The Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), recently traveled to New York City to meet, worship, and fellowship with a number of Presbyterians attending the Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations.
In this week’s devotional, Nelson shares his thoughts and hopes for the future.
Stated Clerk delivers sermon on the need for change
The Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II preached at Fellowship Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama, on Sunday. Screenshot.
Jesus’ disciples faced a lot of fear and uncertainty in those final days of his ministry on earth. The Bible details how many stumbled, denied, hid and pondered what to do next as Christ faced persecution and crucifixion on the cross.
The Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) shared passages from the Book of Acts during a sermon this past week at Fellowship Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama. The church’s pastor is the Rev. Gregory Bentley, who served as Co-Moderator of the 224th General Assembly (2020).
“The Book of Acts reminds us of the fear and trembling as the disciples sat in the upper room, hiding because they were afraid of losing their life when Jesus was crucified,” Nelson said. “Can you imagine a friend of yours who was put upon a cross, nailed and left there to die without having any sense of help along the way to ease the pain? Doing this for the sake of those who had followed him and those whom he had called? It was the terrifying lynching of our Savior.”
Nelson told the congregation he is convinced that while the disciples were together, they blamed each other for what happened and that church members today often place blame on others instead of themselves. He adds that Presbyterians, like all Christians, need to accept that “we are individuals living by the grace of God."
“God’s grace woke us up this morning when others did not. God’s grace gives us an opportunity to worship when others cannot. God gave us grace to be in the midst of a world right now where we can think about things that are ahead of us and can challenge ourselves when others did not make it and cannot do it,” he said. “Every day is a day of Thanksgiving. We also know the grips of fear and struggle that comes in the midst of us where somehow the world in which we live does not act the way we would like it to.”
Nelson added that the church of Jesus Christ is in repair, struggling to figure out what it means to walk by faith and not by sight.
“We are afraid right now. In the midst of our faith, in the midst of coronavirus, in the midst of what has taken place in public schools, all the madness in this particular election cycle, the world is in disarray,” he said. “People are lost in the streets and cannot make it. They do not have hope in their lives, and many are being locked up somewhere because the game is against them, and they do not have a chance because they are not born in privilege and yet they are fighting every day of their lives to make it.”
Nelson says the church must be about the business of massive transition and transformative work and move away from focusing on how large or small a church might be.
“I’m convinced that the relevance of white and Black churches is going to have to turn to people as Jesus did that are struggling on the vine today,” he said. “It is not about just me, my and mine, but things that have to be done to transform a world that has run amok. Even in high places we have seen it, the power mongering without concern for those who are struggling.”
Nelson concluded by saying church must change the way it looks at ministry.
“We can no longer be a place that believes if we build it, they will come. We are in a ruthless society now and we must learn to rise above it and claim it,” Nelson said. “No longer can we go to church and get happy on Sunday and send people back to hell on Monday. This world needs to be cleaned up.”
The Stated Clerk’s entire sermon can be viewed here .
The Rev. Shavon Starling-Louis and the Rev. Ruth Santana Grace moderate the fourth plenary of the 225th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) on July 5, 2022, at the Presbyterian Center in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Rich Copley)
A walk through the new conference space at the Presbyterian Center in Louisville looks a lot different than it did less than a week ago. The halls and rooms, once busy with activity, with cables and monitors stretched from one end to the other, are gone now. The reception area is quiet and empty.
For three weeks, the newly designed space was abuzz with staff moving from room to room, commissioners and advisory delegates rotating in and out, meeting, listening and praying. Technical support huddled behind computer screens and monitors, managing the audio, video and online components of the denomination’s first-ever hybrid General Assembly, while additional staff provided advisory, parliamentary and interpretation support among other duties.
During plenaries, the Co-Moderators of the 225th General Assembly, the Rev. Shavon Starling-Louis and the Rev. Ruth Santana-Grace, sat behind a desk, surrounded by computer screens and monitors to track motions and questions and address those watching online. The Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), provided a pastoral presence during proceedings and along with Parliamentarian the Rev. Tricia Dykers Koenig, sat for countless hours during plenaries as business proceeded.
