At the meeting of Pittsburgh Presbytery on Dec. 1, 2005 at the First Presbyterian Church of Bakerstown, the Administrative Commission on Transformation presented a video called "Seeds for Tomorrow." The video featured every congregation of the Presbytery, as well as interviews with a number of congregational leaders who described how God was leading their churches into new paths of service.
The commission also announced its plans for the Acts Initiative, a two year process for a pastor and two to six congregational leaders from each participating church. E. Stanley Ott, who will lead the process, spoke about the need for the process in remarks that referred to the rapid pace of change in our society. Quoting Leonard Sweet that if you are over the age of 39 you are an immigrant to American society, he stated that the challenge for church leaders today is to honor the immigrants while we reach the natives. The Acts Initiative is intended to help church leaders with that challenge.
Seminar 1 of the Acts Initiative will be held February 14-15, 2006 at the Bethany Presbyterian Church. Registration forms are available here.
My other articles on this meeting: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
Allegheny Valley Habitat to dedicate second home for 2005
On Sunday, December 11, 2005, Habitat for Humanity of Allegheny Valley will dedicate its second house this year.The house is located at 2028 Constitution Boulevard in Arnold.
The funds for this house were raised by Youth United with a matching grant from American Eagle Outfitters.
The dedication will take place from 3:00 to 3:30, and an open house with refreshments will follow until 5:00 PM.
General forum for comments
This entry is intended to be a place where a reader may leave a general comment on my blog. It is intended to create a centralized forum to give a commenter an alternative to posting to the most recent unrelated blog entry.
Perhaps you want to comment on an article I have furled (my public furl directory is here), but about which I have not written. Or perhaps you have noticed something that intersects with one of the topics on which I write: Central Presbyterian Church of Tarentum; things happening in the churches and church-related organizations in and around Tarentum; almost anything happening in and around Tarentum; fascinating articles in the Valley News-Dispatch; events in Pittsburgh Presbytery; events or developments in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.); good books, etc. If I have not raised the topic elsewhere in my blog, you can comment on it here.
Just remember that if you want to come back to this blog entry forum, you'll need to bookmark the permalink, or look for a link to it in the sidebar.
There will be a few rules:
1. I reserve my right to delete inappropriate comments.
2. If your comment is on a topic that has absolutely no interest for me, I may delete it.
3. When a comment on this blog entry is more than ten days old, I may delete it as no longer timely.
4. If I choose to post a blog entry on a topic related to a comment here, you are giving me permission to move the text of your comment to the new blog entry so that I may give you appropriate credit for bringing the topic to my attention.
Perhaps you want to comment on an article I have furled (my public furl directory is here), but about which I have not written. Or perhaps you have noticed something that intersects with one of the topics on which I write: Central Presbyterian Church of Tarentum; things happening in the churches and church-related organizations in and around Tarentum; almost anything happening in and around Tarentum; fascinating articles in the Valley News-Dispatch; events in Pittsburgh Presbytery; events or developments in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.); good books, etc. If I have not raised the topic elsewhere in my blog, you can comment on it here.
Just remember that if you want to come back to this blog entry forum, you'll need to bookmark the permalink, or look for a link to it in the sidebar.
There will be a few rules:
1. I reserve my right to delete inappropriate comments.
2. If your comment is on a topic that has absolutely no interest for me, I may delete it.
3. When a comment on this blog entry is more than ten days old, I may delete it as no longer timely.
4. If I choose to post a blog entry on a topic related to a comment here, you are giving me permission to move the text of your comment to the new blog entry so that I may give you appropriate credit for bringing the topic to my attention.
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Pittsburgh Presbytery meeting at Bakerstown: 7. Hurricane Katrina/Rita response
At the meeting of Pittsburgh Presbytery on December 1, 2005 at the First Presbyterian Church of Bakerstown, the Katrina/Rita Task Force presented its report.This Task Force was formed by the Presbytery Council in response to an action of the Presbytery taken on September 8.
