Jack B. Rogers: In life and in death we belong to God
The Rev. Dr. Mark Smutny, a former member of the Covenant Network Board and Jack Rogers’ longtime pastor, graciously agreed to share his reflections:We mourn the death and celebrate the life of The Reverend Dr. Jack Rogers, who died this past Wednesday, July 13 at his home in Pasadena, California at the age of 82. His memorial service bearing witness to the resurrection will be this Friday, July 22, 2016, 11:00 a.m. at the Pasadena Presbyterian Church, 585 East Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101, where Jack worshiped for decades along with his wife, Sharon.
Overture 50… One Gay Man’s Reflection
'... It hurts, deeply, when I find some on “our side” too ready and quick to dismiss the pains among these sisters and brothers with whom we differ.'If we, LGBTQ Presbyterians and our allies, fail to acknowledge that, then we are failing them (and Jesus) in the same way too many of them have failed us (and Jesus) over the years. That does not mean that we should back away from what has been achieved, or from our ongoing advocacy for fully realized inclusion and welcome. But, I think it does mean that… for all the justness of it… pushing for an apology from the PCUSA is more harmful than helpful, at least at this point in time. Do I want it? Absolutely. Should I urge it? In charity and mutual forbearance, I think not. The wounds of the long struggle are still too open and raw, and the reaction is re-opening our own wounds and scars...'
Remembering Pam Byers
The tribute to Pam Byers at the Covenant Conference in Denver prompted her friend and former colleague Rosemary Bledsoe to offer these memories of Pam and the early days of the Covenant Network: "Most people saw her at GAs and conferences and meetings all over the country. I saw her pushing cartloads of envelopes out to her car to take to the post office, plowing through stacks of papers on her desk, sweating out deadlines, anxiously monitoring the never-quite-adequate bank balance, stunned with fatigue, hoarse from constant conversation, frustrated, determined, and somehow usually fairly hopeful."
Letters from the Heart
Ruling Elder Bob Coates from Palma Ceia Presbyterian Church in Tampa, Florida, offers a website with resources collected during his congregation's conversation about same-gender relationships. The Palma Ceia Session voted to affirm their pastors' discretion in deciding which marriages to perform in their sanctuary.
Science, Scripture, and Same-Sex Love
A book review by Tricia Dykers Koenig: "Regele explores multiple disciplines in his search for understanding – biology, psychology, sociology, and demographics, along with biblical study, theology, and church history – and reflects on these learnings in light of his personal story. He provides an accessible survey of the science pointing to the probability that sexual orientation is innate, resulting from a combination of genetic and prenatal hormonal influences. The ethical conclusion: it is inconsistent with loving one’s LGBTQ neighbors to blame and penalize them for a characteristic they did not choose and cannot change."
TORN: Justin Lee's witness
Tricia Dykers Koenig suggests you read TORN: Rescuing the Gospel from the Gays-vs.-Christians Debate, by Justin Lee.
Justice and Unity
Keynote Address by the Rev. Dr. Mark Hostetter at the Covenant Network Regional Conference ~ Philadelphia, PA, February 7, 2015:" One of the things I love most about Covenant Network, the uniqueness of CovNet, is that you are changing hearts and minds with a vision of living the lives Jesus calls us to – of welcome and inclusion and truth and joy; and yes, too, lives led with purity and proclamation and biblically-based witness and testimony and making Jesus the center of our lives and vision.Reaching across the aisle, not demonizing those who disagree, that’s the power of Covenant Network. Engaging in respectful dialog, talking about issues, taking arguments one-by-one and one-on-one, not shying away from the hard discussions, giving reason, giving faith, giving testimony, giving hope. The power of Covenant Network lies in personal connection."
A Prayer for Courage
The Rev. Margaret LaMotte Torrence, Interim Pastor of Black Mountain (NC) Presbyterian Church, preached this sermon the day after the Presbytery of Western North Carolina affirmed Amendment 14-F. Her comments at the presbytery meeting are included: "I cannot imagine our marriage apart from the church. And how much harder it must be to nurture and sustain a relationship that runs against the grain of society’s norms. Yet we have told our gay brothers, our lesbian sisters—up until now—that their desire to live in covenant faithfulness has no place in the life of the Church. In so doing, it seems to me that we have robbed them of the companionship and the counsel of the Church, and we have robbed the Church of the full measure of their gifts—and their companionship—and their counsel. For anytime we are withholding part of who we are from our community, we are offering less than God would have us give. And anytime we have cut off part of the body, we are not fully the church."
Nacoochee Witness
When the Presbytery of Northeast Georgia met to consider Amendment 14-F, both the Pastor of Nacoochee Presbyterian Church, the Rev. Robert W. Prim, and Ruling Elder Theodore Brothers shared their testimony.Bob: "The Bible does give a clear sense about God’s purposes for marriage — God has given us marriage so that human beings might grow in self-giving love. In this way marriage is a beautiful metaphor for God’s relationship with Israel and Jesus’ relationship with the Church."Ted: "Now, I know that many of you believe that I chose to be gay. You are wrong. Being gay is something God chose for me when I was born. Being gay is how I was created. For me, to deny being gay would be to deny God. I cannot do that. Nor can I deny the love that I have for my husband, Mike."
Presbyterian parents on Amendment 14-F
Mike and Debbie Regele are among many evangelical Christians whose views on same-gender relationships have been challenged when one of their children came out to them as LGBT. Each of them prepared remarks for the meeting of the Presbytery of Los Ranchos considering the Marriage Amendment 14-F.Mike: "The question I want to address in a few brief comments is why I am on the affirming side."Debbie: "This is my story — but it is only one of many families’ in our presbytery who face this issue in a personal way. So I speak for them too — please prayerfully consider supporting this amendment."
Anticipating the presbytery meeting
As the Presbytery of Santa Fe prepares to consider Amendment 14-F this weekend, Ken Cuthbertson reflects on the amendment, church history, theology, and relationships within the PCUSA: "I hope to speak to having been at GA and how deeply impressed I was/am at the care taken to move into a newly worded description of marriage while endeavoring to honor and hold space for those who differ. We are “one in the Spirit” and “one in the Lord.” What we need on Saturday is for our folks to show up, and - as needed and as moved - to speak our truth."
A Table for All
Coming soon from Presbyterian pastor Chris Neufeld-Erdman, to be published by Cascade Books – A Table for All: How I Came to Understand the Gospel Means Full Inclusion of Gays and Lesbians. Written by a Christian leader with a passion for evangelism who also happens to be the father of two gay sons, A Table for All explores Scripture and church history and how the authorities to which Christians turn to guide our lives have informed his own journey (and that of his congregation) in issues surrounding sexual orientation and marriage – taking seriously the individuals and families affected by the church’s deliberations.
We Journey Together
A Sermon on James 2:1-17 by the Rev. Bertram Johnson at the Northwest Regional Conference, Mercer Island Presbyterian Church, 30 January 2015: "Through our acts of partiality, of favoritism, of judgment, of limitation on not just LGBTQ people, but on all God’s people, we pit the truth of God’s grace against itself and show our hypocrisy and lack of faith. As these first century believers dishonored the poor by favoring the rich, we continue to dishonor God’s people by creating divisions and obstacles to God. Through our biases the Church becomes a stumbling block and an exclusive club to those who seek to know God. We do this because we fail to believe that Christ’s sacrifice is big enough, wide enough, and deep enough to heal all our human-made fears and prejudices. When I’m faced with such opposition from my brother and sister Christians, like James, I ask do we really believe that the power of God is for all or is it that we think it’s only for some?"