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Seminarians Blog
Aric Clark, a seminarian at San Francisco Theological Seminary, has been writing about a number of theological and just plain life issues. Most recently, he has been engaged in a conversation with Dr. Robert Gagnon who teaches at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary with a interest in "Pauline theology and Sexual Issues in the Bible" (www.robgagnon.net).
Aric's blog can be found at: aricclark.blogspot.com
Readers interested in the Gagnon thread may wish to click on the following links:
Do you blog? Do you have sermons, orders of worship, poetry, photos, etc. that you think might be of interest to Covenant Network readers? Please contact the webspinner, Anitra Kitts at anitrakr@covenantnetwork.org
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Listening to the Future,
Ministering in the Present:
Two views from PC(USA)
Seminary Students
Recently, Andrew Troutman, a student at Union-PSCE in Richmond, VA sent us an meditation he was called to write. Not very long after, we noticed a very interesting blog entry by Doug Hagler, a student at SFTS in San Anselmo, CA. Together they offer interesting insights into what it means to be called to serve. |
Unpacking -
Adventures in Divinity School A blog by Doug Hagler
M.Div. Student, San Francisco Theological Seminary
April, 2007 "In the context of our continuing conversation about homosexuality and Christian faith and practice: for me, even if the Bible clearly denounced homosexuality between loving, consenting, committed adults (which some scholars claim it doesn't address as such), there is still, first of all, my sense that God does not want us to call something sin without good reason. Sin isn't arbitrary - it is sin because it destroys relationships and prevents the flourishing of life and drags us further from God. If homosexuality as described above doesn't seem to do that, how can it be sin? It seems arbitrary, and I don't think God is arbitrary, even if we can't ever fully understand." To read the entire blog entry, please click here |
It’s All in the Name
A meditation by Andrew Troutman
M.Div Student, Union-PSCE
April, 2007
"Of course, one does not have to agree with my stance on gay ordination. But let’s all name this controversy as an important issue, even if we do cause difference of opinion. Why should we risk this division? Here is the heart-breaking fact: this year, there will be gay men and women who will successfully graduate from our PCUSA seminaries and be denied ordination. They will have jumped through all the “hoops” only to have the door slammed in their face, not for something they’ve done, but for something they are. It doesn’t seem to matter that they’re Christian. They are the wrong kind. These people do not have the luxury of telling the ordination controversy to “go away.” The reality is that there is already division and the division that currently exists is unjust."
To read the entire meditation, please click here |
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Sermon - March 4, 2007
Decentering
Luke 14: 12-24
Reverend Kenneth E. Kovacs
Catonsville Presbyterian Church
Catonsville, Maryland
Will we accept the table fellowship of our Lord or do we want to see who’s on the guest list first? To see who else is coming before we say yes to God’s invitation is, to put it bluntly, self-centered. It’s all about them – or us. Basically those making excuses don’t want to be inconvenienced. They’re focusing upon themselves, upon their own needs. They are the elite, the wealthy and powerful; they’re at the center of their society. They are the hub of a social wheel where everyone else circles around them. Your place in society is determined vis-à-vis your relationship to them at the center.
To read more, please click here |
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The Threat From Within - A Sermon
Luke 4:21-30
Sunday, January 28, 2007
The Rev. Dr. David A. Van Dyke
Broad Street Presbyterian Church, Columbus, OH
If God wants to miraculously feed a pagan widow, that’s what God will do. And if God wants to heal a Syrian leper, that’s what God will do. And if God decides to give added blessings to someone who, in our opinion isn’t deserving, according to the way we’ve ordered the world, someone maybe even outside the church, than that’s what God will do.
What happened in Nazareth that morning? Jesus read scripture and interpreted it, daring to remind people of the difficult, but genuine, life-giving qualities found within their own sacred texts and traditions, and in so doing, he challenged the preconceived notions of truth and fairness, and of right and wrong that they brought with them to worship.
That’s what he did. And for that, we tried to lynch him.
To read the whole sermon, please click here
To visit the Broad Street Presbyterian Church's website, please click here
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Sermon - Different Gifts
Pastor David D. Colby
Central Presbyterian Church, St. Paul MN
1 Corinthians 12:4-11
January 7, 2007
"They thought they were better than everybody else. I call it the Corinthian cancer, and it can happen anywhere - a school playground, a church, our country. Believing that we are the superspiritual ones and don't need anybody else. That anyone who is different or disagrees is stupid or worse and can take a hike. And in response to the Corinthians, Paul insists that varieties of gifts are activated and allotted 'just as the Spirit chooses' and that they are 'to be used for the common good."
To read more, please click here
(this will download a pdf)
To learn more about Central Presbyterian Church, please visit their website here. |
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Sermon - The Promise of Redemption
Pastor Timothy Hart-Andersen
Zephaniah 3:14-20; Luke 3:7-18
December 17th, 2006
"John answers the question in practical terms: Whoever has more than he or she needs, he says, must share it with others. Be generous. Whoever runs a business, he says, should be scrupulously fair. Show justice. Whoever has power over others, he says, should use that power honorably. Live with integrity.
"There is an ethical imperative in Advent. It is rooted in the prophetic tradition of Israel, and it is binding on us still."
To read more, please click here
(this will open a new window) |
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On Pres-outlook.com:
Authoritative Witnesses: Accept no Substitutes
by Ted Smith (editor of FAQ About Sexuality, The Bible and The Church)
Please click here to read a very interesting essay on the process of examining candiates for ordained office. Registration (free) is required.
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It was a rich and challenging conference. Conference attendees celebrated the anniversaries of women's ordination to Deacon, Elder, and Minister of the Word and Sacrament; started to consider the issues of power in the church; and explored how ordination to the three church offices has changed as a result of the 217th General Assembly.
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Beau Geste
A sermon preached by Pastor Scott Dalgarno,
First Presbyterian Church,
Ashland, OR
The temple authorities did not want people to think too much about giving. They just wanted them to do it casually and, of course, regularly.
They made it easy with a drop box; something like a 1st century drive up window so it can be done w/o thinking on the way somewhere else
But Jesus does not believe that anything should be done w/o thinking everything ought to be done with intention. That's why he camps out and has the disciples look, watch, and think.
To read more, please click here (opens in a new window)
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Sermon: V. “The Bible and Homosexuality”
Acts 10 (selected verses)
The Reverend Joanna M. Adams
Morningside Presbyterian Church
Atlanta, GA
October 8, 2006
I will tell you that I am weary of the rancor. I find it unfathomable that the church, which has such a compelling mission to fulfill in a world of suffering and hurt, a world in which people are languishing for want of hope and healing, has devoted so much energy to this discussion. And yet, it is an important discussion, not the most important one, but one worthy of our prayerful discernment and attention. Why? Because real people are involved. Real justice is at stake. Real fidelity to the life and ministry of Jesus Christ is involved in this issue.