The chair of the Task Force, Elder Robert Lichy of the First Presbyterian Church of Bakerstown, presented the report, relaying the information that the churches of the Presbytery had raised $384,000 toward the goal of $1,000,000 for hurricane response.
He reported that a number of churches had already either sent mission teams to the Gulf Coast region, or had such trips in the planning stage.
He said that the Task Force had a goal of getting 1% of the membership of each congregation of the Presbytery to be trained in disaster response. He introduced Michael Mingrone of the Southwest Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Red Cross, who described their program called "Ready When the Time Comes".
Mr. Mingrone explained that there are many different tasks to be accomplished in responding to a disaster, and encouraged volunteers to pick an area in which to gain expertise.
My other articles on this meeting: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Pittsburgh Presbytery meeting at Bakerstown: 6. Torture resolution not adopted
When ministers and elders arrived at the December 1, 2005 meeting of Pittsburgh Presbytery at the First Presbyterian Church of Bakerstown, we received copies of new business to be presented by the Peacemaking Ministry Team of the Presbytery. The new business was a resolution "Concerning the matter of the Presbyterian Church's Opposition to Torture and the Abuse of Prisoners." Moderator David Carver deemed that time was of the essence concerning this resolution and without objection it was docketed for 5:00 PM.
As the order of the day approached, the Presbytery extended time for the business it was already handling and then allowed other business to proceed, intending to handle this new business at the end of the meeting.
The proposed resolution called for five actions, made reference to two attachments (a sample petition and a statement by Rick Ufford-Chase and Ed Brogan), and lacked a preamble. The proposed resolution itself read as follows:
There were concerns about the second paragraph in the "Call to Say No to Torture" and the sample petition:
The Presbytery's vote on the resolution resulted in a tie. Requests were made of the senior vice moderator Carol Divens Roth, presiding at the time, to cast a deciding vote, which she never did. When a commissioner asked if we had a quorum it was discovered that there was no longer a quorum present. It was ruled that the vote on this resolution was invalid because of the lack of a quorum, but that actions taken previously were not invalidated. The meeting rapidly moved to its (long-awaited) conclusion.
My other articles on this meeting: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
As the order of the day approached, the Presbytery extended time for the business it was already handling and then allowed other business to proceed, intending to handle this new business at the end of the meeting.
The proposed resolution called for five actions, made reference to two attachments (a sample petition and a statement by Rick Ufford-Chase and Ed Brogan), and lacked a preamble. The proposed resolution itself read as follows:
When the Presbytery debated this resolution there was no one who spoke in favor of torture or the abuse of prisoners, but there were strongly voiced concerns about the attached documents that would receive some form of endorsement by the adoption of the resolution.RESOLVED: The Presbytery of Pittsburgh, meeting at the First Presbyterian Church Bakerstown,
1. REMINDS the constituency of the churches of this Presbytery of the action of the 216th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (2004) opposing the use of torture and the abuse of prisoners;
2. REQUESTS all Sessions of the Presbytery to set aside time to review the letter "A Call to Say No to Torture", from the current moderator of the General Assembly, Richard Ufford-Chase (attached);
3. URGES each session to consider prayerfully action in support of this resolution, such as the collection of signatures on a petition. (See reverse side for a petition based on "A Call to Say No to Torture". It may be freely copied and used to collect signatures. South Side Presbyterian Church is willing to collect the petitions and use them to inform elected officials of the opinions of the signatories).
4. INSTRUCTS Presbytery's Stated Clerk to inform our State's regional Congressional representatives and U.S. Senators as well as the President and Vice President of the United States, the U.S. Attorney General, the Secretary State (sic) and the Secretary of Defense, indicating the opposition of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to the use of torture and abuse of prisoners;
5. REQUESTS the Stated Clerk and the Pastor to Presbytery to inform local media, particularly the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and City Paper, of this action by the Presbytery of Pittsburgh.
