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...."
Progress, Pushback, Possibilities: A preliminary look at the 222nd GA
On Saturday morning at the 2015 Covenant Conference, national organizer Tricia Dykers Koenig offered an early look at the Covenant Network's priorities at the 222nd General Assembly (2016), which will meet next June in Portland, Oregon.
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.
Going to the Chapel
A Sermon on 1 John 4:7–21 by the Rev. Tricia Dykers Koenig at the Philadelphia Regional Conference, Chestnut Hill Presbyterian Church, February 7, 2015: "Friends, we don’t welcome other religions because we believe they are true – we welcome them because we believe our own Lord and Savior. We are not kind to others because they particularly deserve it – we are kind because it is our call in Christ. Welcoming all, especially the marginalized, is not about who they are. It's about who we are. Or perhaps more precisely, because we know who we are – children of God because God loves us unconditionally – then we know we can never deny that identity to another."
Why the Marriage Amendment Matters
Tricia Dykers Koenig: Given that the GA's authoritative interpretation of W-4.9000 affirms that ministers may use their discretion in officiating at marriages of same-gender couples, does it matter if the presbyteries approve the proposed Marriage Amendment, 14-F?
The Significance of an Authoritative Interpretation on Marriage
By Tricia Dykers Koenig: "It has been claimed that an authoritative interpretation of W-4.9000, the marriage section in the Directory for Worship, is an attempt to amend the Book of Order without votes from the presbyteries. On the contrary, an authoritative interpretation does not aim to amend what the Book of Order says about marriage – there are other overtures that would do that. An authoritative interpretation simply states that decisions made about pastoral care and worship that do not conform in every detail to the words of W-4.9000 do not necessarily constitute an offense subjecting a minister to discipline."
Marriage and the Book of Confessions
Would it be permissible for the PCUSA to interpret and/or amend the Book of Order section on marriage to reflect the reality of same-gender marriage, even though The Book of Confessions uses the language of “a man and a woman”?Based on the way the Confessions have functioned in the church – especially since 1967, when a collection of documents was substituted for the Westminster Confession – yes. The Book of Confessions is not a compilation of proof-texts from which to glean answers to questions not contemplated by the authors, and contains numerous examples of assertions that are no longer appropriate or necessary expressions of our faith. General Assemblies have taken actions in the past that are directly contradictory to the letter of the Confessions.
Bible, Gender, Sexuality
One of the resources suggested for further reading in the study of “Christian Marriage in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)” prepared by the Office of Theology and Worship is a recent book by James V. Brownson, Bible, Gender, Sexuality: Reframing the Church’s Debate on Same-Sex Relationships, published by Eerdmans in 2013. Tricia Dykers Koenig reviews the content of Brownson's book and commends it as a valuable contribution to the church's ongoing conversation.
General Assembly Preview - Tricia Dykers Koenig
The Saturday morning plenary at the 2013 Covenant Conference, "Marriage Matters," included a look at the Covenant Network's work leading up to the 221st General Assembly (2014), to be held in Detroit June 14-21. With a focus on marriage equality, the CovNet Board is supporting both an authoritative interpretation of the current language of the Book of Order to clarify that officiating at a same-gender marriage is not an offense subjecting a minister to discipline, and an amendment to the Directory for Worship to make it more accurate now that marriage equality is spreading in the United States.
Supplemental Resources for the Marriage Study
In response to the mandate of the 220th General Assembly (2012), the Office of Theology and Worship has published a study of "Christian Marriage in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)." The Covenant Network offers some additional resources and discussion questions for those who wish to explore what embodies the essence of marriage in scripture and the confessions, asking how same-gender marriage—the presenting issue in today’s church and society—may (or may not) express the truth of God.
So Now, What…? And : So, Now What?
A sermon on Deuteronomy 10:12-22 by Tricia Dykers Koenig for the Northwest Regional Conference: "The question for us is Deuteronomy’s “So now, what does the Lord your God require of you?” And: “So… now what?” Now that “our side” has “won” on ordination standards and, everyone knows, will win on marriage, but while the day-to-day struggle still rages and the justice God has promised is not fully realized, how do we help along the transitions that all can see coming, but some are grieving? How do we speed change, care for those who have suffered exclusion and indignity, and hold out a hand to those feeling run over by the train of progress, those who may be feeling more and more like strangers in a world and a church that are changing in uncomfortable ways? How do we make it easier for the eventual evolvers?"
"Just as Christ Has Welcomed You"
A Sermon on Romans 15:1-13 and Revelation 7:9-17 by Tricia Dykers Koenig, at the Baltimore/DC Regional Conference, March 9, 2013: "We have, all of us, been welcomed by Christ, utterly and unconditionally, not because we deserve it but because God is Love and, in God’s will, nothing 'in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.' Despite the accumulated grime in our lives. Even if we haven’t done the requisite dusting. Even if we are sloppy, lazy, misguided, or stubbornly wrong. Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you – totally and unconditionally – for the glory of God."
A Pastoral Emergency: The polity crisis that engulfs teaching elders, sessions and couples around same-sex marriage
Tricia Dykers Koenig discusses the pastoral crisis for Presbyterians in jurisdictions with marriage equality, with a brief history of the development of constitutional interpretation. It's Day 2 of Covenant Network week on ecclesio.com.
God vs. Gay?
God vs. Gay? The Religious Case for Equality, by Jay Michaelson. Beacon Press, 2011.A Book Recommendation from Tricia Dykers Koenig
Covenant Network Goals for the 220th General Assembly
Remarks by National Organizer Tricia Dykers Koenig to the Covenant Network Luncheon, Monday, July 2, 2012: No turning back!
Coming to Pittsburgh for General Assembly?
The Covenant Network would like to connect with you!
All Things to All People?
The recent meeting of the Covenant Network Board in Miami was ably hosted by Riviera Presbyterian Church. Preaching there on the following Sunday, National Organizer Tricia Dykers Koenig reflected on some of the questions engaging the Board.
Why You Should Vote For Amendment 10-A
The Presbytery of Donegal invited Covenant Network National Organizer Tricia Dykers Koenig to give the presentation in favor of Amendment 10-A during a forum at their January meeting.