To read more, please click here
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Decently and in Order - With a Human Face
Warner M. Bailey
A Sermon for Reformation Sunday, October 29th
She didn’t have to do it. That little slip of an Israelite slave-girl. She didn’t have to tell her mistress about the prophet in Samaria who could cure her master of his social disease. The little girl had been ripped from her dying mother’s arms as a prize of war—that never ending conflict between Syria and northern Israel. Now she was a slave forever in the house of Naaman, Syria’s top general, facing the fate of all unprotected, nubile women.
To read more, please click here |
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Job and the Renewal of the Church: Seeking Jesus - A Sermon
Job 12:1-9, 16-17
Timothy Hart-Andersen
Pastor, Westminster Presbyterian Church
Covenant Network Board Member
Job refuses to give in to misery. He rejects the idea that God would have abandoned him, or that God would have brought calamity upon him and upon his family. After the rapid succession of opening disasters and Job’s fall from high places, what follows in the life-story of Job is a series of dialogues he has with three friends who come to visit him. As they listen to Job, the friends alternate between encouraging the poor man and condemning him. It’s as if the Pentecostals, the Southern Baptists, and the mega-churches were paying a visit on the old mainliner, and they do not know quite what to do with us. To read more, please click here
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Who's In and Who's Out? |
The Rev. James Sledge of Boulevard Presbyterian Church recently sent in a sermon consider what we might learn from the encounter between Philip and the eunuch.
This was no chance encounter. The angel has directed Philip to this place and the Spirit tells Philip to go over to this eunuch. And so Philip helps the eunuch to understand the scripture he is reading. He tells him the good news about Jesus, about God’s love poured out for all in Christ. And the eunuch says, “Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?” To read more, please click here
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John M. Buchanan
Pastor, Fourth Presbyterian Church
Sermon February 12, 2006
" A minor miracle has happened. The task force has come up with a report and list of recommendations that it unanimously approved. It identifies the issues that divide us. It acknowledges that conflict is the context in which we live in this world and in the church. It suggests that what everybody in the church is really good at is blaming other people for all our troubles. “It’s the liberals—no it’s the conservatives.” And it makes the simplest and most remarkable suggestion: that we stop shouting and start listening, that we actually try to understand where the other person is coming from. The report says that we shouldn’t divide the church although there are lots of days, in the midst of the incessant arguing, that it sounds like a viable option. The report says we belong together because we are the church, the Body of Christ, and Christ, as Paul reminds us, is not divided."
To read more, please click here |
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Sing the Good News
A refrain lifted from our Call to Covenant Community wove through all the worship services at the Covenant Conference:
“The good news of the gospel
is that all those who are near
and those who were far off are invited.”
With permission from the composer, Thomas Pavlechko, we invite your congregation to use it during Advent or at any appropriate time.
Please click here to download a pdf of the words and music.
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The One We Follow is Far Ahead
February 19, 2006
John M. Buchanan
Pastor, Fourth Presbyterian Church
"The world has changed. Our culture has changed. The traditional old churches, Walter Brueggemann says, are in a kind of exile, and Walter reminds us that it’s not a bad place to be, that God seems inclined to exiled, sidelined, captive people. The danger, as always, is that we’ll be caught looking backward, expending all our energy and resources in a desperate attempt to create the good old days; fighting one another, blaming one another—the politics of “nostalgia and resentment,” Marty calls it."
To read more, please click here |
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Epiphany on Brokeback Mountain
Dr. David Jenkins
Candler School of Theology,
Emory University, in Atlanta.
"Quick on the heels of Christmas, Epiphany takes its seat between the Slaughter of the Innocents and Ash Wednesday. It’s a skinny season of immensely hopeful proportion. During these brief winter days of Epiphany we celebrate the surprise - no, the shock, like the first lightening bolt from an unexpected storm - of the manifestation of God’s good news to the gentiles.
"It is doubtful that Annie Proulx, author of the 1997 short story, Brokeback Mountain, ever imagined her story could be an apt sermon illustration for an Epiphany homily, let alone provide the narrative for the triumphant movie, but I’d like to make a case for it. " To read more, please click here
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Rebuilding after Katrina - Experiencing Christ
Anitra Kitts Rasmussen
Director of Communications,
Covenant Network of Presbyterians
On January 8, I traveled with four others from the San Francisco Theological Seminary as a Presbyterian Disaster Assistance work team assigned to D'Iberville, Mississippi. Our journey lasted eight days. What we experienced will last a lifetime.
To read more, please click here
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Joanna M. Adams
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Annual Commemorative Service
I grew up in Mississippi at a time when the water fountains at the railroad station had signs over them that read “colored” and “white”
To read more, please click here
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Night Vision -
A Christmas Eve Sermon
Jon Walton
First Presbyterian Church
of New York City
Please click here for a PDF file
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National Covenant Network Conference
November 3-5, 2005
Idlewild Presbyterian Church,
Memphis, Tennessee
Presentations and Sermons:
(pdf files are available for downloading and ease in printing)
Order audio versions of the Presentations through the Covenant Network E-store.
 please click on the photo for images of the conference
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Northwest Regional Conference A Success
One-hundred and 60 people gathered on Saturday, October 15, 2005 at the Newport Presbyterian Church in Bellevue, WA, for the Northwest Regional Covenant Network Conference. The full and rich day included opening and closing worship services, a dozen thought-provoking workshops, and a powerful keynote address by Susan Andrews, pastor of Bradley Hills Presbyterian Church in Bethesda, MD, and Moderator of the 215th G.A.
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Where Words Come From
A Sermon from The Rev. Richard E. Spalding Chaplain of Williams College
Williamstown, Massachusetts
"Where do words come from?
"Do they gestate in the wombs of dictionaries and thesauruses, to be midwived into this world by the gentle hands of English teachers? Do they ebb and flow through cables and gush out of screens? Do words precipitate out of the very air we breathe, full as it is with radio waves and television signals and cell phone calls? …Or do they keep their watch over us silently, like stars, sometimes invisible, sometimes sharp and clear as beacons?"
To read more, please click here
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How My Mind has Evolved
A Personal Reflection on Faith, Biblical Interpretation, and Homosexuality
Steve Montgomery
To read more, please click here.
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Preaching at a time like this
9/4 - God and Katrina - A sermon by John C. Bush, Interim Pastor
First Presbyterian Church; Birmingham, Alabama
9/11 - The Waters of Deliverance - A sermon by Chris Tuttle, Pastor, Faith Presbyterian Church, Greensboro, North Carolina
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Two Sermons About God (and Us)
John M. Buchanan
Fourth Presbyterian Church
Chicago, IL |
“Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak.”
