Celebrating (Religious) Freedom
Last month’s General Assembly approved a recommendation that didn’t draw a lot of attention before or during the Assembly. But in light of current events, Item 11-04 was one of the Assembly’s most relevant and critical actions—a statement we are called to help our church, and our nation, live into.
Twenty Years and Counting: Looking Back and Looking Forward
Brian Ellison, executive director, spoke at the CNP luncheon at the 2018 General Assembly: "I tell you about all these voices and faces from the past not because those were the glory days. I tell you because the work they did was really all about these days of glory. This new day in our life together. Together these siblings in Christ have, truly, taken the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) — in Pam’s immortal words — “toward a church as generous and just as God’s grace.” But they are not the Covenant Network, not in its fullness. And neither are we...."
A New Day for LGBTQIA People in the Church: General Assembly Unanimously Approves Overtures
It is a new day in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Today, commissioners to the 223rd General Assembly (2018) approved two historic overtures. One affirms and celebrates the gifts of people of all sexual orientations and gender identities in the church. Another affirms the rights and dignity of people of transgender, non-binary and people of varying gender identities.
Committee Recommends Historic Affirmations of LGBTQIA People in Church and Society
Three overtures that strengthen the church’s witness to the rights, dignity and gifts of people of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities in unprecedented ways were approved by a committee on Monday at the 223rd General Assembly (2018) in St. Louis.
GA223 Preview: Committees 4 & 10 - Making More Space at the Table
The Assembly Committees on the Way Forward (#4) and Mission Coordination (#10) have a lot on their plate this year. Each committee is considering some proposals that haven’t received much attention, but which we think could make a significant difference in ensuring that voices of "peoples long silenced" are heard. Supporting these measures can help all of God’s children have a place at our tables.
GA223 Preview: Committee 3 - Ensuring Voices Are Heard and Truth Is Sought
Every year, the Assembly Committee on General Assembly Procedures (#3) considers slight changes to help the Assembly's rules evolve and improve. This year, the Covenant Network of Presbyterians has real concerns about the potential impact – and perhaps unintended consequences – of two of those proposed changes. We hope the committee and the full Assembly will think very carefully before enshrining them in the G.A. rules.
GA 223 Preview: Committee 14 - Taking Our Confession to the Next Level … the Here and Now
The assembly's theological issues committee (#14) has responsibility for the Book of Confessions. In 2014-15, as the PCUSA considered adding the Confession of Belhar to our Constitution, the Covenant Network was proud to help organize in presbyteries to support an affirmative vote. We believe Belhar speaks a word today as relevant as ever, and one particular action will help its timeless content speak to our current reality.
GA 223 Preview: Committee 6 – Supporting Marriage For All, Preserving the Church’s Unity
With friends across the church, the Covenant Network rejoiced when the church opened the door to same-sex marriages in Presbyterian churches in 2015. Since then, congregations across the PCUSA have celebrated God’s gift of covenant love and witnessed the uniting of couples whose relationship the church would once have rejected. But a painful reality is that the church is still living into what that means, and the Assembly Committee on Church Polity and Ordered Ministries (Committee #6) is addressing one challenging aspect of that reality.
GA223 Preview: Committee 11 - Affirming and Supporting All God's People in Church and Society
For the third Assembly in a row, matters of sexual orientation and gender identity do not have their own committee. Rather, they are part of the Assembly Committee on Social Justice Issues (#11). That group has a very full agenda filled with a wide range of matters affecting the church’s witness for equity, fairness and wholeness. A committee focused on God’s justice is a wonderful place for LGBTQ people to be celebrated, included and supported in church and society.
Join Us at the 223rd General Assembly ... Or Help Make Our Witness Possible!
The Covenant Network of Presbyterians will be in St. Louis, June 15-23, and we hope you will be too! Volunteer, join us for a meal, or work with us on important issues facing this Assembly. If you can't be there, consider supporting our presence.