There were concerns about the second paragraph in the "Call to Say No to Torture" and the sample petition:
Due process has given way to secret detentions, justice has given way to expediency, and humane treatment of prisoners has given way to torture. We are told that our country does not torture prisoners, but our heads and our hearts tell us differently. Hidden, institutionalized torture has become routine. Doing things beyond our borders, or having others do them for us, does nothing to lessen our responsibility.There were serious concerns that we should not be making statements accusing others of wrongdoing when we were not in a position to evaluate the facts. One of the suggestions made in the debate was to include some statement making it clear that we were not endorsing the conclusions stated in that paragraph.
The Presbytery's vote on the resolution resulted in a tie. Requests were made of the senior vice moderator Carol Divens Roth, presiding at the time, to cast a deciding vote, which she never did. When a commissioner asked if we had a quorum it was discovered that there was no longer a quorum present. It was ruled that the vote on this resolution was invalid because of the lack of a quorum, but that actions taken previously were not invalidated. The meeting rapidly moved to its (long-awaited) conclusion.
My other articles on this meeting: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Pittsburgh Presbytery meeting at Bakerstown: 5. On the necessity of sliding red buttons
God blessed Pittsburgh Presbytery with good humor throughout the meeting on December 1, 2005 at the First Presbyterian Church of Bakerstown.
One of the special gifts that David Carver has brought to his tenure as Moderator of Pittsburgh Presbytery is his sense of humor and his willingness to invite us to share in the peculiarity of the moment when he begins to preside over a meeting of 250 elders and ministers. At the beginning of the meeting on December 1 he stepped into the pulpit to start the meeting and found a detached post-it note with a message about sliding a red button. He showed it to the Presbytery and asked whether the note had anything to do with him. Once reassured that the post-it was not for or about him, he proceeded with the meeting able to live with the enigma.
We never learned what the red button was about, but we did have many occasions to wonder whether we were close to solving the mystery.
Did the red button have something to do with the intention to project the "Seeds for Tomorrow" video when the technology failed to cooperate? The video showed how God was at work transforming many congregations around the Presbytery. And we were assured that no red button was involved.
Or did the red button have something to do with the transmitter for Pastor Jim Mead's wireless microphone that picked up some of his comments to other worship leaders before the worship service? No one knows, but when he preached Pastor Mead was able to make some jokes at his own expense about the embarrassment. Humor that faces the awkwardness of the moment head-on is a wonderful gift.
It is always a welcome act of hospitality to provide something to drink to the person who will have to speak a lot during the meeting. The host church provided Moderator David Carver with an official 2005 moderatorial styrofoam cup so that he would be able to drink water during the meeting. Moderator Carver made sure the rest of the presbytery could appreciate the pen inscription on the cup.
My other articles on this meeting: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
One of the special gifts that David Carver has brought to his tenure as Moderator of Pittsburgh Presbytery is his sense of humor and his willingness to invite us to share in the peculiarity of the moment when he begins to preside over a meeting of 250 elders and ministers. At the beginning of the meeting on December 1 he stepped into the pulpit to start the meeting and found a detached post-it note with a message about sliding a red button. He showed it to the Presbytery and asked whether the note had anything to do with him. Once reassured that the post-it was not for or about him, he proceeded with the meeting able to live with the enigma.
We never learned what the red button was about, but we did have many occasions to wonder whether we were close to solving the mystery.
Did the red button have something to do with the intention to project the "Seeds for Tomorrow" video when the technology failed to cooperate? The video showed how God was at work transforming many congregations around the Presbytery. And we were assured that no red button was involved.
Or did the red button have something to do with the transmitter for Pastor Jim Mead's wireless microphone that picked up some of his comments to other worship leaders before the worship service? No one knows, but when he preached Pastor Mead was able to make some jokes at his own expense about the embarrassment. Humor that faces the awkwardness of the moment head-on is a wonderful gift.