Genesis 32:24 (NRSV)
God, we believe, is the Blessed Intruder, who comes to human life at its most human, in your life and mine, in its extremes, at the edges, at birth and death, but also in the everyday, the common, the betrayals and disappointments, but also in the joy, the occasions of deep gladness. God comes into times of betrayal and separation, but also reconciliation and reunion. God will not, does not, let us go.
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Laird J. Stuart
Calvary Presbyterian Church
San Francisco, CA |
Just so, says Jesus, God rejoices when we are found.
Fancy that. We so often talk about what God can do for us. We too rarely consider how our actions affect God. Here is something we can do, you can do and I can do, which will bring joy to the great heart of God. We can let ourselves be found by God. |
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Essay
HOMOSEXUALITY AND THE BIBLE:
A Consideration of Pertinent Passages
The Rev. Dr. Charles D. Myers, Jr.
Associate Professor, Religious Studies - Gettysburg College
The emotionally-charged topic of homosexuality has not only been the subject of significant debate at the national church level. Laypersons and clergypersons in local churches have been and are continuing to wrestle with this issue as well. Most people have definite opinions on this subject, and those opinions are often defended with great passion. For the time being, however, I ask the reader to suspend her or his personal feelings in order to look specifically at what the Bible says (and does not say) about the subject. The impact of the biblical witness on discussions about homosexuality then and now cannot be underestimated, for this topic raises many questions about how the Bible will be read and appropriated by all Christians at the dawn of a new millennium.
Charles D. Myers, Jr., earned a B.A. degree at Duke University before he attended Princeton Theological Seminary, where he earned an M.Div. degree and a Ph.D. in New Testament language and literature. Before he was hired at Gettysburg College in 1986, Dr. Myers taught religion courses at Princeton Seminary, at the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, and at Swarthmore College. For the past ten years Dr. Myers has served as Chair of the Religion Department at Gettysburg College.
For ten years Dr. Myers served as Recording Secretary for the Revised Standard Version Bible Committee whose work culminated in the 1989 publication of the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible. His published work appears in scholarly journals and in the Anchor Bible Dictionary, a multi-volume reference work. He is also co-editor of and contributor to Biblical Theology: Problems and Prospects (Atlanta: Abingdon, 1995). Dr. Myers is an ordained Presbyterian minister who lives in Camp Hill, PA, with his wife and two daughters.
To view and print a PDF version of this essay, please click here (size 180k)
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Sermon - July17, 2005
The Rev. Dr. Joanna M. Adams
Pastor of Morningside Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, Georgia,
guest preacher Georgia Major State Day
Washington National Cathedral
What I don’t like about this parable, I’ll just confess to you, is the master’s instruction to the servants. “Don’t mess with the weeds.” I really want to mess with the weeds. I really would like to put on my garden gloves and head out with my bottle of Roundup. I’m pretty sure I know what’s useful to God and what isn’t. Don’t you think you have some clarity about that yourself? Perhaps you belong to a Christian denomination that is divided these days. It’s hard to find one that’s not arguing about something. When you’re in the middle of one of those wrangles, do you ever think maybe it would be better if those other people who are so wrong-headed and argumentative would just go somewhere else? Let’s get rid of the weeds. There’s something in us that does not like a weed.
Please click here to read the full sermon.
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Here is a sermon from the Ghost Ranch July gathering of A Church for Our Time:
"The Freedom to Live by Faith Alone"
Paul E. Capetz
These questions are important to ask in order to determine whether our churches today still proclaim the gospel of freedom. In other words, claiming to be “Protestants” is pointless so long as we do not understand the events of the 16th century and their import. If we claim to be a “Reformed” tradition, then we have to ask whether the gospel is rightly preached by us today. And the way to answer this question is to gain clarity regarding what this gospel of freedom is all about that was at stake in the Middle Ages and that is still at stake today.
To read more, please click here
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“New Creation is Everything”
Galatians 6:1-16
Christopher A. Joiner
First Presbyterian Church,
Franklin, Tennessee
If the American project is about discovering how to turn differences into blessing, it is not the first movement to take on this task. One can properly argue, and Sacks does, that the Christian Church and the Judaism out of which it sprang, found itself confronted by a God who, their texts said, loved the world, the whole world. Much of the history of Judaism and Christianity is the struggle of these covenant people with this covenant God. That is, of course, the meaning of the word Israel, “God-struggler.” And this struggle is certainly at the heart of the cross. We are, all of us who claim to live within this tradition, constantly having to do with, as Walter Brueggemann says, “texts that linger, and words that explode.” These words explode all boundaries, all isms, and all attempts to cordon off and limit the scope of God’s love.
To read the whole sermon, please click here.
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A Graceful Dialogue in Grace
Grace Presbytery includes a period of planned theological discussion in every presbytery meeting. Looking ahead to the forthcoming release of the report of the Task Force on Peace, Unity, & Purity of the Church, they have chosen to focus on the meaning(s) of peace, unity, and purity in three successive presbytery meetings. In June the presbytery will reflect together on unity. Two papers from pastors of different theological perspectives will serve as resources and discussion starters for the presbyteries. With their permission, we share them here.
To read "Synonyms: Unity & Uniformity?" by the Rev. Dale W. Patterson, please click here.
To read, "Jesus, Son of God—Bringer of Unity, Preserver of Persons" by The Rev. Warner M. Bailey, H.R., please click here. |
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A Thorn in the Flesh
Isaiah 40; 27-31; II Corinthians 12:1-10
Presbytery of Southern New England
May 12, 2005
A sermon delivered by John C. B. Webster
I suspect that by this time the preachers here know exactly where this sermon is going and are patiently waiting for me to catch up to them. Yes, the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the Presbytery of Southern New England do have a thorn in the flesh, but let us be clear about what that thorn is. The thorn is not active homosexuality in our church or our society. The thorn is not Amendment B. The thorn is the conflict which those have generated. If there were a consensus in the Church either around the moral acceptance of homosexual activity among church leaders, say within a lifelong committed relationship like marriage, or around Amendment B which prohibits that, there would be no thorn, no torment. Life could go on as always. But we have got a thorn in our flesh as a Church.
To read the whole sermon, please click here
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He Prayed for the Unity of the Church
An excerpt from a sermon preached May 8 by
Randy Riggs
Pastor
First Presbyterian Church
Lancaster, PA
We spent the next hour and a half talking about a lot of different things: our families, our calls to the ministry, the places where we had served. We also talked about where we were the same and where we differed on some pretty significant issues, and in the end we agreed that we would probably never share the same point of view on some fairly major issues before the church. However, we also agreed that this should not keep us from honoring each other’s faith and working together on the things we could agree upon. And we agreed that this should not keep us from acknowledging the fact that though we held different points of view, we were still brothers in Christ.
