Regarding Ruling Elders: Leaders See

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Each of us has a deep and profound need to be seen. That truth has never been more real to me than when a young white man shot and killed eight people, six of whom were Asian American women, in Atlanta recently. Those deaths brought into clear focus the dramatic rise of anti-Asian hatred across our country.

I am a fourth-generation Japanese American. I was born in Honolulu. My parents were both born in California. Their parents, my grandparents, were born either in California or in Hawaii. It was my great-grandparents who emigrated from Japan to the United States. We have been Americans for more than 150 years. Yet we, like many other Asian Americans, are viewed as “perpetual foreigners.”

It is one thing to live in a large metropolitan area with many other Asian American faces. It is another thing to live in the Midwest where there are fewer of us around. So it was particularly moving for me when I was walking to church in the week following the shootings in Atlanta, and I saw an older white woman, who was out walking her dog, approaching me. I remembered seeing her on earlier walks. As I came closer to her, I stepped off the sidewalk to walk in the street (COVID protocol). She smiled at me and nodded her head. I waved and said “good morning” and kept walking. Then I heard her say, “Excuse me.” I stopped and turned around. She was standing there with her dog and said, “I really don’t know you, but I see you walking. I just wanted to say that I am glad you’re here, and I am so sad about what happened in Atlanta, and I hope you’re okay.” And standing there on that bright, sunny morning, in this neighborhood near my church, I started to cry. “Thank you,” I said, when I could get the words out. “Thank you so much for your kindness.”

Each of us has a deep and profound need to be seen. Jesus did just that. Jesus saw people. He saw the leper and the paralyzed man. He saw the child and the widow. He saw the pharisee and the rich young ruler. He saw them all.

Leaders see. Leaders see people carefully, thoughtfully, and clearly, so much so that each person knows they have been seen. It is far too easy, especially in these days as the pace of our lives begins to pick up, for us to get too focused on our tasks, our errands, so that we do not see the people whom God has placed before us. People need to be seen. Good leaders see.

For Reflection:

• A time when you knew someone saw you, really saw you.
• A time when you felt unseen.
• A way you can see others in these days.

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Rev. Dr. Rodger Nishioka serves as the senior associate pastor and director of adult faith formation at Village Presbyterian Church in Prairie Village, Kansas. Prior to joining the staff at Village Church, he served as a professor of Christian education at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia.

This article is the fourth in a 12-part series focusing on PC(USA) leader formation as a part of the “Year of Leader Formation: Investing in Ruling Elders and Deacons.” Additional resources are available at www.pcusa.org/leader-formation/. Past issues of the articles are available in Equip, the church’s online training site. 

Regarding Ruling Elders: Leaders Lean In

Rodger Nishioka - March 15, 2021

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I was privileged to be serving on the faculty of Columbia Theological Seminary when the Rev. Dr. Laura Mendenhall was called to be our ninth president. In her first official meeting with the faculty, she described her leadership style. She explained she sees conflict as something that naturally occurs among people who are thoughtful and passionate. Over the years, she has discovered that when it comes to conflict, her tendency is to lean in. She is intrigued when others disagree with her, and she seeks to better understand the other’s perspective. She leans in, not because she’s trying to convince them to agree with her, but because she is worried she’s missing something, that she is not seeing something they see. In broadening her perspective, she becomes a better leader, a better pastor, and ultimately a more faithful follower of Jesus.

Over the years, I watched her do this. When conflict arose, she approached the person and asked to meet with them on their timeline and in their preferred space. I learned much from her.

Conflict is inevitable. The best leaders do not run away from conflict; rather they accept it and seek to understand and learn from it. Mendenhall was clear about the power imbalance. She was the president, after all. But she brought such humility and a remarkable non-anxious presence to each conflict that people felt heard and respected, even when the result was to “agree to disagree.”  

Jesus leaned in. Whether the conflict was with his disciples or the scribes or the Pharisees, he leaned in.

When I am in conflict with another person, I have learned to use the language of “please help me understand” as in “please help me understand how you see this differently” or “please help me understand how I have disappointed you.” To be clear, I do not like conflict. As an Asian American, much of my cultural heritage teaches me to avoid conflict to save face. But being called to lead means we need to be about healthy ways of loving one another in order for the body of Christ to grow and thrive.

In the midst of conflict, leaders lean in.

For Discussion and Reflection:

• A leader who leans in: What do they do? How can you emulate some of that?
• A person with whom you are in conflict: How might you lean in?
• What is God calling you to do and to be in this conflict? How are you praying for this person?
  
  

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The Rev. Dr. Rodger Nishioka serves as the senior associate pastor and director of adult faith formation at Village Presbyterian Church in Prairie Village, Kansas. Prior to joining the staff at Village Church, he served as a professor of Christian Education at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia.

This article is the third in a 12-part series focusing on PC(USA) leader formation as a part of the “Year of Leader Formation: Investing in Ruling Elders and Deacons.” Additional resources are available at www.pcusa.org/leader-formation/. Past issues of the articles are available in Equip, the church’s online training site. 