It is always a welcome act of hospitality to provide something to drink to the person who will have to speak a lot during the meeting. The host church provided Moderator David Carver with an official 2005 moderatorial styrofoam cup so that he would be able to drink water during the meeting. Moderator Carver made sure the rest of the presbytery could appreciate the pen inscription on the cup.
My other articles on this meeting: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Monday, December 05, 2005
Pittsburgh Presbytery meeting at Bakerstown: 4. Welcoming and inclusion
I was very impressed by the host church's hospitality from the moment I arrived at the First Presbyterian Church of Bakerstown for the meeting of Pittsburgh Presbytery on December 1, 2005.The host church had mobilized an army of volunteers guiding us to parking spaces, welcoming us into the building, showing us where to register, and helping us find our way around the building. The Presbytery staff also did their part to create a welcoming atmosphere for those of us who would be involved in the work of the meeting. This welcoming ministry is an important way in which we communicate to one another that God in Christ has welcomed us.
When host pastor the Rev. Theodore Martin formally welcomed the Presbytery during the meeting, he described the history of the congregation and acknowledged that the location was practically the frontier when the church was started. He also acknowledged the distance that many had traveled from across the Presbytery. Making reference to the church's proximity to the Red Belt, the outermost of the "Wayfinder" system of belts in Pittsburgh, he expressed the hope that the embrace of the Red Belt would help us experience God's welcome.The Presbytery had a number of important discussions that revolved around the significance of this welcome for our fellowship with one another.
God welcomes us into fellowship and service alongside one another. In this meeting we recognized and celebrated a number of people whom God is calling into new forms of ministry.
The Presbytery elected the Rev. Denise Mason as our Senior Vice-Moderator. Rev. Mason is the pastor of the Community of Reconciliation, a congregation that belongs to five denominations: American Baptist Churches, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), United Church of Christ, and United Methodist Church. The packet for the Presbytery meeting included her c.v. that showed her many qualifications including her previous professional experience as a minister in congregations of the United Church of Christ, as well as on that denomination's national staff. How God has blessed us by bringing such a gifted person into our midst through this ecumenical congregation!
The Stated Clerk Nominating Committee presented the Rev. Jay Warren Lewis as its candidate for Stated Clerk for a three year term. Jay is an accomplished attorney who received an M.Div. degree from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in 1996. In addition to his service to congregations he has been active in the PCUSA at the presbytery and synod levels. In person he is quite affable, and I'm looking forward to his service among us. After a long search God has blessed us with a colleague/servant/leader to build on the legacy John Matta left behind.The Presbytery also expressed its gratitude to Robert Smith who has served capably as the acting stated clerk. Given the number of times he was asked to go to the microphone during this meeting the Presbytery probably owes him a pair of running shoes.
The Presbytery examined and approved Chad Collins for ordination so that he may serve the Valley View Presbyterian Church. His ordination is scheduled for January 29, 2006 at Valley View. We had a foretaste during his examination of the theological voice he will add to our conversations. When the Presbytery next meets he will be able to speak among us as a Minister of Word and Sacrament.
As part of the Committee on Ministry report Vera White asked William Carl (the new President of the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary), Jay Lewis, Chad Collins, and Paul Becker (interim pastor at the First Presbyterian Church of Bakerstown) to come forward for a welcoming and commissioning prayer.
All of this welcoming was good, and helped at least this presbyter to experience many of the ways in which God welcomes us into the wonder of what God is doing in the world.
However, there was a point late in the meeting when a motion to waive the normal procedure for electing commissioners to the General Assembly failed after a lengthy discussion. Some of the ministers and elders present appeared to feel that there was a way in which the Rev. Denise Mason (mentioned above) was not a member of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and therefore lacked a "stake" in the PCUSA. It was reported that she has been enrolled as a member, which leads me to feel that we all need some help in understanding the significance of actions of the Presbytery at the time we take them. Our denomination has a long history of valuing the parity of elders and ministers; we still have some work to do on recognizing the parity of ministers who have followed different routes into membership in the PCUSA.
My other articles on this meeting: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
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