"Tending the Garden of God" 

Saturday, May 18th

An Open Letter to the Board of Pensions

April 24, 2013

Patricia M. Haines

Senior Vice President of Benefits

Board of Pensions

Presbyterian Church (USA)

Dear Pat:

Thank you for all the efforts of the Board's Healthcare Committee in the face of both healthcare reform and rising costs.  On a personal level, I deeply appreciated the thoughtful and thorough manner in which you presented the challenges that the Board-that we-are currently facing.  It gave us much to ponder as we returned home to our respective presbyteries.

I imagine you hear a lot about the contexts in which we all serve.  As one who has served in five presbyteries in four distinct regions of the country, I am struck by how very different the challenges Muskingum Valley faces are from Pittsburgh, a sister presbytery only two hours east of us, let alone Hudson River, Southern New England, or San Diego. One size does not fit all.  Yet, I feel like we continue to look for "one size" solutions.

Of even deeper concern, is that while our plan is among the best in benefits, it has not resulted in healthier people.  As I listened last week, I began to think that we are framing the wrong question and thereby confusing the "throughput" of healthcare benefits as the "output" of wholeness.  I do not believe God is calling us to discern how to maintain our present healthcare system.  Rather, I believe God is inviting us to choose life in a new way that leads to wholeness.

It has been said that the whole Jesus demands the whole person.  All too often, we confuse "whole" or "complete" (in Hebrew, "shalom"; in Greek, "telios") with perfect.   As a result, we seek a surface perfection that is toxic to the soul.You know the statistics better than I.   As a country, we spend more money per capita on health care than any other nation.  We offer some of the most sophisticated care in the world. Yet we lag behind many less affluent countries on basic health indicators such as infant mortality and life expectancy rates.

To that end, I am wondering if the Board might empower us to "scout" out the land from a different angle; rather than choosing between options A, B or C, what if we work together to pilot several different approaches.  I realize that this involves a certain level of complexity.  But we live in a complex world and it behooves us to apply complexity theory to the challenges that we face. 

Here in Muskingum Valley Presbytery, we believe that God is calling us to "seek the Shalom of the communities to which we have been sent in exile" (Jeremiah 29:7).  Our pastors who serve in the heart of Amish country north of I-70 and Appalachia south of I-70 cannot afford any of the options.  Many of them are young, with children.  They are already giving sacrificially of themselves in service to the call of the Triune God.   The options proposed, while thoughtful and perhaps realistic, are not sustainable for us.  They would result in our needing to move from installed calls to temporary supply, thereby removing ourselves from the Board of Pensions.

We believe there is a better way.  We would like to be part of the solution.  To that end, we are seeking permission to explore and scout out alternative paths.  It is in this context that we seek your blessing and support.

Members of Council and I will be in touch this next week to schedule a time to talk.

Again, thank you for all your work on our behalf.

In Christ's service,

Deborah Rundlett

General Presbyter

Muskingum Valley Presbytery

CC:       Ernesto Badillo, regional representative

            Jill Hudson, Coordinator, Mid Council Relations

Holy Habit: Practicing the Art of Possibility

Take some time to ponder the reality that...

Every problem, every dilemma, every dead end we find ourselves facing in life, only appears unsolvable inside a particular frame or point of view. Enlarge the box, or create another frame around the data, and problems vanish, while new opportunities appear. The Art of Possibility

There is no light without shadow and no psychic wholeness without imperfection. To round itself out life...calls not for perfection but for completeness and for this the 'thorn in the flesh' is needed, the suffering of defects without which there is no progress and no ascent... If the individual is not renewed in his spirit, society cannot renew itself. C. G. Jung 

As noted in my letter to Pat, we as a country, spend more money per capita on health care than any other nation.  We offer some of the most sophisticated care in the world. Yet we lag behind many less affluent countries on basic health indicators such as infant mortality and life expectancy rates.  So, the question might be asked, why are we trying to keep alive a system that does not bear life?  Throughout the gospels, Jesus challenges us to have ears to hear.  Is it possible that God is inviting us into a new way of being?  Into a future that offers life, not death?  I believe so!

This next week, take some time to ponder what life might look like if we were not burdened by the structures that currently exist.  Allow yourself to name your deepest hopes and desires for your community (and for yourself).  Then offer those hopes and desires to God in prayer, allowing God to shape and form them according to God's call.

