I know that for many folks, words like "Presbyterian," "Episcopalian," "Methodist" and other fancy schmancy church terms have very little meaning. Right there with ya!
In many ways, these traditional denominations have seen a dramatic decline in not only their numbers but, more importantly, their influence and social capital as well.
At the same time, in many of these denominations there has been an increased interest by young people to recapture the breath and depth of the theological, liturgical and social that they have stood for over the years. None claim perfection and most acknowledge their struggles to be the church that God hopes them to be today.
Recently, 16 videos were published as part of a project that I am part of called, "We Are Presbyterian." With no official tie to the Presbyterian Church (USA), these videos were submitted in response to an invitation for folks to share with others why they were still part of this thing called The Presbyterian Church.
Below are a few of the videos that were submitted from across the country. You can see the full list as well as follow the project on Twitter or Facebook.
Here are a few samples from Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles; Leslie Rodriguez from Nashville, Tenn., and three pastors who call themselves, "Two Friars and a Fool." These are their stories...
WATCH:
Again, for a full list and to see more of the videos, please visit, "We Are Presbyterian" 2011.
Follow Bruce Reyes-Chow on Twitter: www.twitter.com/breyeschow
Paul Brandeis Raushenbush: Christian Civility: The Test of Intra-Faith Relations
The “We Are Presbyterian” 2011 Videos – Live! | Bruce Reyes-Chow
Your invitation to the “We are Presbyterian” Project | Bruce Reyes ...
We Are Presbyterian | Facebook
YouTube - Your Invitation to the "We Are Presbyterian" Project
1) To become fully inclusive of LGBT folk without forcing congregations to act against their convictions. But I believe presbyteries need to not be able to deny LGBT ordination or calling when a member congregation desires to call someone who is LGBT. I also believe God is calling us to celebrate same sex marriage and allow those clergy, who feel called to do so, to be able to officiate such celebrations and be able to call it marriage, which we can't do now.
2) To become more bold in standing for social justice and peace making. For too many Presbyterians this is something we value but the closest we get to doing anything is contributing to special offerings. We need to become much more mobilized to work for justice and peace, including speaking out against our own government without fear or equivocation.
3) To become more committed to full organic union with our other historic mainline Protestant denomination partners in the ecumenical ministry. It's time to take seriously Jesus' prayer that we be one. I'm thinking of full organic union with Lutherans, Methodists, Episcopalians, United Church of Christ, Disciples and Reformed Church of American, as well as the historic African Methodist Churches, into one Ecumenical Church that honors all our traditions and would implement the consensus that we arrived at decades ago at Lima, Peru on the ministry and the sacraments.
There are three Presbyterians churches in my town. The other two are conservative. For the last three years our church had an interim we didn't pick, and he was conservative. I didn't attend often, it was just not a good place for me with him in the pulpit.
So I understand and support you 100%.
Is there a welcoming congregation in another Tradition near you?
1) I don't like that so many of us are still rejecting of LGBT folk like me. I'm thrilled that we have passed 10-A and it's now up to each presbytery who they'll ordain as ministers and each congregation who they'll ordain as elders and deacons. What I don't like is that my presbytery, North Puget Sound, and the presbytery where I gave up my ordination and so who'd have to approve me recovering it, Central Washington, both rejected 10-A and are still controlled by an anti-LGBT majority. In fact my entire Synod, Alaska-Northwest, which covers all of Alaska, Washington State and northern Idaho, is all anti-LGBT. (Synods are a mid-level governing region between presbytery and General Assembly who primarily do Mission: colleges, hospitals, church planting, etc. They have meetings every other year of equal numbers of clergy and elders elected as delegates by the presbyteries.)
2) I don't like that so many congregations continue to be anti-liturgical renewal and not open to weekly celebration of the Eucharist. Our national consensus is for liturgical renewal and we are encouraged to celebrate the Eucharist regularly. But our heritage was suspicious of frequent celebration. Our Scottish forebears used to celebrate only yearly!
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So most congregations have only moved towards monthly celebration in the last few decades after earlier centuries when we had quarterly celebration. We are a long ways away from the kind of intentional eucharistic communities I'd like to see with alternate ways of being together.
3) I don't like that our congregations are aging. I guess this is more of a concern than a dislike. But it's a major concern and what I don't like is the Church not taking this as the major problem that it is. We have to find ways to be relevant to younger folk who are looking for a faith that is mutual, intelligent, social justice oriented and inclusive.
I'm a formerly ordained Minister, now a Licensed Mental Health Counselor. I'd like to recover my ordination. I'm also a Bisexual Transsexual Woman.
***Being Presbyterian to me means three things:
1) We are a Church that believes the entire people select their leaders whom we call "Elders," basically we're a Republic, at the congregational level, at the regional level, where we govern our joint ministry in a regional council made up of all the clergy and an equal number of elders, which we call "Presbytery," which is just Greek for "Elders," and at the national level in an annual "General Convention" where all the Presbyteries elect equal numbers of clergy and elders to be delegates. I like this because it means we're not a religion where the few tell us what we must believe or do, we govern ourselves. But I also like it because we're connected and not just a bunch of individuals each doing our own thing.
2) We are a Church that values thinking and education. We've been this way since our roots in the Swiss Reformation that started due to people thinking about their faith in new ways unlike the Lutheran Reformation that started due to a emotional struggle between love and fear of God and guilt and faith. I am grateful that we have always emphasized education and thinking. It was Presbyterians and our cousins Congregationalists (who share this emphasis) who started the first universities in our country.
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It was Presbyterians who spear headed the idea of public education and Christian education. It was Presbyterians who emphasized a seminary educated clergy instead of just an enthusiastic one. We Presbyterians have not been afraid of modern knowledge and science, in fact the first critical scholars in the U.S. were Presbyterians at our main seminary, Princeton. We have a long history of supporting science including evolution in our schools.
3) We are a Church that understands following Jesus means we emphasize social justice and peace making. We were one of the first Churches to ordain women. We have always emphasized that Mission is more about educating, feeding, healing and empowering folk than it is about evangelizing. When Presbyterians give to Mission it doesn't pay for street preachers handing out tracts telling non-Christians they need to become Christians. It pays for hospitals, schools, wells, even cattle with no strings attached. It was in the Presbyterian Church that I had my consciousness raised about social injustice to the poor and marginalized, the ecological crisis, the problems of war and LGBT issues. I often wonder why my fellow Jesus Freak peers from the early 70s morphed into the religious right and I evolved into the radical Christian Leftist I am. Well the answer is that I was raised before that in the Presbyterian Church, that's why.