To read the whole excerpt, please click here
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Just As We Are
Sunday, May 1, 2005
John M. Buchanan
Pastor, Fourth Presbyterian Church
Psalm 66:8–20
John 21:1–17
" It is so complex, so deeply implicated in our hearts and psyches, in our sense of our self-worth or non-worth, our relationship with parents and family and lovers, and memories of failures and expectations not met. And it is so simple. Jesus Christ came to show us that God loves and wants us in spite of who we are or what we have done or left undone. Jesus Christ came to show that God loves and wants us just as we are."
To read the rest of the sermon, please click here |
Covenant Network
Southeast
Regional
Conference
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250 Southerners Join to Explore “Challenges Confronting the Church”
A report from the Covenant Network Southeast Regional Conference
Joanna Adams, pastor of Morningside Presbyterian Church in Atlanta and former Co-Moderator of Covenant Network: “What Will It Take to Win?”
Kim Richter, pastor of Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church in Asheville, NC, and Covenant Network Co-Moderator: “Just What Do You Think God Is Up To?”
Jake Young, North Anderson Community Church in Anderson, SC: “Standing on the Outside Looking In.”
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Passing Understanding
Cynthia M. Campbell
President, McCormick Theological Seminary
Closing Sermon at “A Call to Prayer and Repentance”
Houston, TX
March 19, 2005
How can this be? How can those who know each other as “others,” as outsiders, as those who have differences that are almost by definition irreconcilable be brought together into “one new humanity?” How can the broken human family be at peace? It is the work of God, and it surpasses our understanding.
To read more, please click here.
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Worship Service -
San Gabrial Covenant Network Chapter
- The Covenant Network Chapter in the Presbytery of San Gabriel holds three general meetings each year. They frame their meetings with worship. Posted here is a worship service from their recent meeting in February which included dinner and and the Rev. Janie Spahr
To view the PDF of the Worship Service, please click here
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Life Beyond the Comma
The Reverend Dr. Erin Swenson
Accepting the 2005 Lazarus Project Award at the Lazarus Banquet
It is no simple victory, however, for there are many who continue to be afraid. This is why this award tonight is so important to all of us, for it signifies your willingness to help the church stop using commas to hide uncomfortable truth. In the ten years since my gender transition literally hundreds of transgender Christians have contacted me to find out if it’s really true. “Yes,” I tell them, but with hesitation. “The church was willing to accept me, but it’s not so simple.” We as a denomination continue to be uncomfortable with people whose gender identities are non-normative. I think of this as the church’s struggle not with people like me, but with itself as the church. Our denominational resources continue to be devoid of any distinctively transgender materials for pastoral care. When the word transgender is brought to the floor of our General Assembly, commissioners still rise to question what that really means. And our own statements about ordination standards and marriage speak exclusively to humanity lived in the binary identities of male or female. There is no room for people like me, whose identities cannot be so easily categorized.
To read more, please click here
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Agriculture and Grace
A Sermon
April 20, 2004
Matthew 13: 24-30, 36-43
Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary
The Rev. Tricia Dykers Koenig
I’m more comfortable digging in the Word than in the dirt. Still, I don’t think that the instructions of the householder in Jesus’ parable would be applauded as sound farming practice. If Jesus used parables to surprise his listeners into a different perspective, I’ll bet this one got their attention. Let the weeds grow unmolested till the harvest? Not a conventional method for increased yield per acre. Please click here to read more
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A MOMENT OF RECOGNITION
Matthew 17:1-9
February 6, 2005; The Transfiguration of the Lord
Stephen R. Montgomery
Idlewild Presbyterian Church, Memphis Tennessee
Right at the very end, right as some of us were getting fairly discouraged, he dropped a tiny ray of hope. It wasn’t that the faith communities would begin deeper interfaith dialogue; it wasn’t a call for an international summit of some kind. The hope was to be found in something that was not a particular event, but rather a recurring one, what he called “a moment of recognition.” A moment when one sees a glimpse of the future, sees what God has in mind for us, a particularly poignant moment which gives us hope, but also makes new and unsettling demands upon us in the present. Nothing can happen, Dr. Bellah said, until that moment: A moment of recognition.
To read more, please click here |
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Epiphany, Tsunamis and God
For the past few weeks, preachers all over the world have approached the pulpit with the front page of the newspaper firmly placed alongside their Bibles. Here are a handful of those sermons:
Star Struck - Rev. Susan R. Andrews,
Bradley Hills Presbyterian Church, Bethesda
I like all of you have been heart sick at the tragedies in southeast Asia - of devastation so vast - of pain so deep - of desperation so agonizing - that my soul is still weeping.
God is in nature. God reigns over nature, the oldest part of our faith tradition maintains. But how, exactly? How, particularly when nature becomes lethal to human life?
Change is Coming - Intern Anitra Kitts Rasmussen, St. John's Presbyterian Church, Berkeley
Change is coming. Its always coming. Sometimes we know what it looks like and we can plan for it, schedule it, control it… or at least - like Herod - think we can but sometimes change happens without warning
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Two Advent Sermons
Matthew 24:36-44
Shelton Chapel, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
Theodore J. Wardlaw, President
All of this, as if the chief gift we pastors offer the world is tact.
Luke 22:14-23
Stewart Chapel, San Francisco Theological Seminary
Heather Reichgott, Senior
...for the first time in history the baby Jesus is born in the Holiday Inn of Bethlehem, tended to lovingly by a homeless man.
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Highlights of The 2004 Covenant Conference
Over 600 Presbyterians sang, prayed, ate, studied, planned for the future, worshiped and talked together about God's good gifts.
Please read:
Rick Spalding's Thursday evening sermon, Speaking the Name
Amy Miracle's Friday morning sermon: "Are you Saved?"
Jack Stott's Friday morning plenary presentation, In the Beginning Was the Relationship
Stephanie Paulsell's Friday afternoon plenary presentation, Honoring the Sexual Body
Susan Andrew's Friday evening sermon, Eros and Ethics
Luke Timothy Johnson's Saturday presention, Sexuality and the Holiness of the Church
Gene Bay's Saturday sermon, Don't Give Up
Welcoming Remarks, John M. Buchanan, Pastor, Fourth Presbyterian Church
A Memorial Tribute to Shirley C. Guthrie, Kimberly Clayton Richter
Tapes of the presentations and sermons may be ordered here
You may find the following reports informative:
Sexual questions, few answers at Covenant meeting - Leslie Scanlon, Presbyterian Outlook
Covenant Network Conference talks about sex - Gene TeSelle, Witherspoon Issues Analyst
James Berkley writes for Presbyterians for Renewal, an advocacy group within the PC(USA) which supports the current ordination standards. He attended our conference, and presents a different point of view:
Covenant Network Thinks about Sex—Theologically (Thursday)
Sex and the Windy City (Friday)
Irony and Disconnect with the Covenant Network (Saturday)
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Dining with Jesus
Sermon for Old First Presbyterian Church
August 29, 2004
Pamela Byers
Elder, First Presbyterian Church, San Francisco
Executive Director, Covenant Network of Presbyterians
The function of our worship – indeed the function of the church – is to give some glimpse of the Kingdom or reign of God. We try to show in our life together what it would mean – what it does mean – if God is in charge in our lives. One of the things it means, it seems to me, is that we don’t get to choose who we hang out with. God does the inviting. And fortunately God’s imagination is much better than ours! (click here to read more)
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Sermon, August 22, 2004
Pastor Broad Street Presbyterian Church,
Columbus, Ohio
Maybe there are some rules that are meant to be broken? In fact, maybe there are some rules that are crying out to be broken? And maybe any good society---any society worth living in is worth living in because throughout its history it has had its share of rule breakers? It has given birth to certain people who displayed great courage and conviction in standing up to institutions and regimes, sometimes sparking entire movements but getting our attention nonetheless, reminding us of loftier goals and more noble pursuits, and in the process, helping to make some of the rough places in society smooth, like a plain.
