The Fellowship: Birth of a PresbyPolity

For a PresbyPolity Wonk like me, it's been fascinating watching the Fellowship of Presbyterians create a new polity. 

I wasn't planning to go to the Covenanting Conference in Orlando this week, having sung my Farewell Song and all,  but then a couple of weeks ago my church asked me to join the group attending, so I plan to be there.

There's been speculation, confusion and angst on the internet about the nature of the process that will birth this new polity which has the very broad purpose of being an affiliation of PCUSA congregations, other Presbyterian congregations such as the EPC, and a stand-alone denomination.

This Outlook article clarified everything for me. The process is similar to that of creating any non-profit organization, something I have done several times. Once the corporate entity is legally created then the organizing board of directors adopts by-laws and other policies that will govern the organization.

In the case of the FOP, that includes the Theology and Polity statements. The board released a draft of these two statements in November and solicited comments, critiques and suggestions from interested folks. They will adopt the final versions and release them Thursday. 

At that point the documents will be subject to change and revision through the process set up by the Polity document to call a meeting of the new Synod (the GA of the FOP) with properly credentialed commissioners from congregations that have affiliated with the FOP. 

According to the Outlook article, that Synod meeting is being planned for sometime in 2013--after the next PCUSA GA in 2012.

Since the Covenanting Conference is open to all comers, having a vote by those in attendance to adopt or alter the documents risks the credibility and authority of the process. Many of those coming may not be authorized to represent their congregation at the conference. 

Of course 2013 will too late for some congregations who will move for dismissal to other reformed denominations, like the EPC, that are already fully organized and operating before that date. They will have the option of later affiliating with the FOP. Time will tell whether those congregations will have any interest in doing so.

A gathering of Presbyterians without our trademark business meetings, done "decently and in order", will truly be something new under the sun. Speaking for myself, turning a conference of over 2,000 attendees whose authority to represent anyone other than herself into a committee of the whole would be a nightmare. So I think the projected process is preferable, although I won't be surprised if pressure to set the Synod meeting date earlier than 2013 is successful.

Back From FOP and In Context

It takes me a couple of days of thinking about an intense experience like the Fellowship of Presbyterians (hereinafter affectionately termed "FOP") before writing about it. We got back from Minneapolis last Friday evening and plunged back into everyday life over the weekend.

At church today I was asked numerous times "What happened?" and "How did you feel about it?" So here are my answers to those two questions.

What happened was that 2,000 Presbyterians representing more than 800 congregations had several amazing, inspiring worship services spread over the two day period. We spent most of our time grouped in 195 tables of ten people each. I was privileged to be a table leader and met Teaching and Ruling Elders from all over the country . I  learned a lot about other congregations.

Presentations about the "Four Tiers" (or options) that the FOP leadership had developed for the consideration of those present. After each one we were offered questions to guide discussion and the leaders emailed questions and opinions from the group. 

The Tiers are: to remain in place, to create "presbyteries within presbyteries", to create parallel divisions of presbyteries, and to create a New Reformed Body (NRB) which would allow congregations to withdraw from the PCUSA and join the NRB, or affiliate with the NRB while remaining in the PCUSA. Except for the first, all of these options are in the broad concept stage and require more definition.

As you can imagine, Tiers Two through Four generated the most conversation and questions. At the end of the day my group asked me to send a message stating that they unanimously believed that the only two realistic options were to remain in place or develop the NRB and that was were the FOP effort should be focused. All the other group leaders I discussed this with told me that was also the conclusion of their table groups. That's a very unscientific survey, but I offer it for whatever it is worth.

We also had the opportunity to attend break-out sessions that covered a range of topics from Leadership in Times of Radical Change to What Are the Theological Essentials as well as more conversation about the four tiers. Our church group made assignments so we wouldn't duplicate attendance at the sessions. My assignment was Connecting with the Global Church which was, well, meh.

"Context" was the buzzword of the day. The FOP leadership repeatedly emphasized that the context each congregation operates within (its presbytery, its membership, its pastoral leadership) is bound to differ and must be respected.

Here's how I feel about it. 

The FOP Gathering met or exceeded my expectations, which were to see those gathered begin to come together around a way forward even though that way is not yet clearly defined. I was pleased with the positive focus  on the new thing God may be doing as well as respect for those with whom we differ. I welcome the discussion about defining the "essential tenets because I have led elder training and had to hem-haw around when asked what were the "essential tenets" they were being asked to affirm in their ordination vows. I've never been comfortable with that lack of definition, but maybe that's just my personality.

I am encouraged that the emphasis is on forming a "bottom-up" rather than a "top-down" movement and that regional gatherings are planned for the fall as well as a Constitutional Convention for January 12-14 in Orlando, Florida. Presumably there will be more definition of the movement, especially the NRB concept, before that convention in January.

I think that at FOP I was "seeing through a glass darkly" and hope that as it evolves, clarity and light will emerge.

Preparing for #MN2011

Eleven of us from our church will be flying out tomorrow to Minneapolis for the big Fellowship of Presbyterians Gathering. I'm looking forward to escaping the 100 degree days here, but from the looks of the schedule, am not likely to spend any time outdoors in the cooler weather there.

With close to 2,000 registered, this event promises to be a larger gathering of Presbyterians than the biannual General Assembly meetings. I've agreed to be a table leader which means I will be assigned a group of 10 participants who will meet periodically throughout the two day meeting for discussion. Table leaders are also going to communicate feedback and questions from their groups which will be fed into the Q&A sessions that are scheduled. Have IPad, will travel!

The meeting has its own Twitter hashtag (#MN2011). Don't hold your breath for any tweets from me since I'll be busy facilitating a group. I'm sure others more adept than I at digital multi-tasking will keep the tweets flowing.

I hope to meet some of my Gentle Readers and Facebook friends there. Let me know in the comments if you are going.