Regarding Ruling Elders: Leaders Pray

Good leaders pray.

For years I could not understand what the Apostle Paul meant when he told the believers in Thessalonica to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). How do you do that? As a pastor’s kid, I thought Dad’s pastoral prayers dragged on for an eternity. As teenagers, my brothers and I began to time each of Dad’s prayers. One Sunday dinner, my older brother told Dad he had set an all-time record by praying for more than six minutes. “How do you even know God is listening that long? And besides, if God knows everything, why do you have to tell God what God already knows?!” he asked. I thought it was a good question. Then Dad said, “Boys, I don’t pray for God to know about us. I pray for us to know about God.” Years later, I thought of Dad’s response when I read American Trappist monk Thomas Merton say that he does not pray to change God. He prays so that he might be changed. This resonates with the Jewish theology that to pray is related to “judging oneself.” For Jewish friends, to pray is to be changed or transformed for the better.

Understanding prayer not as a way to change God but as a way for me to become more and more in the likeness of Jesus helped me to view prayer in a different way. But I was still stuck with Paul’s call to pray without ceasing. Then I was introduced to breath prayers—the idea that because God brought humankind to life by breathing into us (Genesis 2:7), when we breathe in, we take in God’s very breath. And when we breathe out, we breathe God’s breath to the creation. Breathing is a form of prayer because the goal is that we might be more attuned to God, and breathing takes God’s very breath into our bodies.

Good leaders pray. It helps to develop a pattern for praying. Many of my friends and family know I start every prayer time by “breathing in God’s mercies” and “breathing out God’s mercies to the whole world.” Then, when I am settled, I light a candle to remind me of the presence of the Holy Spirit, and I pray through lists I keep in my journal. I find it helpful to write down the name of someone or a situation the Spirit brings to me throughout my day. It helps me to pray out loud by speaking the name or the situation. Sometimes I ask for something specific; other times, I just say the name. There is no magic here. It is not that by my speaking I think suddenly God is more attentive. Rather, it is as Merton says, that when I say a name or situation, I am more attuned to the person or situation. In my praying, God helps me to abide, to rest, to remain with them. I always end my prayers with gratitude. What I have come to realize is the more attuned I am to God, the more faithful I am as a follower of Jesus.

Good leaders pray.

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Rev. Dr. Rodger Nishioka serves as the senior associate pastor and director of adult faith formation at Village Presbyterian Church in Prairie Village, Kansas. Prior to joining the staff at Village Church, he served as a professor of Christian education at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia.

This article is the second in a 12-part series focusing on PC(USA) leader formation as a part of the “Year of Leader Formation: Investing in Ruling Elders and Deacons.” Additional resources are available at www.pcusa.org/leader-formation/. 

Regarding Ruling Elders: New Worshiping Communities

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A group of women gather within the walls of a state penitentiary to move through prayer stations, sing about hope, and hear a bit of good news.

A lively choir of African immigrants celebrate the joy of community and worship in their native tongue as they dance their offerings to the offering box.

Young skateboarders hurl their bodies down the ramps of an indoor skate park, built by a long-established congregation as a way to provide shelter and friendship in the face of neglect and poverty. These young people often bring their parents into the fellowship, and whole families are baptized into the faith.

Women and men often excluded from the fellowship of Christian community because of their sexual identity find welcome in a worshiping community that bears witness to the expansive goodness and grace of God.

Presbyterians launch the first Reformed witness in a global virtual reality space through the creative use of new technology ... and exceed their platform’s capacity due to overwhelming response at their first gathering.

Retirees, suburbanites, social activists, recent immigrants, fitness enthusiasts, the hungry, the tired, the curious, the doubtful, parents with young children, youth and young adults — all of these people and others are making their way to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Since the 1001 New Worshiping Communities movement was established in 2012, Presbyterians have supported the launch and growth of more than 650 new gatherings of disciples through grants, training, coaching, and other programs intended to encourage the flourishing of new followers of Jesus Christ.

In the past eight years, we have learned that these communities have the best chance of reaching a sustainable witness when they are in partnership with established congregations. At the same time, the congregations and mid councils who engage with new worshiping communities report new life and growth in their own ministries. We hear of deepened prayer, a willingness to take new risks, and joyful friendships never anticipated.

Many of these communities are founded and led by ruling elders, whose formation as disciples and leaders grounded in an understanding of the Great Ends of the Church has prompted them to gather new disciples in their local neighborhoods. Their hopeful risk-taking has resulted in a future for the church that is younger and more diverse than the PC(USA) has ever been. From these new communities, we stand to learn new ways of worship and witness, new hope for the transformation of the world, and new stories of how the Spirit of God works in and through neighbors we have yet to meet.

