[Photo: Bradley Gordon]
Last week I have followed the buzz and read with interest the blogpost "Being Part of Something That Is Dying: Why I Stay Presbyterian" as the author shared her thoughts on reasons why people don't attend Presbyterian Church (USA) (PCUSA) congregations as well as the latest big church to leave and why she stays. I thought the post was intriguing and want to add my two cents to the bank of people who have made a contribution to the discussion.
There is no doubt that people have an issue with a particular local congregation whether it happens to be Presbyterian or any other denomination. People are people and in our culture today church is a totally different institution as well as our reasons for connecting with a particular community of faith. And undoubtedly people will affiliate or disaffiliate with a church over the type of worship style, how welcoming the members are, what offerings the church provides, etc. That is just human and/or personal preferences. However, when a congregation leaves the denomination I am left in shock, sadness and wondering what (if anything) has gone wrong. Over a period of time many congregations in the PCUSA have left for other (mostly Presbyterian) denominations. I do not know anything about the latest congregation that has voted to leave, Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, so it would be highly inappropriate for me to comment in this regard. There is no doubt that both the Menlo Park congregation and the Presbytery of San Francisco has been and continues to go through the stress and pain that goes along with this recent decision and for that we can only pray that God will continue to heal and help us to remember that we are the body of Christ in spite of all things.
I do agree that our denomination is dying. We are NOT dying out as a denomination. God established the PCUSA and only God will sound the final death knell (although at times we seem to be fairly successful at helping God to bring it on faster). We are dying to a way of church life and culture that is no longer relevant for our current day and time. Fortunately (or unfortunately) this is happening to all denominations and Christianity as we know it - we are hardly alone in this boat. What I do know is that we will be witnesses to what God is doing, a "new thing', so to speak. And I do have to say that although I am anxious as the next person, I am excited to see what God is going to reveal.
I also have to say that I am committed to the PCUSA. I have grown up here since I was seven years old and don't know anything else. I have been nurtured by many since I was a child at Community United Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles, CA, where I learned about the Doxology, Psalm 23 and John 3:16 from my Sunday School teacher, Ms. Wells. It is where I sang in the Children's choir and sang, "There's a Sweet, Sweet Spirit" repeatedly. This is where members saw leadership gifts and skills in me that I had not even recognized and nudged me to attend the very first Presbyterian Youth Triennium in 1980; participate in the Youth Core of the Presbytery of the Pacific; and helped me to leadership positions in the Synod of Southern California and Hawaii. These are personal reasons I have stayed, even when many of my friends left Community United for other denominations. Theologically I stay because -
* In and through the stories, experiences and fellowship with African-American Presbyterians, God has called and confirmed me to remain in this denomination to be in communion with others and remain on the forefront of justice and equal opportunity for all people;
* I encounter the presence of God's Holy Spirit each and every Sunday in preaching, worship and fellowship. And yes, if you come to worship at Davie Street Presbyterian Church we believe and preach Jesus, in season and out of season!;
* I believe that God is soverign and is the ruler over all things in creation;
* I believe in God, who made a covenant with humanity that God will always be with us, even we we turn away from God;
* I believe that God created each of us for a certain purpose to glorify God's name and make God known to the world through Jesus Christ, the Son.
* I believe that we are justified by grace through faith. There is nothing I can do to earn or work my way to favor with God. It is only through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ that I am made right with God. And God knows this is a daily task!;
* I believe God created us to be in community with each other. As we say, we are a connectional church. I cannot be the church without others and vice-versa.
That is why I stay Presbyterian. And if by chance this denomination went by the wayside I will be saddened. But the experiences and lessons I have learned will have definitely been worth it!
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