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216th General Assembly (2004)
Richmond, Virginia
June 26-July 3, 2004
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Strong Medicine - Dr. Brian Blount, Princeton New Testament Professor Address to the Covenant Network GA Luncheon
Just What Is God Up To? - Kimberly C. Richter, Pastor, Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church, Asheville, NC & Incoming Co-Moderator of the Covenant Network
Scripture Clearly Teaches. . . ? -Albert C. Winn, Moderator of the 109th G.A, PCUS, and President Emeritus and Professor of Doctrinal Theology, Louisville Theological Presbyterian Seminary
Testimony from the Floor of the 216th General Assembly - Jane Young; Minister Commissioner from the Presbytery of Eastern Virginia
... But what changed my heart more than anything else was the morning I left my hotel, rolled down a ramp that is not to code and therefore not safe, and crossed the street to go to my committee to do the work my church has called me to do -- and lo and behold I couldn't get in. I sat in front of the door, on the outside, waiting for someone to not only walk by, but to see me and open the door so that I could go in...
Do You Mind Dogs? - Chris Glaser, Sermon, July 3, 2004
Abundant Abundance - Susan R. Andrews, Moderator of the 215th General Assembly
Sermon, June 27, 2004
The Last Will Be First - Jin S. Kim, Pastor, Church of All Nations, Minneapolis; Sermon June 29, 2004
Seeing is Believing - J. Barrie Shepherd
Memorial Minute - Dorothy Gaskill Barnard, February 28, 1925 – February 25, 2004 - Gay Mothershead
Dare to Be Gamaliel - Isabel Rogers, Professor Emerita of Applied Christianity, Presbyterian School of Christian Education, and Moderator of the 199th General Assembly; Commissioners’ Convocation Dinner, 25 June 2004
For all the Covenant Network articles, sermons, photos and links relating to the 216th General Assembly, click here.
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Why This?
Pete Peery
First Presbyterian Church, Asheville
Acts 11:1-18
Peter.
He stayed with that certain Simon, a tanner, in Joppa. And as I said last week no devout person who considered him or herself to be a part of the people of God would stay with a tanner. For tanners handled the carcasses of animals.And by the law of Moses - Scripture itself - they were unclean.
I wonder how uncomfortable it was for Peter to stay with Simon the tanner? But from that very house, Peter found himself enmeshed in the most incendiary controversy the church had ever faced. Perhaps the church has never since faced such an explosive issue.
From what happened at Simon the tanner’s house, Peter ended up baptizing into the church, the very Body of Christ, Gentiles!
- To read the whole sermon, please click here to view a PDF file version of this sermon. (92k)
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Thanksgiving in a Time of Trouble
We thank you, O loving God, for poetry like this that lifts us from the everyday drudgery and too frequent terrors to again discover the unimaginable in you... to discover that peace can come that justice can be made right and your unimaginable love will conquer in our lives and our world
For the entire prayer, click here
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Con – spiracy
A sermon by The Rev. Richard E. Spalding, Chaplain, Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts.
"My U.C.C. and Episcopalian friends always marvel at the audacity of the final trial we Presbyterians put our candidates for ordination to the ministry through: we dare them to improve upon the Apostles’ Creed. We put one blank sheet of paper before them, and ask for an original statement of faith that is both as utterly fresh and unique as we hope each of them is, and yet that is also recognizably orthodox and comfortably congruent with the theology that bears our stamp. Some of those persistent questions are always about scripture: what is it, how does it do what it does, and what’s your relationship to it? By now we ought to have become a denomination of Alice Walkers – a church of poets – because we expect them to distill an answer into a few lines that both put us deeply at ease in the embrace of familiar truths and also startle us awake to the breathtaking new things that God is doing. That’s the work of poets."
For the rest of the sermon, please click here
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Jesus Interprets the Scriptures -
A sermon on Mark 10:2-9 by by Rev. L. William Countryman
"Jesus, in this morning's Gospel, is caught up in a religious conflict about sexuality with some people who quote Scripture at him. Does this sound familiar? Maybe it'll be worthwhile to watch and see how he deals with that.
"To start with, it's worth noticing that people in the first century were already fighting about the meaning of the Bible. Even then it was hard to figure it out. On the matter of divorce, the Torah actually had very little to say. It only mentions it once in passing, while dealing with a related issue (Deut. 24:1-3). And we know from other sources that first-century Jewish experts disagreed about the grounds of divorce. Could a husband divorce his wife just because he felt like it? Or only if she had committed some serious fault? Jesus was being asked to take sides in that argument. That way, one side or the other—or both—could find fault with his answer. Academic communities—the more they change the more they stay the same! "
To read more, please click here
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FROM RICHMOND TO RICHMOND
A Gathering of the Covenant Network - March 28, 2004
Stephen R. Montgomery
...Second, there are times when I, and perhaps you, get so tired of the struggle, tired of the constant wrangling. What has it led to? We have driven from the leadership of the church good and faithful leaders. We have become intolerant of one another. We have disillusioned a whole generation of young people who learned that song "They'll know we are Christians by our love" and now have turned away in frustration. And we have resorted to taking difficult biblical, theological, and pastoral issues and made them a political football... "judicial cannibalism" someone called it.
Add to that the fact that 6 million children die each year, mostly from hunger related causes. 12 million children in this country alone have to skip a meal to make ends meet. [6] And we are fighting two wars right now. There are times when I think God has more important things on God's mind. Shouldn't we be about the "real" business of the church?
The full text can be found here |
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Two Sermons of Interest
One day, Jesus taught a parable: A father has two sons. The elder stayed close to home and walked a steady, reliable path. The younger spun out into chaos until he realized that what has been can not be so any longer. Homecoming became his only hope.
In What We Believe about Jesus - 3. His Message, John Buchanan of Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago, considers who is lost and how we allow ourselves to be found.