Those involved in this effort are eager to meet leaders who love the church and want to follow Jesus into the world. As one of these leaders, use these questions to engage individually and with your colleagues in ministry:

• Are there new worshiping communities at work in our community or presbytery? How can we learn more about their ministry?
• Who in our neighborhood is not attending church on Sunday morning? Where are they instead? How can we be present with them?
• Do our adult children and grandchildren attend a church? What do we know about why they do or do not? What can we learn from those closest to us about how they experience God in their lives outside a church community?
• Where are the places in our city/town where there is pain? How is God calling us to respond?

Discover an abundance of information on ways to take action at the 1001 New Worshiping Communities website. Find discernment, starting guides, and podcast episodes at newchurchnewway.org.

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The Reverend Nikki Collins began serving as the coordinator for 1001 New Worshiping Communities in June 2018. She previously served Cherokee Presbytery as stated clerk and mission oordinator and was the founder of Bare Bulb Coffee, a rich brew of full-service coffee shop, music and arts venue, and home to a diverse group of disciples committed to shedding light in the world. She graduated with a degree in psychology and religion from Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia, and earned her MDiv at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, Virginia.

Regarding Ruling Elders: Measuring the Quality of the Atmosphere

One of the questions I hear most often from ruling elders is “Where are all the young people?” Within that, I hear lament, loss, and grief. These are healthy emotions. At the same time, it usually is not long before the conversation becomes “Young people just don’t make church a priority!” In that, I hear the less healthy feelings of disappointment, blame, and contempt.

As a presbytery leader who is also a millennial, it is surprising how often people express to me how much my generation has let down the church. And yet, younger people have the same unmet needs as so many others: shared meaning, effortless belonging, and the opportunity to make an impact on the world together. Like canaries dropping in a toxic mine, maybe it is not the fragility of their lungs that is worth naming so much as the quality of the atmosphere.

Here are some possibilities for creating new partnerships:

1. Actually respect younger people. Are they understood as exceptions, representatives, or anomalies? Is the only high school student on your session officially “the youth elder” as if they are still in some kind of ruling elder larval stage? Young people can smell disrespect a mile away and often protest it with their feet.

• How would you describe the tone of the conversation around young people in your congregation?
• What do your conversations around young people assume about them?
  
  

2. Remove the barriers that limit participation. What keeps young people from serving on session? Meeting time? Length? Day of the week? Service as ruling elders is based on our covenants to each other expressed through our ordination vows; there should be no other bars to clear. We must integrate new, more accessible ways for all to participate.

• What does the “table of power” look like in your system, and who has access?
• What kinds of barriers are limiting young people from having a seat there?

3. Co-create Together. I feel most part of a community when my presence makes a clearly felt difference to it. In what ways are young people actually entrusted to lead? I notice the strongest coalitions of the congregation have plenty of culture-shaping influence around hymn choices, worship near patriotic civil holidays, flower placements, and other traditions that have been meaningful to some. Are young people able to exercise the same influence?

• What opportunities for co-creation exist for younger people?
• How might leadership of congregational life be indefinitely handed over to younger people?
  

4. Embrace mutuality. There is a common perception of ruling elders as “sages” to instruct the young’uns, which can shape stifling attitudes applying to the least powerful in any given room. Some of our paternalistic tendencies kick in when we think young people are the only ones who are supposed to mature. The church is one of the few remaining spaces in our society where opportunity for intergenerational, mutual collaboration still exists. Is your church embracing these potentials? 

• Where is intergenerational ministry experienced in your community?
• How might new partnerships between the generations be forged in generative ways?

Now, consider how these same questions might shape how we involve Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC). How might the call for respect, removing barriers, co-creation, and mutuality ring true in these conversations as well? As with the mine and those canaries, perhaps we need to measure the quality of the atmosphere as we consider who are around our tables.

Recommended Resources:

InterGenerate: Transforming Churches through Intergenerational Ministry, edited by Holly Catterton Allen, Abilene Christian University Press, 2018.

Dear Church: A Love Letter from a Black Preacher to the Whitest Denomination in the U.S., by Lenny Duncan, Fortress Press 2019.

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The Reverend Ryan Landino is the lead presbyter for transformation of the Presbytery of Great Rivers. Ryan is currently a member of the PC(USA) Special Committee on Racism, Truth, and Reconciliation, and manages the Facebook page “Pastor Ryan’s Sixty Second Sermons,” a model of concise sermons he adapted into short videos of creative explications of the Scripture that use editing, staging, and humor, often made in collaboration with the PC(USA) Office of Special Offerings.

Regarding Ruling Elders: A Vulnerable Pray-er

I love that Luke 11 tells the story of Jesus praying. The disciples must have been watching him because when Jesus finishes, they ask that he teach them how to pray. Prayer was not new to them. They could recognize that Jesus was praying. Certainly, they were raised to pray. Nevertheless, I love that the disciples were willing to be vulnerable about what is a fundamental spiritual practice. They were willing to explore a new way to engage in a familiar praxis. “We want to learn how to pray. Teach us, Jesus.”

