A picture of the assembly of commissioners to the 221st General Assembly in Detroit Michigan.
This blog on denominational issues requires a brief history of its purpose.
Prior to June of 2014 and the 221st General Assembly, the pastoral staff of First Presbyterian was engaged with our local Jewish Rabbis regarding the upcoming General Assembly. There was a great deal of anticipation regarding the PCUSA’s decisions at the Assembly.
The conversations continued following the assembly. First Presbyterian Church of Waco met as a congregation in late June of 2014 to debrief the assembly. Additionally, the pastoral staff hosted one other small group gathering. We met with local Jewish brothers and sisters and interested members of the congregation. Finally, as individuals requested private appointments, we honored those also. All of these were opportunities to share, what, was then, recent information from the 221st General Assembly.
The session of First Presbyterian took up the discussion in two of its meetings in the summer of 2014. Though they took no formal action, they remain attuned. Your leadership is ready to listen, learn and lead in a way that strengthens First Presbyterian. Each stewardship season, there is the opportunity to make comments about what we hope for our local congregation in the coming year. A number of congregants took the opportunity to share their continued concern regarding denominational decisions. Such consistent and long standing concerns certainly suggests that additional forums for conversation are necessary.
pc-biz.org is still a website where you can find voting history and rationale for the votes from the 221st General Assembly should that be helpful for you.
So, the vision for this blog and the four face-to-face conversations throughout February and March is to honor one another in the act of listening. Perhaps in we can grow in our understanding together. We appreciate your prayers as we move forward toward the Lenten season and the ultimate hope of our Christian community.
Waco Pastor 