Jon Walton of The First Presbyterian Church in New York City suggests that we Presbyterians can easily find ourselves in this story, There was a Man who had Two Sons.
"Return of the Prodigal" by Frank Wesley (India, 20th century). Public domain art from United Methodist Women's Parables slide set(out of print) http://gbgm-umc.org/umw/bible/prodigal.stm
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In Witness to the Resurrection
We recently received a note from J. Christy Wareham which we wanted to share with you. |
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The Tale of Euodia and Syntyche
Carlos E. Wilton
A sermon preached at the Point Pleasant Presbyterian Church,
Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey
What I'm hoping we will all take away from this place, whatever side of the controversy we find ourselves on, is a new awareness of the complexity of this issue - and how desperately Presbyterians all across the church need to discover that common mind: to find a way to "rejoice in the Lord" together, letting their "gentleness," their epieikeia, "be known to everyone.
To read the entire sermon, please click here
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BY PETER J. GOMES
...To extend the civil right of marriage to homosexuals will neither solve nor complicate the problems already inherent in marriage, but what it will do is permit a whole class of persons, our fellow citizens under the law heretofore irrationally deprived of a civil right, both to benefit from and participate in a valuable yet vulnerable institution which in our changing society needs all the help it can get...
Peter J. Gomes is the Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church at Harvard University. He is an American Baptist minister. |
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A sermon by The Rev. Dr. Laurie Ann Kraus
We know the world is like this. Full of people too important, too busy, too distracted to notice the little lives around them. People who value the lives of others little, or who, more sadly, regard their own lives as being of little consequence. In their own minds, as in the world that disregards them, they are not "saints," merely something else, beneath Naming- Existing in the category "Other." |
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- St Patrick's Episcopal Church
- A Parish in the Diocese of Atlanta
Rector Gray Temple addresses the controversy that has kept the Episcopal Church in the news lately in an address he made at Holy Innocents Episcopal Church.
"The Biblical Case in Favor of Gene Robinson's Election, Confirmation, and Consecration" (PDF 193 mg) |
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Sunday 1 February 2004
Candlemas / The presentation of Christ in the temple
CHORAL EUCHARIST
Southwark Cathedral
Preacher: Archbishop Desmond Tutu
The Jesus I worship is not likely to collaborate with those who vilify and persecute an already oppressed minority. I myself could not have opposed the injustice of penalizing people for something about which they could do nothing - their race - and then have kept quiet as women were being penalized for something they could do nothing about - their gender, and hence my support inter alia, for the ordination of women to the priesthood and the episcopate.
And equally, I could not myself keep quiet whilst people were being penalized for something about which they could do nothing, their sexuality. For it is so improbable that any sane, normal person would deliberately choose a lifestyle exposing him or her to so much vilification, opprobrium and physical abuse, even death. To discriminate against our sisters and brothers who are lesbian or gay on grounds of their sexual orientation for me is as totally unacceptable and unjust as Apartheid ever was.
Read the whole sermon here |
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- Where the Bible leads me
By Barbara Brown Taylor
During the fourth century, at the height of the Arian controversy in Constantinople, one Christian wrote that it was impossible to go into a bakery for a loaf of bread without debating the nature of Christ. Was he the eternal Son of the eternal Father or was there a time when he was not? With bishops physically assaulting other bishops over this question and emperors changing sides on a regular basis, the debate spilled out of the church into the streets, where the Athanasians favored passages from John's Gospel and the Arians shot back with passages from Mark.
When I read this chapter of early church history, I thanked God for letting me live in a later one. Then I got back to planning classes and grading papers. That was before the 2003 General Convention of the Episcopal Church, however, when a majority of delegates from across the United States confirmed the election of the Rev. Gene Robinson as the first openly gay bishop in the Anglican Communion.
Please click here to read more
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World Aids Day
(December 1)
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That the Blind May See
The Reverend Barbara A. Anderson
Co-Pastor, Pasadena Presbyterian Church |
2003 Covenant Network Conference |
Covenant Network Conference Challenged and Renewed 600 Participants
Presbyterians of all ages and regions came to New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, DC to listen to challenging and thoughtful plenary sessions, participate in workshops and small group conversations, and join in renewing worship services. The dialogue between Barbara Wheeler, President of Auburn Seminary, and Richard Mouw, President of Fuller Seminary, modeled how people of integrity and intelligence can reason together in respect and compassion. Patrick Henry's presentation was so compelling that the room was deeply and attentively silent as he spoke, even though it was one of the last events of the three day conference. Bruce Reyes-Chow talked about the complexities facing young adults in the United States today and expertly demonstrated effective uses of technology as enhancements to communication. Jana Childers, Barrie Shepherd, Ken Kovacs, and Chris Glaser preached the Word from an historic pulpit. Please read our summary for more detailed information.
Order Audio Tapes
Address - Susan Andrews, Moderator of the 215th General Assembly (PCUSA)
That Our Joy May Be Complete - Jana Childers
The Church Isn’t Jesus- Chris Glaser
Theological Reflections on Yogi Berra's "The Future Ain't What it Used to Be" -Patrick Henry
A Chaos of Uncalculating Love - Ken Kovacs
Hold On and Let Go: Being Faithful in a Post-Modern, Culturally Creative World - Bruce Reyes-Chow
Poirot or Corot: On Asking the Right Questions - J. Barrie Shepherd
Strangers: a Dialogue about the Church - Richard Mouw and Barbara Wheeler
Never Turn Away - A hymn inspired by the 2002 Covenant Network Conference and sung at the 2003 Conference
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2003 NorthWest Regional Covenant Conference
Seattle, WA
October 11,2003 |
How I Changed My Mind on Homosexuality
Jack B. Rogers, Professor of Theology Emeritus, San Francisco Theological Seminary, and
Moderator of the 213th General Assembly
Moving Ahead Together in Faith: Our Vision for the Church
Pamela Byers, Elder, Old First Presbyterian Church, San Francisco, and Executive Director, Covenant Network of Presbyterians
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Sermons |
More Immediate Concerns
Laurie Ann Kraus, Pastor, Riviera Presbyterian Church. Miami, FL
The Builder
John M. Buchanan, Co-Pastor, Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago
The Bread of Life (and the Bread Crumbs)
Sheila Gustafson, Pastor, First Presbyterian Church, Santa Fe
The Body
Amy Miracle, Associate Pastor, Central Presbyterian Church, Denver
Struggling to Love
Doug Nave, Member, Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church
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A Flock of Sermons for Pentecost |
Can These Bones Live? Yes!As Presbyterians celebrated the birthday of the Christian church this past Sunday, many pastors took the opportunity to reflect on where God is calling the church, both globally and in specific congregational settings.
"Pentecost," says Bert Campbell, was "the official start of new ways of looking at one another as God's creations."
