, who found love and acceptance in our churches. It seems that the Presbytery of Utah has a calling to be a welcoming community of faith in a state that is dominated by a church—the Mormon Church— that stands firm against homosexuality. But stories also came from commissioners and advisory delegates from many places, stories that celebrated opportunities to be a safe space for folks who have been ostracized, condemned, or hurt by churches in the past.

Indeed, it seemed to me that the word that most characterized this GA was inclusivity. Not only was there inclusion of LGBTQ folks, but there was great support shown to the new Stated Clerk, Jihyun Oh. Jihyun, who is Korean-American, is the first Stated Clerk who is a woman of color; Bronwen Boswell was the first woman Stated Clerk (though it was for the one-year interim before Jihyun was elected). We know Jihyun because she preached at both Knox and Interwoven just over a year ago, when many national staff members visited Southern California. She has also been the active champion of the Intercultural Development Inventory, which we used a couple of years ago to assess San Gabriel Presbytery’s level of inclusion of people from various cultures.

 In my estimation, this was also the GA when conservatives found their voice again. For several GAs now, I have felt that the conservative commissioners have been present but marginalized to the point of being silenced. I remember the last time we met fully in person (that was 2018!), and there were conservative debriefs each evening, and a very small group of folks attended, but I don’t remember any of them speaking on the floor of plenary. In this GA, there was more comment from conservatives, partly in response to an overture, POL-01, which seemed to put pressure on people seeking ordination to speak in favor of LGBTQ inclusion.

Being such a “big tent” denomination has its challenges. For instance, one of the two biggest controversies in this GA was actually an old one, the push to divest from the fossil fuel industry. Led partly by the passionate and articulate advocacy of the Young Adult Advisory Delegates (YAADs), the plenary approved the recommendation of the Environmental and Climate Justice Committee, to call for immediate divestment from the fossil fuel industry (per overture ENV-02, with which San Gabriel Presbytery concurred). This overture bypasses the Mission Responsibility through Investment (MRTI) process, which takes many years of engagement with individual companies before possible divestment from an entire industry. The MRTI process has been upheld by the major investing agencies of the denomination, namely the Board of Pensions and Presbyterian Foundation. Those agencies only divest based on the decisions of the MRTI, so they resisted any immediate divestment, even if it was directed by the General Assembly.

But perhaps more compelling was the progress that has been achieved with the Lowlander Center in Southeastern Louisiana, a nonprofit that works with Indigenous communities like the Pointe au Chien Indian Tribe and others, and faith groups like the PC(USA), to advocate for restoration of coastal and bayous lowlands from the damage done by hurricanes and fossil fuel companies such as ConocoPhillips. Because MRTI facilitated direct contact with ConocoPhillips which resulted in some restoration of their wetlands, the tribe has asked for MRTI to continue to be in engagement with them and with ConocoPhillips.

Faced with the desire to continue work with the local Indigenous peoples and nonprofit workers in the area, and the investing agencies’ resistance to comply with immediate divestment, the GA ended up rescinding their original support for immediate divestment of the entire industry, but inserted into the MRTI’s recommendation to demand immediate divestment from the ten companies that most profit from fossil fuel exploration, development, and production of fossil fuels and with which there will be no promising engagement. This was a major disappointment from the environmental activists and especially the YAADs, so while there was appreciation for all sides, ultimately the GA chose to continue the course with the Indigenous communities and the existing policy commitment to MRTI.

That sounded complicated, and it is, but it is indicative of the complexity that the PC(USA) faces when attempting to use our significant investment resources in a way that promotes justice and other priorities of the church, such as protecting the environment—and to gauge the level of crisis voiced by the next generation of church leaders, namely the YAADs. The Assembly acted with concern for Indigenous peoples, nonprofit partnerships, individuals committed to existing practices, environmentalists who were on both sides of the discussion, young adults, and all those who receive benefits from the Board of Pensions and the national church. Such is the goal for every GA, that the many people impacted by decisions of the GA be heard and considered with compassion and respect.

The other issue that took the most discussion was the overture called POL-01, but it will take another column to explore it. In the meantime, I ask for prayers for the folks who have returned from GA, especially as several of them contracted COVID at the event. And may God continue to bless and work through the PC(USA), as we continue to seek to discern and follow God’s will in all we do.