Each of these proposed changes requires 87 affirmative votes from PCUSA presbyteries.  As of April 13th, sixteen of the changes have been approved by overwhelming majority votes by PCUSA presbyteries.  These proposed changes in the Form of Government (6), Directory for Worship (1) and Rules of Discipline (9) are primarily minor tweaks to existing language in the Book of Order and can be found in Proposed Amendments to the Constitution-Part 2 of 2.  Since the other two proposed amendments to the Form of Government have engendered considerable controversy and their final status has not yet been determined, they are detailed here.   All eighteen of the proposed amendments to the PCUSA Book of Order will be presented for a vote at the MVP Eastertide Gathering on Saturday, May 18, 2013, at Trinity Church in Zanesville.

Item 12-B   On Amending G-2.0104a Gifts and Qualifications

The vote of the Assembly Committee on Church Orders and Ministry on the proposed amendment was 28/20/5.  The 220th GA (2012) approved the committee's recommendation 329/275/9.   As of April 13, 2013, 105 presbyteries have voted as follows:  44 affirmative, 61 negative; 43 yes votes of the remaining 68 presbyteries are needed to approve the proposed change (shown in italics as follows): 

"G-2.0104a. To those called to exercise special functions in the church-deacons, ruling elders, and teaching elders-God gives suitable gifts for their various duties.  In addition to possessing the necessary gifts and abilities, those who undertake particular ministries should be persons of strong faith, dedicated discipleship, and love of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.  Their manner of life should be a demonstration of the Christian gospel in the church and in the world.  This includes repentance of sin and diligent use of the means of grace.  They must have the approval of God's people and the concurring judgment of a council of the church."

The written response of the Advisory Committee on the Constitution provides a detailed examination of this proposed change in light of the current language regarding suitable gifts and qualifications given by God for the various duties of ordered ministry.  See page 5, Proposed Amendments to the Constitution-Part 2 of 2) for more information on this proposed amendment.  The full report can be found on pcusa.org/amendments2012.   

Item 12-F   On Amending G-3.0302d  Concurrence for Overtures

The vote of the Assembly Committee on Review of Biennial Assemblies  on the proposed amendment was 24/2/0.  The 220th GA (2012) approved the committee's recommendation by voice vote.  As of April 13, 2013, 106 presbyteries have voted as follows:  62 affirmative, 44 negative; 25 yes votes from the remaining 68 presbyteries are needed to approve the proposed change (text to be deleted shown in with astrike-through and text to be added with italics as follows): 

See pages 13-16, Proposed Amendments to the Constitution-Part 2 of 2) for more information on this proposed amendment.  The full report can be found on pcusa.org/amendments2012.

Copies of the PCUSA booklets on the Proposed Amendments to the Constitution-Part 1 (Book of Confessions) and Part 2 (Book of Order) can be picked up here at the MVP Mission Center and will also be available at the MVP Eastertide Gathering on Saturday, May 18, 2013, at Trinity Church in Zanesville.  Please contact me here at the Mission Center (330-339-5515 or paula@mvpjourney.org) if you have questions or comments.  

Week 6: God is Here

Currently, as we examine what it means for God's people to be in exile, we have been looking closely at the commonalities found within exile movements.

The first commonality that we prayed through is that God appears to be hidden when God's people are in exile.  As a natural result, God's people grieve and mourn.  

Last week, we moved on and asserted that God desires more than the common grief of exile. While God's people grieve because of death and destruction, we are also invited into a deeper Godly grief--a grief which focuses not on the symptoms, but on the root cause of our exile, our pride.

This week, the third commonality of all exile movements is that God is tangibly, absolutely, and perfectly present.  

Let this week of prayer become a sanctuary of rest for you to strengthen you on the journey.  Like the sabbath, let what follows strengthen your experience of God's never ceasing faithfulness.

The Heights of Olympus

Mount Olympus is the tallest mountain in Greece.  No other mountain in the Greek world compares to it; Olympus towers over the landscape.  As such, Mount Olympus is the home of the gods.  It was believed in good times and bad that only the bravest and mightiest could scale the face of Olympus and commune with the gods.  