Early in my ministry I realized that being the pastor of the church doesn’t necessarily mean that I have all knowledge and all answers to the great spiritual mysteries. I had recently been ordained and I knew Greek and Hebrew—enough to pass the ordination exam. Nevertheless, there were holes in my spiritual formation. Like the disciples, I was willing to acknowledge where I was vulnerable and had room for growth. More importantly, there were elders in the congregations that I served that “thought it not robbery” to teach me what they had learned about spiritual life—specifically about prayer.

An elder at St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church in Louisburg, North Carolina, taught me to incorporate hymns into my prayer practices. He was fond of reflecting on the third verse of hymns, picking out words or phrases from the verse to reflect upon and use in prayer. He was also known to hum a hymn tune as a complete prayer. He quoted St. Augustine that “singing is like praying twice.” Thanks to his influence, I would arrive early on Sunday mornings to sing a prayer song in an empty sanctuary in preparation for leading worship.

It was also a ruling elder at Community of Grace Presbyterian Church in Sandy, Utah, that encouraged me to learn new prayer practices. This elder introduced me to St. Ignatius’ prayer practice called the Examen. I use the Examen daily to reflect on the activities of the day, giving thanks to God for the thin places that only become obvious in hindsight during reflection.

These ruling elders poured into me and expanded my spiritual formation in ways that can’t be quantified. I believe they did so by taking seriously our ordination vows to “be a friend among your colleagues in ministry, working with them, subject to the ordering of God’s Word and Spirit” (Book of Order, W-4.0404e). Because they were willing to bless me, I take every opportunity to share what they’ve imparted in me about spiritual practices.

Resources to Consider
Some of these books will push you beyond your comfort zone and may leave you vulnerable. It is in that strange new place that I pray you realize vulnerability has drawn you closer to the one that “leads you, guides you, along the way!”

 

• Glory to God hymnal: while any hymnal will do, I love the background Glory to God provides on the hymns as context
• Ann Weems: any of her poems provide great fodder for prayer
• Margaret Silf, Inner Compass: this book was my introduction to the Examen
• William Barry, What Do I Want in Prayer
• Mark Thibodeaux, Armchair Mystic: How Contemplative Prayer Can Lead You Closer to God
• Richard Rohr, The Divine Dance 
• Julian of Norwich, All Will Be Well
• My absolute favorite is, Meditations of the Heart, by Howard Thurman. His small devotionals are heavy and powerful reads.

 

Questions for Discussion
In the Scriptures, the disciples model that communication with God and that drawing nearer to God in prayer requires vulnerability.

• How have you let yourself be vulnerable to learn from others?
• What are some prayer practices that have brought you closer to God?
• How have you been a friend among colleagues, walking alongside them in their spiritual journeys? Are there practices that you have shared with other leaders?

 

The Reverend Jerrod Lowry serves as the general presbyter/stated clerk for the Presbytery of Coastal Carolina. Prior to accepting this call, he served as pastor in Sandy, Utah, and as tentmaker in Louisburg, North Carolina, and for the Presbytery of New Hope. Above all, Jerrod is passionate about “equipping saints for the work of ministry” and has enjoyed studying St. Ignatius’ Examen as a prayer practice and tool for discernment.

AUTHOR: Jerrod B. Lowry

Regarding Ruling Elders: White Supremacy and the Church

Another week passes and the protests continue; people fighting against white supremacy and police brutality. The murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor (who are not the latest but just the most public on the current news cycle), and the activism of the Black Lives Matter movement have started conversations among many Presbyterians at all levels of the church.

White supremacy, the epicenter of it all, is so interwoven into the fabric of our culture and our history that it is hard for people not affected by it negatively to identify the behaviors and the unconscious aggression that reinforces it. This is reflected in our daily living and thus in our sessions and congregations. In order to be able to start the work to combat these behaviors we need to learn the characteristics of white supremacy and ask ourselves the hard questions. Odds are that our sessions are unaware of how complicit they might be. Let’s have this conversation. It is time.

The key to learning and dismantling white supremacy is to educate ourselves to be better, to be equipped to know when we are complicit, to know when others are, and to be able to act and stop the patterns. It is the responsibility of the people who benefit from this system to dismantle it, to reach reconciliation through reparations, to build community. As ruling elders, this is our responsibility, and our call, within our own congregations. Now is the time to examine and ask ourselves some important questions that can bring us to action:

Non-Inclusivity

In a predominantly white denomination, having a congregation with very few BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, people of color) is common. But, ask yourself:

Why is my congregation and its session predominantly white?

What message are we sending to the community that only white people are invited to join and feel safe in our congregation?

How many times have we asked the few BIPOC to share their thoughts (expecting them to be the voice of all the Lord’s diversity)?

Power and Exclusion

Serving on the session includes making decisions about the direction God is taking the church, about the ministries, finances, and other important matters. Ruling elders are trusted with that responsibility. Being intentional about the inclusiveness of the participation of leadership positions for BIPOC is a way to stand against white supremacy. Ask yourself:

Are there people in my congregation who have served on the session for multiple terms again and again?

