| |
|
|
| |
||
From the expansively welcoming call to worship in the morning to the marvelous organ Toccata ushering all out into the afternoon sunshine, the second NW Regional Conference was an inspiring day challenging all to look at old, familiar issues in new ways. Newport PC in Bellevue, WA, where Heidi Calhoun serves as Associate Pastor, was a powerful venue in which the 160 participants could both view the Calhoun Family segment of the award winning video, Turning Points, and meet family members. The keynote address by the Rev. Dr. Susan Andrews mined Biblical and secular resources and traditions to extract the heart of what constitutes faithful Christian covenantal expressions of sexuality. These are expressions that "heal and enlarge" the other, honor the faithfulness and fidelity of covenant, glorify God in the temple of sacred sexuality, and take seriously the biblical tradition that has grounded us and defined us as reformed Christians. And upholding such expressions also declares that expressions which do not do those things are wrong. |
|
A hope emerged from the plenary sessions and a number of the workshops that we Presbyterians can model for a divided world the power of Christian love by embracing the difficult peace of intense dialogue and discernment, realizing that unity in Christ means the opposite of uniformity, and proclaiming a purity of love that leads us to know that we need each other. The report of the Theological Task Force points the way to do that; and Task Force members Elder Joan Merritt and the Rev. Vicky Curtiss led packed workshops on the report and its implications. The closing worship service was graced by a powerful sermon by the Rev. Dr. James Noel, Pastor and Professor of African-American Christianity at San Francisco Theological Seminary: "What About Us?" Preaching on Matthew’s story of the Canaanite woman asking Jesus’ help for her daughter, he concluded, The church cannot be the church of Jesus Christ as long as some are outside, asking, “What about us?” This age-old question, long asked by African Americans, applies as well to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Presbyterians. Its relevance was underscored by the musical presence of the Diverse Harmony, the nation's first gay/straight alliance youth chorus, singing "How Different Can We Be?"
|