It follows, that in Greece the gods are not for or with the people.  No, in Athens the gods are not completely accessible. Only the heroes and the powerful can travel to be with the gods.  In Athens, the gods are far removed from the population, even in their local temples.

This is the common theology of the world: the god's can not be reached by the people.  

The Humble God in Jerusalem

Those who have been to Jerusalem have experienced a completely different view of God.

While Olympus reigns at nearly 9,600 feet above sea level and is far removed from the cities, Jerusalem rests at a mere 2,500 feet above sea level and the Temple of God, the assumed resting place of God, was a central part of city life.  

If Olympus is nearly twice as high as Denver, CO, Yahweh met the created order in an altitude similar to Knoxville, TN.  If Olympus is for the adventurer and explorer, the hero and warrior, then Jerusalem and its Temple were made for common music, celebration, prayer, justice, worship, reflection, and learning.

In the Temple at Jerusalem, God met his people.  There, the priests, and especially the High Priest, offered the tribes to God, and God to the tribes.  The encounter with God was not for tribal leaders, or kings.  The experience of God was not for prophets and priests.  God, and the Temple itself was accessible to the masses.

The theology of the Bible as played out in our ancient geography is in contradiction to the common theologies of the world.  The world often understands God not to be accessible.  We know that the exact opposite is true.  God is accessible because God actually lives in the city.

Closer than Jerusalem

Today, as Christians who are living on the other side of history, the Temple Curtain has already been torn.  If the ancient Temple in Jerusalem was more accessible than Olympus, God is all the more accessible today, as God has moved on from the Temple into the whole world through Jesus Christ and the powerful movement of God's Spirit.

In our age, God is accessible in all places.  God is accessible everywhere!  God is even roaming through the streets of our personal and communal Babylons.  Today, it is surely true that even if we go to the farthest limits of the sea, there God will find us.

Further, the first Pentecost after the resurrection teaches us that the Spirit of God is not reserved, and that the Spirit is continuously poured out into the world and into the hearts and minds of God's people everywhere--often in the most unexpected places and for the benefit of the most unexpecting people.

Therefore, exile does not vanquish God's faithfulness nor God's presence.  Exile may be an "unexpected" place to encounter God, but God, as we know, and the scriptures proclaim, seeks to be with all people in all places--especially the lost, broken, sin-laden, and most disturbed.  In fact, we all believe that God wants to be with us the most when we are lost.  Will God not leave 99 in safety to find the 1 who is in danger, turmoil, sin, and exile?

It is from this reality that the Apostle Paul instructs us to view our bodies as Temples of the Holy Spirit.  God is not hidden like Zeus on Mount Olympus.  God is not even behind a curtain in Jerusalem.  No! God is always in his Temple, even if these small temples have two feet.  

So as we grown in our experience of exile, just look down.  View those feet underneath you, and remember that where ever you go, even if you travel into the darkest pockets of exile, God is with you.  God seeks you.  God finds you.  God rejoices over you.  God even throws a celebration in our honor.

With grateful hearts we respond with thanks, praise, ministry, and mission.

Wrestling with God

- Pray through Acts 11:15-18.  

Here Peter is speaking to the church in Jerusalem as he reports God's Spirit and Good News working among those who have never seen or known God.

- Continue to pray as you watch: http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=GD6PNNNX 

As God has found Gentiles in Acts 11, in what ways has God already found you and rejoiced over you in your personal exiles of life?  What did you learn about God in these times?  How have these exiles been beneficial to you in the long run?  How has God used them?

Peace,  

Holy Habits

- Gather with your leadership team.  Each of you should have your Bibles with you.  As you watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvDDc5RB6FQ, read your favorite passages to yourself or out load with your group.

- Before you, your team should have two pieces of cardboard.  

On the first piece of cardboard, make a cardboard testimony about who your church is today and what you pray your church will be in 2 years from now.  

On the second piece of cardboard, make an unfinished cardboard testimony of someone or some group in your local community.  What might they write on the frontside of this cardboard?  How is God asking you to act so that they may someday be able to complete a similar cardboard testimony?

After a time of prayer, place these pieces of cardboard in a common area, so that your church remains focused on the work, God calls you to do and who God calls you to be in Jesus Christ.