Does this cycle prevent non-white members from serving?

Assumptions

When we assume instead of asking, we let our biases guide our ministry. How many times have we assumed someone is too busy to serve as a ruling elder, or to teach Vacation Bible School, but then we count on them to cook for our fundraisers, or to help clean our churches, or to drive the youth group? Ask yourself:

For whom do we allow our stories of what is happening for them prevent us from checking in with them? What is convincing us to act that way?

Commodity

White supremacy expects the oppressed to do the leg work for the oppressors. Asking a BIPOC to do this work for you is an example of supremacy at work. Ask yourself:

When have you expected a BIPOC person to teach you about something you don’t know? And when did you notice?

The Confession of Belhar states:

"Christ's work of reconciliation is made manifest in the church as the community of believers who have been reconciled with God and with one another;

"… that this unity can be established only in freedom and not under constraint; that the variety of spiritual gifts, opportunities, backgrounds, convictions, as well as the various languages and cultures, are by virtue of the reconciliation in Christ, opportunities for mutual service and enrichment within the one visible people of God." (Book of Confessions, 10.3)

It is my hope that as ruling elders, we can continue to be inclusive agents of change in the world.

For Further Study:

"White Fragility" by Robin DiAngelo

"So You Want to Talk About Race" by Ijeoma Oluo

"Dear White Christians: For Those Still Longing for Racial Reconciliation" by Jennifer Harvey

"Racism Without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in Contemporary America," 5th edition, by Eduardo Bonilla-Silva

Miguel Andrés Rosa Morales is a ruling elder from the Iglesia Presbiteriana en Hato Rey, Presbytery of San Juan. He worked for the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) interning as a member of the General Council Planning Team (2016) and for the PC(USA) Office of the General Assembly as program assistant for General Assembly Meeting Services (2017). Miguel recently graduated with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and serves as a member of the General Assembly’s Special Committee on Racism, Truth and Reconciliation.

Regarding Ruling Elders: Ruling Elders as Educators

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My friend Mildred celebrated her 100th birthday on July 5, 2020. A lifelong Presbyterian, Mildred has served many terms on the session of her church in Indiana. Active at all levels of the PC(USA), Mildred’s first love has always been her local congregation, including several years serving on staff. As I’ve known, watched, and learned from Mildred for 40 years, one thing that she taught me was the way that she lived out her service to Christ’s church is how ruling elders can serve as educators.

Ruling elders commit to teaching. Ruling elders have opportunities to help children learn the stories of the faith. They can engage with youth and young adults, talking with them about their joys and struggles and encouraging them in their faith journeys. Ruling elders should be on the constant lookout for resources to share with adults—resources that speak to life’s issues and challenges.

Ruling elders commit to worship. The regular presence of church leaders on Sunday mornings — or whenever their congregations worship — says loudly and clearly that community is vital to the life of faith. Singing and praying together, hearing and responding to God’s word together, ground us and empower us for the work of ministry in the world.

Ruling elders commit to mentoring others. Ruling elders mentor seekers by inviting them into the church community and by standing with them as they experience language and customs that may seem quite strange at first. They mentor those in confirmation classes by listening to their experiences, responding to their questions, and praying for them as they consider church membership. They welcome new church members with gratitude and enthusiasm. Ruling elders look for, and seek out, the gifts of church members and invite the sharing of those gifts.

Ruling elders commit to the whole life of the church. Even though ruling elders may have a particular ministry area to which they focus, they support the whole of their congregation’s life. They engage in mission endeavors, attend special musical events, and support youth group fundraisers. They model generosity in their financial giving and share joyfully what the church and its ministry mean to them.

Ruling elders commit to the larger church. Ruling elders, as connectional leaders, have opportunities to be aware of and share church news and information with others — sometimes even their pastors. They can encourage support or presence at denominational gatherings such as the Presbyterian Youth Triennium, the Presbyterian Women’s Triennial Gathering, and at summer camps and conferences. They can be involved in meetings and committees of the presbytery, the synod, and the General Assembly so that they can learn from others, effect change, and return to their own communities with new ideas.

Ruling elders recognize, and even celebrate, that they do not cease to be ruling elders when the term on session is fulfilled. They know they’ve been called for life:

• To teach;
• To worship God regularly with joy and enthusiasm;
• To invite others to the faith;
• To nurture children, youth, and adults for the work of ministry in the church and in the world;
• To engage in the life of their own particular communities;
• To pray for people and places all over God’s world;
• To share generously, whenever and wherever needed, their time, talent, and financial treasure;
• To serve God and the church with energy, intelligence, imagination, and love.

Questions for Discussion

Take some time to think about the roles you have played in your service as a ruling elder.

• How have you served as an educator for others?
• How will you live out, or are you living out, your call after serving on the session? 