As part of its call to "bring the Spirit to the world," says Harrell Davis, "It is the church's job to bring the Spirit to bear on old orthodoxies and tired, worn-out prejudices." Jon Walton offers images of those "slightly singed disciples" now "enlivened, empowered to go out into the world as ambassadors bearing a powerful message of life." Kim Richter tells confirmands and other members that they have a role in "what God is doing and will do to re-form and renew the church so that it participates in the purposes of God. It is both safe and not safe to be involved in such an adventure." Tim Hart-Andersen reminds us that "Pentecost marks the ending of the exile of the people of God not only from Jerusalem but, more importantly, from one another." Noting that the church is wholly dependent on the Spirit for its life, John Wilkinson observes that "every time the soul of the church is shaken and put down in a new place . . . is a Pentecostal occasion."
''Twas the Night Before Pentecost
Robert J. (Bert) Campbell, Pastor, First Presbyterian Church,Washington, PA
Bringing the Spirit into the World
Harrell Davis, Pastor, First Presbyterian Church, Lakewood, Colorado
What Do You See?
Jon M. Walton, Pastor, First Presbyterian Church in the City of New York
Is the Church Safe?
Kimberly C. Richter, Pastor, Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church, Asheville, NC
Can These Bones Live?
Timothy Hart-Andersen, Pastor, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Minneapolis
Too Deep for Words
John Wilkinson, Pastor, Third Presbyterian Church, Rochester, NY
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Addresses from the 215th G.A. |
This Is Our Time
Timothy Hart-Andersen, Pastor, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Minneapolis
What Unties Presbyterians?
Deborah A. Block, Pastor, Immanuel Presbyterian Church, Milwaukee
Creating a Climate for Change
Joanna M. Adams, Co-Pastor, Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago, and Co-Moderator, Covenant Network of Presbyterians
Tribute to James Costen and Harry Smith
Theodore "Ted" Wardlaw, President of Austin Seminary
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Papers and Sermons from the
2002 Covenant Network Conference |
"Confessing Christ Today: Seeking Common Ground."
Evangelism in a Pluralistic Society: A Reformed Perspective
Shirley Guthrie, Professor of Theology Emeritus, Columbia Theological Seminary
Response by Rabbi Joseph Edelheit, Temple Israel, Minneapolis
Reconciliation Matters: C67 Now and Then
John Wilkinson, Pastor, Third Presbyterian Church, Rochester, NY
Who Do You Say That I Am? Believing in Jesus Christ in the 21st Century
Anna Case-Winters, Associate Professor of Theology, McCormick Theological Seminary
Response by Paul Capetz, Associate Professor of Historical Theology, United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities
Struck Down But Not Destroyed
Curtis Jones, Pastor, Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church, Baltimore
Even to the Gentiles
Andrew Foster Connors, Associate Pastor, Idlewild Presbyterian Church, Memphis
God's Private Arrangements
Cynthia Jarvis, Pastor, Chestnut Hill Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia
A Little Night Music
Linda Loving, Pastor, House of Hope Presbyterian Church, St. Paul
Litany for the Church
John Wilkinson, Pastor, Third Presbyterian Church, Rochester, NY
Litany for the Church
Susan Ashton, Minister Member of San Francisco Presbytery
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Addresses from the 214th G.A. |
Is Anything Too Wonderful for Our God?
Jon Walton, Pastor, First Presbyterian Church in the City of New York
The Liberalism of the Reformed Tradition
John M. Buchanan, Co-Pastor, Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago
Confessions of an Evangelical Liberal
Susan R. Andrews, Pastor, Bradley Hills Presbyterian Church, Bethesda, MD
Who? What? Why?
Deborah A. Block, Pastor, Immanuel Presbyterian Church, Milwaukee
Covenant Network -- Moving Ahead
Eugene C. Bay, Pastor, Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church, Bryn Mawr, PA, and Co-Moderator, Covenant Network of Presbyterians
A Tribute to J. Randolph Taylor
Joseph Harvard III, Pastor, First Presbyterian Church, Durham, NC
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More Great Sermons |
A Good Word for Foolishness
Theodore J. Wardlaw, Pastor, Central Presbyterian Church, Atlanta
It Doth Not Yet Appear
Jana Childers, Professor of Preaching and Acting Dean, San Francisco Theological Seminary
Can "The Weak" and "The Strong" Share the PC(USA)?
Stephen W. Minnema, Pastor, Covenant Presbyterian Church, Madison, WI
Rumors of Angels
Sermon by Barbara Anderson, Co-Pastor, Pasadena Presbyterian Church
Missing Ingredient: Why Spirituality Needs Jesus"
Eugene H. Peterson, pastor, teacher, and author
Abrahams's Faithfulness: Two Sermons
James D. Brown, Pastor, Market Square Presbyterian Church, Harrisburg, PA
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Papers and Sermons from the 2001 Covenant Conference |
"Christ Transforming Culture: Why the Church Matters in the 21st Century"
Paradise Postponed: Or, What Do We Do 'Til Then?
Peter J. Gomes, Plummer Professor and Preacher to Harvard University
Jesus Christ, God's Welcome
Letty Russell, Professor of Theology Emerita, Yale University
Christ and Culture Revisited
Jack Stotts, President Emeritus, Austin Theological Seminary
Missional Questions
Cynthia Campbell, President, McCormick TheologicalSeminary
The Church We Are Called to Be
Jack Rogers, Professor of Theology Emeritus, San Francisco Theological Seminary, and Moderator of the 213th General Assembly
Sermon: Add Another Leaf to the Table
Barbara Anderson, Co-Pastor, Pasadena [CA] Presbyterian Church
Sermon: Accepted and Rejected
Mauricio Chacon, Pastor, Iglesia Presbiteriana de la Mision, San Francisco
Sermon: Jesus Transforming the Culture and the Church
Jean Kim, Founding Pastor, Church of the Magdalene, Seattle
Sermon: What Makes You Cry?
J. Oscar McCloud, Associate Pastor, Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church
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Addresses from the 213th G.A. |
What Sign Shall We Wear?
Address to the Covenant Network Luncheon
Joanna M. Adams, Pastor, Trinity Presbyterian Church, Atlanta
What Would Jesus Do?
Address to the Covenant Network Commissioner Convocation Dinner
Freda Gardner, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary, and Moderator, 211th G.A.
Trusting the Sovereignty of God
Address to the Covenant Network Commissioner Convocation Dinner
Douglas Oldenburg, Past President, Columbia Theological Seminary, and Moderator, 210th G.A. |
Resources on Biblical Interpretation |
Statements to Presbyteries against proposed Amendment 00-O
The Constitutional Case Against G-6.0106b
Peter Oddleifson, Attorney and Elder, Downtown United Presbyterian Church, Rochester, NY
Guidelines for Biblical Interpretation in the Book of Confessions
Rules for Biblical Interpretation in the Reformed Tradition
Compiled by Shirley Guthrie, Professor Emeritus, Columbia Theological Seminary
The Whole Bible for the Whole Human Family
Biblical faculty at Presbyterian seminaries
What Does the Bible Tell Us About Sexuality?