Peace,

Wendy

Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect. For by the grace given to me I say to
everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. Romans 12:2-3

General Assembly starts this week, with a brief opening plenary session which can be viewed online tomorrow (Tuesday), at 8 am Mountain Time—that means 7 am Pacific Time. Because this year’s format has committee meetings on Zoom, the beginning of GA seems kind of quiet, so I ask that you take a moment to pray for our commissioners, Melinda Forbes and Deidra Goulding, and for all the people participating in the decision-making of the GA. Melinda, Deidra, and I will be going to Salt Lake City this coming Saturday, and will return on the 4^th of July, but they are doing the hard work! You can follow the GA, and watch the online meetings, at https://ga-pcusa.org/.

GA gives folks a glimpse into the essence of the Presbyterian Church (USA). It is, of course, the gathering of individuals from across the denomination, chosen by the Holy Spirit through the voice of the presbyteries to discern together the will of God for this church. For many, it is the first time they see the breadth and depth of the PC(USA)’s commitments to action in the world. It has been the most dramatic demonstration of our rules of governance, used at times to guide us, or distorted by the adversarial intentions of those seeking power in the church. And, it is a big family reunion.

I am astounded at how many hours are put into this event every other year, especially by volunteers. The Committee on the Office of the General Assembly (COGA), Advisory Committee on the Constitution (ACC), and the host presbytery are among volunteers who put in countless hours planning, reviewing, advising, and taking care of an infinite number of details to ensure that those who participate in GA are taken care of. This is topped by the huge number of hours each GA commissioner and advisory delegate puts into their work—not only the long hours of meetings for almost two weeks, but the many hours of preparation, reading all the overtures and reports presented to each GA, and learning whatever technology platform will be used at GA to interact and vote.

One of the most important tenets of GA is the role of the commissioners—those ruling and teaching elders who are elected by every presbytery to come and vote on the various issues that need to be considered. The commissioners are being entrusted to discern the will of God for the whole church, so they are not representing the concerns of their presbytery, or their own personal views. As with every level of the PC(USA), we believe that the best way to discern the will of God is for the people of God to gather with prayer and humility, seeking to hear God’s wisdom through each other’s voices. We believe in corporate discernment—that is, we all have a bit of God’s wisdom, so as we are gathered, we have a better chance of hearing more of that wisdom as a body. That is perhaps thebiggest challenge for leaders new to the PC(USA), that we do not consider any individual to have all the wisdom, so we consult with others for nearly any decision.

And people take this responsibility incredibly seriously. I was blessed to help coordinate a prayer room for the 218^th General Assembly, held in San Jose, California, in 2008. For those who remember his presence with us, this was the GA when Bruce Reyes-Chow was elected Moderator of the denomination. (Another more familiar name is Ruth Santana-Grace, my predecessor as Executive Presbyter of San Gabriel Presbytery—Ruth is current Co-Moderator.)

The 2008 GA was marked with great conflict. While we don’t have the same overt conflict nowadays, we are always at risk of creating new conflict—or going too far because those who might have given needed constraint have felt marginalized enough to be afraid to speak. But I believe that the conflict arises not out of malice but different understandings of how to follow God’s direction.

Back to 2008. I was on staff of San Francisco Theological Seminary, used to set up a prayer room for every GA. At San Jose, we set up quiet spaces for people to pray and meditate, and there was a wall where people could write prayers on index cards and post. Because I dismantled the prayer wall, I ended up with the prayer cards, and it was so moving to read the prayers of so many folks:

• prayers for loved ones they had to leave at home,
• prayers for healing for friends needing peace,
• prayers of confession,
• prayers of thanksgiving,
• prayers for the openness to accept the Holy Spirit’s work through the GA,
• prayers for grace for each other as they discuss challenging

See the next pages for a handful of the almost 150 prayer cards that were written at that GA.

I have no doubt that this year’s commissioners are just as prayerful as they begin their deliberations. So again, I ask that you pray for Deidra and Melinda and all the commissioners, advisory delegates, and all who work at GA and those who will be impacted by the decisions they make.

Peace,

Wendy