Written in Honor of Mildred Myers Flanary, ruling elder at First Presbyterian Church in Lebanon, Indiana, who facilitates the Sunday morning adult Bible class and reads stories each week to the four-year-old class of the Presbyterian Pre-School Ministry; sings alto in the choir and frequently plays the offertory music on the clavinova; invites people to come to church, using her amazing ability to recognize hidden talent in folks of all ages; is present for every endeavor of the church; has only recently stopped being the regular commissioner to presbytery. 

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Carol McDonald, a minister member of the Presbytery of Wabash Valley, retired after serving the PC(USA) for 42 years as a pastor and mid council executive. She served for nine years as a member of the Educator Certification Council of the PC(USA) and from 2010–18 was a member of the Committee on the Office of the General Assembly. In retirement, she serves as parish associate for Northminster Presbyterian Church, Indianapolis, Indiana.

Regarding Ruling Elders: Communion in a Time of Lament

In the last few weeks, I have been gathering virtually with my home church in San Francisco while I live in Atlanta. Not being able to share bread and cup with any community has been personally challenging. It is a scenario that many in our denomination can understand as we have had to adapt our worship during the COVID-19 pandemic. At a time when we are not able to gather in community for worship and receive the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper in person, my reflection has turned to what it means to be in community, even if from a distance, and the impact of community on the sacrament.

In an article written by the Rev. Dr. William P. Brown about the first Easter, he reminds us that when the first disciples were huddled in anxiety, the resurrected Christ joined them and ate with them once again. It was in this resurrection encounter that Jesus told the disciples to stay put, to wait, until the work of the Holy Spirit was upon them.

Reflecting on the scriptures about the first Easter reminds me that it is Jesus who is present to us in our partaking of the Lord’s Supper just as he was present to the first disciples. We partake of the table not of our own doing, but by the work of the Holy Spirit, who calls us to share in God’s gift of grace. Our faith is an embodied one, and signs and acts of grace not only speak of who we are but of whose we are. Even in seasons of lament and longing, at the table, the grace of God is poured out on us.

At the same time, embodied grace may also take the form of lament and fasting. Just as the disciples sat separated from the outside world, I and my communities, too, find ourselves at physical distance from one another. It was and is OK for us to sit in this lament, hoping for the day we can celebrate over the meal physically present with others once again.

The grace offered to us and other members of our communities is one that we cannot hinder, but one that we can assist in its embodiment. In this time void of large worship gatherings, sessions should contemplate the theological reasons for the Lord’s Supper. Our "Book of Order" offers guidance on this subject and lays groundwork for what is expected at a minimum level (G-3.0301b).

The decision of how often the sacrament is observed is made by the session and other councils for non-congregational settings (W-3.0410). In cases where ministers of Word and Sacrament or commissioned ruling elders are not physically present to administer the sacrament with parishioners, sessions have the option of authorizing members to do so (W-3.0414). Members need a week’s notice so that they may prepare themselves and the elements for the table (W-3.0409). We should remember that Christian worship is contextual and dependent on the elements available and appropriate for the given circumstance (W-1.0304). The bread and cup are not in themselves what brings us to God, but are signs that point to the grace of God already found in Jesus Christ (W-1.0303). These are all ways that impact how grace is embodied for those who partake of Christ’s table.

Regardless of how the sacrament is celebrated, know that Christ is present with us. This world belongs to God, and there is no place where God can’t be worshiped. Let us sit in the grace bestowed upon us as we offer this grace to others, in this time of lament, in this time of stillness, in this time we find ourselves.

Questions for discussion:
During times of separation from loved ones, how have you felt Christ’s presence?
What holy symbols have brought you joy and hope in the midst of lament?

Think about times that you have celebrated the Lord’s Supper and reflect upon the ways that you have felt closer to God.

1 https://www.ctsnet.edu/the-life-giving-emptiness-of-this-easter/.

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Christópher (Ófe) Abreu Rosario is a Dominican American third year dual-degree student (MDiv and MA Practical Theology) at Columbia Theological Seminary in Atlanta, Georgia. He is a candidate in the PC(USA) ordination process, under care of Mission Bay Community Church in San Francisco, California. He loves donuts, movies, and sharing food and long walks with friends.

Regarding Ruling Elders: Ruling Elders in a Pandemic

“If we suspend our worship and close our doors during this pandemic, how will we continue to be the church?” That is the central question for congregational leaders. How do we build a community of faith when we are separated physically from each other? How do we lead in a crisis?

Crises are tests of our faith and leadership. In a crisis, people are prone to act out of fear, not faith. Fear breeds anxiety, which acts like a contagion in the Body of Christ. Like Elijah fleeing from the wrath of Jezebel (1 Kings 19), anxious and fearful churches can develop a “cave mentality,” feeling helpless and alone. Like the Israelites in the wilderness (Exodus 16), we can be reactive, urging a quick fix rather than adapting and growing through the challenges.

Many leaders internalize this anxiety and feed the fears of the people. But the best leaders are those who manage their own reactivity, compassionately address fears, and model a confident and hopeful trust in God. Here are some important reminders for leading in a crisis.