Tricia Dykers Koenig, National Organizer, Covenant Network
Bible Study Used in Synod of the Trinity
Donald R. Repsher, Honorably Retired, Lehigh Presbytery
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Sermons |
The Start of Something New
Timothy Hart-Andersen, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Minneapolis
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Papers and Sermons from the 2000 Covenant Conference |
"Biblical Authority and the Church"
Biblical Authority: A Personal Reflection
Walter Bruegggemann, Professor of Old Testament, Columbia Theological Seminary
Struggling with Scripture
William Placher, Professor of Religion, Wabash College
The Last Word on Biblical Authority
Brian Blount, Associate Professor of New Testament, Princeton Theological Seminary
Sermon: Red Tulips, Arise!
Angela Ying, Pastor, Bethany United Church of Christ, Seattle
Sermon: Homecoming
Agnes Norfleet, Pastor, North Decatur Presbyterian Church, Decatur, GA
Sermon: Coloring Outside the Lines
Tom Tewell, Pastor, Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church, New York City
Sermon: It's Waiting
Scott Anderson, Executive Director, California Council of Churches
Sermon, day after Covenant Conference: Knowing What's Important as We Interpret Scripture
Pamela Byers, Executive Director, Covenant Network
Scripture that Speaks to Me
Douglas Nave, Trustee, Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church, New York City
Why We Do What We Do: "Loopholes"
Hugh Swaney, Deacon, Old First Presbyterian Church, San Francisco
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212th G.A. Covenant Network Luncheon Address |
The Greatest Story Ever Ignored
J. Barrie Shepherd, poet and recently retired pastor of First Presbyterian Church in the City of New York |
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Theology Matters
Introduction to the new book, Renewing the Vision: Reformed Faith for the 21st Century
Cynthia M. Campbell, President, McCormick Theological Seminary
Table of Contents of this book
The Blessing of Abraham: What We Can Be
Lewis S. Mudge, Stuart Professor of Systematic Theology, San Francisco Theological Seminary
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Special Resources for Unity in Diversity conferences |
Historic Principles, Conscience and Church Government: A Perspective 17 Years Later
Howard Rice, Professor of Ministry Emeritus, SFTS; Chair of the Special Committee
On Having, and Not Having, the Truth
Reinhold Niebuhr, excerpted from The Nature and Destiny of Man
Guidelines for Biblical Interpretation in the Book of Confessions
The Whole Bible for the Whole Human Family
Biblical faculty at Presbyterian seminaries |
Papers and Sermons from the 1999 Covenant Conference |
"Jesus Christ and the Church"
Confessing Christ in a Post-Christendom Context
Douglas John Hall, Professor of Theology Emeritus, McGill University
The Church: Beyond the Christian Religion
Douglas John Hall, Professor of Theology Emeritus, McGill University
True Confession: A Presbyterian Dissenter Thinks About the Church
Barbara Wheeler, President, Auburn Theological Seminary
Sermon: The Narrow Door
Jon Walton, Pastor, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Wilmington, DE
Sermon: Holding On (But Not to Jesus)
Anna Carter Florence, Instructor in Preaching, Columbia Theological Seminary
Sermon: WWPD?
Deborah Block, Pastor, Immanuel Presbyterian Church, Milwaukee
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211th G.A. Covenant Network Luncheon Address |
Beyond the Human Point of View - A Covenant Network Classic
Peter J. Gomes, Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church, Harvard University
God Includes the Outsiders: Remarks to the Covenant Network G.A. Luncheon
John M. Buchanan, Pastor, Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago
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More great sermons, a transcript and a poem! |
Responding to Grace
Transcript of An Evening with Anne Lamott
Poem: "Tryst (Amidst a lovers' quarrel)"
J. Barrie Shepherd, Pastor, First Presbyterian Church in the City of New York
Sermon: "Full of Grace and Truth"
Susan Andrews, Pastor, Bradley Hills Presbyterian Church, Bethesda, MD
Explosive Issues and Emotional Disarmament
Carl S. Dudley, Professor of Church & Community, Hartford Seminary, and
Hugh H. Halverstadt, Professor of Ministry, McCormick Theological Seminary
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Papers and sermons from the 1998 Covenant Conference |
Living Faithfully in the Church When We Disagree
Guided by the Confessions: A Conversation Over Time
Cynthia Campbell, President, McCormick Theological Seminary
Can Unity Survive the Battle between Peace and Purity? Ordination as a Test Case for Denominational Identity
Fred Holper, Professor of Preaching and Worship, McCormick Theological Seminary
Fostering Theological Inquiry When We Disagree: A Dispatch from the Front
Douglas Ottati, Professor of Theology & Ethics, Union Theological Seminary (Richmond)
Reading the Bible: The Presbyterian Way
Jack Rogers, Vice President, Professor of Theology, San Francisco Theological Seminary
Sermon: "Old Grain, New Grace"
Joanna Adams, Pastor, Trinity Presbyterian Church, Atlanta
Sermon: "Becoming the Body"
John Buchanan, Pastor, Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago
Sermon: "(Some) Pharisees, Gnats, and Weighty Matters"
Michael Livingston, Campus Pastor and Director of the Chapel, Princeton Theological Seminary
Sermon: "When You Don't Know What to Do"
Douglas Oldenburg, President, Columbia Theological Seminary, and Moderator of the 210th General Assembly
Prayers of the People
Pamela Byers, Executive Director, Covenant Network of Presbyterians
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Analysis |
Analysis of the Presbyterian Coalition's "Declaration and Strategy" Paper
G. Daniel Little, Pastor-in-Residence of Westminster Presbyterian Church, Minneapolis
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210th G.A. Covenant Network Luncheon Address |
Unity and Diversity: An Enduring Agenda
Jack Stotts, President Emeritus of Austin Theological Seminary and former President of McCormick Theological Seminary |
Sermons |
Integrity in All Relationships of Life
Lewis S. Mudge, Professor of Theology, San Francisco Theological Seminary
How We Interpret Scripture
Jack Rogers, Vice President, Professor of Theology, San Francisco Theological Seminary
Amendment A Better States "Abiding Authorities"
Laird J. Stuart, Pastor, Calvary Presbyterian Church, San Francisco
The Constitutional and Legal Rationale for Amendment A
Peter Oddleifson, Senior Partner, Rochester law firm, and Elder,
Downtown United Church, Rochester, NY
Who Will Gain? The Hidden Benefit of Amendment A
Barbara Wheeler, President, Auburn Theological Seminary
Where Do We Go From Here?
Pamela Byers, Executive Director, Covenant Network of Presbyterians |
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