MEETING SUMMARY PROVIDES BRIEF REPORT ON SYNOD MEETING: From a Heiserman grant for a Parish Resident Internship Program to the 2011 synod budget, the unofficial summary of the Synod of Lakes and Prairies' fall meeting has been posted to the synod's website. The summary notes that Synod School 2010 set a record enrollment and provides information on a vote to clarify distribution of comprehensive presbytery staff support dollars. The report can be found at "Synod Summary." Be aware that the report takes a few moments to load.
 
SYNOD COMMISSIONER NAMED TO MIDDLE GOVERNING BODY COMMISSION: Elder Cynthia Bolbach, moderator of the 219th General Assembly (2010) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), and the Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow, moderator of the 218th General Assembly (2008), have announced the membership of the General Assembly Commission on Middle Governing Bodies. Bolbach and Reyes-Chow selected the commission on authorization of the 219th General Assembly (2010), which encouraged them to make an "intentional effort for theological diversity." The selections were also made in consultation with the General Assembly Nominating Committee. Among those named to the commission was Elder Bill Stafford, a commissioner of the Synod of Lakes and Prairies from the Presbytery of Milwaukee. The complete press release can be found at "Middle Governing Body Commission."
 
TWIN CITIES PASTOR NAMED TO COMMITTEE TO REVIEW BIENNIAL GAs: A nine-member special committee of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has been appointed to review the denomination's practice of holding its national legislative assembly - the General Assembly - every two years. The special committee was appointed by General Assembly Stated Clerk Grady Parsons and General Assembly Mission Council Executive Director Linda Valentine. For 215 years, from 1789 through 2003, the PC(USA) General Assembly met annually. When the decision was made to meet biennially beginning in 2004, the Assembly ordered that the new practice be reviewed after the 2010 Assembly. The Rev. David A. Van Dyke, Twin Cities Area Presbytery, has been named to the committee. The complete Presbyterian News Service story is at "Biennial GA Review."

 
MINNESOTA VALLEYS POSTS STORIES OF ITS SUCCESSFUL '$100 CHALLENGE:' The Rev. Sue Coller, executive presbyter in the Presbytery of Minnesota Valleys, notes in her "blog," "At our December Presbytery meeting last year, our presbytery council gave $100 to every church present with a challenge - multiply it for mission.  That was the only instruction, and the sky was the limit.  This is an old idea - Jesus  told a parable about it in Matthew 25, where an owner entrusts various amounts of money to some servants as he departs, and comes back to find that two of the servants doubled what they were entrusted with, the third, out of fear, just buried it in the ground.  The two who took risks to invest and multiply what they were entrusted with were praised and trusted with more, the one who simply buried it had even that taken away." Stories from churches who have taken up the challenge can be found at "Transforming Followers for Transforming Churches."

 
NORTH CENTRAL IOWA REPORTS SUCCESSFUL CAMPAIGN FOR TRAER CHURCH: Earlier this year, the Presbytery of North Central Iowa initiated a special fund-raising effort with a $13,000 goal for United Presbyterian Church in Traer, Iowa, a congregation facing an unexpected time of transition. The presbytery recently reported the successful completion of the fund-raising effort, collecting $13,043.75. Earlier this year, the Traer congregation's then pastor, the Rev. Rick Vesely, gave his final sermon after being diagnosed last fall with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a progressive disease that ultimately leads to paralysis and death. A story of Vesely's service to the congregation and community can be found online at Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier. 
 
SPJC AFFIRMS JOHN KNOX PRESBYTERY VOTE TO APPROVE ANDERSON ORDINATION: The Permanent Judicial Commission of the Synod of Lakes and Prairies affirmed the action of John Knox Presbytery, which had voted in February to approve the ordination of Scott D. Anderson, an openly gay man, as a Minister of the Word and Sacrament, when the SPJC voted Oct. 9 not to sustain any of the three complaints filed by the session of Caledonia Presbyterian Church, Portage, Wis.
 
The complainants claimed John Knox Presbytery committed "irregularities" in approving Anderson's ordination, noting that Anderson was ineligible for ordination "because of his expressed non-compliance with the standard set forth in Section G-6.0106(b) contained within his oral and written statements at his ordination exam."
 
The cited section within the Book of Order of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) requires "fidelity within the covenant of marriage between and a woman or chastity in singleness."
 
In its decision, the SPJC noted, "The John Knox Presbytery acted within its authority following G-13.0103(r) using the most recent Authoritative Interpretation (AI) (2008)." The section, G13.0103(r), of the Book of Order binds governing bodies to using the "most recent interpretation of a provision of the Book of Order."
 
Quoting the Authoritative Interpretation, the SPJC wrote, "Section-6.0108 requires examining bodies to give prayerful and careful consideration, of an individual, case-by-case basis, to any departure from an ordination standard in matters of belief or practice that a candidate may declare during examination. However, the examining body is not required to accept a departure from standards ... "
 
The SPJC noted, "As is stated in G-6.0108(b), 'The decision as to whether a person has departed from essentials of Reformed faith and polity is made initially by the individual concerned but ultimately becomes the responsibility of the governing body in which he or she serves.' The SPJC finds that John Knox Presbytery properly took responsibility for that decision."
 
The SPJC decision concluded, "Therefore, permitting Anderson to declare a departure or exception from Section G-6.0106(b) was within the authority of the presbytery."
 
The SPJC also ordered that its "Stay of Enforcement," which was issued in March, preventing the presbytery from ordaining Anderson until the complaint was settled, shall remain in effect "until the latter of the expiration of the time limit to file an appeal of this decision or a decision is rendered by the GAPJC if an appeal is accepted."

 
INTERNATIONAL PEACEMAKERS VISIT LOCAL PRESBYTERY, CHURCH: A dozen international peacemakers from 10 countries around the world will visit congregations and presbyteries of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) from Sept. 24-Oct. 18. They will share their stories about church-based ministries in their countries that seek peace justice and pursue peace in the name of Jesus Christ. This year's international peacemakers come from Bolivia, Central Asia, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Indonesia, Israel/Palestine, Mexico, Pakistan, the Philippines and Sudan. The Rev. Dayro de Jesus Aranzalez, pastor of Comunidad de Fe (Community of Faith) Presbyterian Church in Santador, Colombia, is scheduled to visit Winnebago Presbytery, and Zakaria Jusuf Ngelow, a scholar, theologian and teacher in Sulawesi Selatan, Indonesia, is scheduled to visit Community Presbyterian Church in Grand Rapids, Minn. The complete Presbyterian News Service stories can be found at "Aranzalez" and "Ngelow." 
 
EAST IOWA CONGREGATION'S 'EMMAUS CAFÉ' CELEBRATES 10TH YEAR: A recent edition of Out & About, the newsletter of the Presbytery of East Iowa, contained a story by Gil Dietz about the Emmaus Café of First Presbyterian Church in Muscatine, Iowa. It opened, "Muscatine's First Presbyterian Church is observing the 10-year anniversary of its program to do what Jesus said to do: Feed the poor, welcome them and expect nothing in return. The program, known as the 'Emmaus Café,' feeds an average of 80 men, women and children every Sunday noon. The church started the program with $500 - not knowing if the program would be successful or how long it would last. Since that time the Emmaus Café has been self-supporting through donations, gifts and memorials." The complete story can be found at "Emmaus Café."