Put on your own mask first. The familiar pre-flight warning, “in case of a sudden loss of cabin pressure …” to put on one’s own mask before trying to help others is a good lesson for leaders. You can’t help others spiritually if you are not taking care of yourself. Practice good physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health. Take days off, not just from work and church obligations, but also from anxiety-producing news and social media. Pay more attention to spiritual disciplines.

Stay connected. As the song says, “the church is not a building … the church is a people.” We can stay spiritually close even when socially distant. Pay special attention to those who might feel most isolated: the elderly and infirmed, those who live alone, and those on the other side of the digital divide who might not have access to virtual connections. A hand-written note or a phone call are a means of grace in a digital world.

Communicate! Clear, regular, and honest communication is vital in a crisis, but people have a hard time hearing when they are anxious and fearful. Good leaders listen before they speak. Provide opportunity for people to voice their fears. Being a calm and empathetic listener will almost always diminish anxiety.

Be open to God’s new thing. We are an Easter people! Even amid suffering and grief, God works to bring new life and hope. This could be the time to forge mission partnerships with community agencies and schools; to strengthen your online presence by live-streaming devotionals and prayer gatherings; to develop online giving capability.

Remember who’s in control. Here’s a hint: it’s not you. This is God’s world and God is in control, even in a pandemic. We don’t need to carry the spiritual and emotional burden of “saving the church”—that’s been done already! Leadership is a team sport—so trust the other elders and pastoral leaders, but above all, trust God. Peter urged the persecuted believers in Asia, “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:6–7).

Leadership in a crisis is an exercise in courageous faith. Angeles Arrien, a cross-cultural anthropologist, teacher, and author, defined courageous leadership in four steps: Show up, Listen, Tell the truth as you see it from your heart, and Let go of the outcome. That’s good advice for us today. God is in control; the Lord will see us through.


The Reverend Dan Saperstein is executive presbyter for the Presbytery of Lake Huron. He holds a D.Min. in Executive Leadership from McCormick Theological Seminary. A “polity wonk” and an avid movie fan, Dan lives in Saginaw, Michigan, with his wife Liz. They have two grown daughters and one grandson.

Regarding Ruling Elders - The Practice of Contemplation

Contemplation, Contemplating, Contemplative. For some, these are words of comfort. A break from producing. Just the thought adds oxygen to the soul. For others, it delivers sheer panic. The terror of stillness. The unknown qualities of “just thinking.” Contemplation, however, is a stretchy act; able to be held and practiced by skeptics and fans—in a session room, by a ruling elder all alone, a young person, a family, whomever.

To contemplate is to deeply consider. A spiritual director once offered, and demonstrated for a class focused on Christian spirituality, that a simple way to think about contemplation is to imagine holding a crystal vase, bowl, or sculpture, and then take five minutes to completely examine the piece being held. Look at it, feel it, turn it around and over and upside down. Look at how it interacts with objects in the background. See how light and less light might shift the item, produce color, warm it.

A recent Valentine’s Day experience drove me to do a deep dive into the practice of contemplation. The first item of business on the day of hearts and arrows was a visit to the dentist. As I entered the office, I was greeted by a cheerful staff person with the phrase “Happy Love Day!” I sheepishly smiled, rushing to sign in. The receptionist continued to greet patients with her joyful message. As I checked out, she wished me well. I said, “Happy Valentine’s Day!” to her. And she replied, “Thank you! I hope your day is full of love. In all ways!” I went to get onto the elevator and something stopped me. I turned back around and said, “You are greeting people with ‘Happy Love Day!’ What makes you say that phrase specifically? I’m curious.” She said, “I decided this morning to see everyone, throughout today, as a person who has love, has been loved, should be loved. When they get off the elevator the first thing I see is that. It’s amazing. I don’t see what they are wearing, or their grumpiness, or anything like that. I see them as a being, carrying love.”

To deeply consider something, to contemplate it, is to open the eyes, intentionally look with a spirit of seeing, and to behold it. Isn’t this a great, good ol’ biblical/theological invitation? To behold something. We are told that God beheld God’s son. Mary beheld her child. A nation beheld its final destination. They all did more than just glance and move on. The invitation to us as leaders is to do more than simply see and move on. It is to deeply consider. To contemplate can be a form of prayer or an incredibly powerful tool in deepening peace or reaching a careful decision. Contemplation for the church leader, the ruling elder, teacher, clerk is a way to shift from decision to discernment. To deeply consider whether that is how you see yourself as a leader, how you operate with other leaders, the implications of a program, or a budget. To do more than glance and move on.

Enchanted by the idea presented by the dental receptionist that Valentine’s Day; that I might look at those around me and see them as individuals with love and as a person that God beholds, I left the office determined to do the same. While I was not comfortable greeting strangers with the phrase “Happy Love Day,” I was curious. I was moved. And so, I decided to deeply consider people that day. And that day was a day of love. Not hearts and arrows but absolute appreciation and a rumbling sense of gratitude for who and what I was seeing.

As in most spiritual practices, intentionality is key. It’s making an intentional effort that will eventually lead to a natural or more habitual action. Consider these simple ways to practice contemplation as you serve:

• During a meeting silently choose another leader in the room and consider the gifts of that person: the reasons they have been called by the community and by God to serve and the words that they have spoken that helped an item or a conversation be considered. Behold that person. What does God see when God sees that person?
• During a decision-making process, ask the group to take a few minutes to truly think about the people involved in that decision. For example, in the approval of a youth group service experience, invite yourself and others to spend a few minutes pondering the young people involved in the decision, the group or community that will receive the service, the lives of that community. Contemplate the way that God sees all of those involved. What might God hope for this decision? Do this as you first encounter the item on the agenda or before you vote.
• As you begin your day take five minutes to quietly examine how you feel, how you start your day, what good things are present (coffee, purpose, possibility, etc.), what challenges lie ahead, and simply consider your day. Contemplate rather than plan.

Happy Love Day today and every day!

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Gina Yeager-Buckley serves as the Mission Associate for Christian Formation—Youth/Presbyterian Youth Triennium. Gina lives and works in Louisville, Kentucky. She is married to Andrew. A certified Christian Educator, volunteer youth team member at her church, and an enthusiastic advocate for young people in the church, Gina looks for ways to encourage churches to be shaped by the faith and life of the young people in their midst.

Regarding Ruling Elders - Seeking to Be Faithful Together

I have a pair of “block-out glasses” that were given to me as a gag gift. When you put them on for a photo, your eyes (and ostensibly your identity) are concealed from the camera, protecting you and your reputation from the disgrace of being identified in a compromising setting or unfortunate moment. My glasses are just for playful effect, but they mimic the actual device employed in television programming and magazines to conceal the identities of well-known people behaving badly.

There have been times when I wished the Christian church could conceal its identity. When we fail to be the church or rise to the occasion. When we do or say things that are contrary to the gospel of Jesus Christ. When we stand idly by and allow evil to reign. When we ourselves are complicit or, worse yet, participants in the stories—old and new—of oppression, injustice, and faithlessness. It’s times like those that I wish we could just put on the block-out glasses and not be associated with our bad behavior.

Back in 1992, at or near the height of our denomination’s struggle over ordination standards, the 204th General Assembly (1992) approved a tool to help Presbyterians behave better. It was a resource that helped us remain faithful to our Christian identity and practice while we struggled amongst ourselves over hard topics. It was developed in response to requests from Presbyterian congregations experiencing pain and brokenness and was aptly named Seeking to Be Faithful Together: Guidelines for Presbyterians During Times of Disagreement. The assembly used it that year with success and then commended it to the whole church. Since then, the “guidelines” have become renowned for their practical utility and sage wisdom. Instead of being a “one and done” tool for a particular time and place, the guidelines have been stashed away in the proverbial Presbyterian toolbox and used over the decades for job upon job. After all, there is always something about which Presbyterians can and do disagree.

We’ve all been there. In those church meetings in which tempers flare, pulses quicken, voices raise, fists pound, and things get awkward, uncomfortable, and maybe even ugly. I once experienced a ruling elder wad up a sheet of paper, throw it across the room, offer some choice words, and storm out the door. It’s times like these when we are not at our best, and we know it. The guidelines help us to be our best. Instead of reaching for the block-out glasses after the damage is done, grab the guidelines as a training tool to shape the way we interact.

They are simple, straightforward, and sensible, which may explain their staying power and effectiveness. Better yet, they are biblically based and theologically sound, organized around the following three biblical principles:

Give them a hearing … listen before we answer. (John 7:51 and Proverbs 18:13)

Speak the truth in love. (Ephesians 4:15)

Maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:3)

Within this framework of hearing, speaking, and maintaining unity, the guidelines provide best practices and sound skill development for those seeking to become more faithful as a result of conflict, rather than less. They assist those, like yourselves, called “… to further the peace, unity, and purity of the church” (Book of Order, W-4.0404g).

As ruling elders, there will no doubt be some hard conversations and difficult topics to address during the term of service in church leadership. Our world seems to be full of tough topics. The church needs to consider the hard stuff, even, and especially if, we are not of one mind. And church leaders need to be ready for the small stuff as well, because we’ve been known to sweat that too (like carpet and paint colors). The guidelines will help you. Use the link below to print them and then “bind them upon your heart, tie them around your neck,” take them to your meetings, put them in your pocket. Speaking of which, the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program has even produced a pocket-size version of the guidelines. Short, sweet, and to-the-point. You will never be without them and, with them, you won’t need those block-out glasses.

Download “Seeking to Be Faithful Together: Guidelines for Presbyterians During Times of Disagreement” here. The pocket guides are also available for purchase in packs of 25 from The PC(USA) Store.

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Carl Horton is a PC(USA) teaching elder and is coordinator of the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program in the Presbyterian Mission Agency. He has served congregations in California, Nebraska, and Kentucky, and currently serves as president of the Association of Presbyterian Church Educators (APCE).