“I think General Assembly was a great success on a lot of different levels. People had to learn how to utilize the technology that was available during this Assembly, but we were able to work through any problems or concerns,” Nelson said. “We had a few bumps in the road, but we worked through it, and that’s what we’ve been doing since the pandemic began. We never stopped figuring out how to innovate and that’s what the church of the future is about.”
The online setup during the last week gave plenaries a different feel. The Co-Moderators received a lot of praise for their style of moderating and were compared by some commissioners to hosts of a morning TV show.
“We weren’t sure what we would do; we knew we wanted to start off together but didn’t know if one would take a plenary and the other would take a plenary. But energy-wise, it felt so much more life-giving to share the journey and take turns on particular motions and be an extra set of eyes for each other because there are so many different things happening,” said Starling-Louis. “It was a gift to have my sister next to me and navigating the many pieces together. It felt like a real co-created experience with God in our community. We were trying to listen well. What a gift to have another set of eyes, ears and fingers to do something else so that you can come back with the information. I’m grateful that we had the energy, stamina and desire.”
“What brought us together was commitment, stories of our congregations and theology of flourishing and abundance in a culture of scarcity,” said Santana-Grace. “What I learned about Shavon was that our instinct about one another that began on March 17 was real and I think we bring different gifts in the way we process. I think there’s something very synergistic about Shavon’s openness, I can’t explain it. She has been everything I could hope she would be as a partner. We offered noncompetitive comfort and encouragement. I don’t know where it comes from, but it worked for us. Being in the plenaries together was more energizing than taking an hour break.”
Nelson extended his gratitude to all of the commissioners and advisory delegates who took part in the three-week Assembly.
“Many of us had to learn to adjust to a General Assembly that we were not accustomed to and yet we got the work done that we needed to do. We’ve been able to sit together at the same table and come up with a unified budget,” he said. “We are blessed in so many ways to do what needed to be done and push through with innovation and make things happen. We couldn’t have done this by ourselves.”
Nelson adds that the inclusion and continued growth of Young Adult Advisory Delegates was key to the Assembly’s success.
“We have a powerful future ahead of us and these young people are amazing,” he said. “For them to have collected and donated ... to ending cash bail says something about our young people and what they mean to the life of the church. They are the church now.”
For the Co-Moderators, their work is just beginning and they’re hopeful that the next two years will provide opportunities to meet congregations and presbytery leaders in person when they can.
“There are partnerships we have not been able to visit with in four or five years. If there is space for those meetings to happen and works for our schedules, we are excited to lean into it,” said Starling-Louis. “You can do some good spiritual work and be present with each other from behind the screen. It depends on what you can bring to the moment. We want to be mindful and be good stewards of the environment, of time and energy. I’ve heard the grief from Greg and Elona because they didn’t have that in-person experience. I don’t expect we’ll that have same level of grief.”
The Rev. Greg Bentley and Ruling Elder Elona Street-Stewart, Co-Moderators of the 224th General Assembly, served during the two years of the pandemic and were restricted in their ability to meet with congregations and church leaders in person.
Israel/Palestine, fossil fuel divestment, OGA/PMA unification among major issues addressed
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The Rev. Ruth Santana-Grace and the Rev. Shavon Starling-Louis, Co-Moderators of the 225th General Assembly, receive stoles from Stated Clerk the Rev. Dr. J Herbert Nelson, II following the Moderators' election on the first day of the Assembly, June 18, 2022, at the Presbyterian Center in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Rich Copley)
Church leadership
Key positions in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) were filled during the assembly. The Rev. Ruth Santana-Grace and Rev. Shavon Starling-Louis were elected co-moderators of the 225th General Assembly. The assembly confirmed Rev. Dr. Diane Moffett’s re-election to a second term as president and executive director of Presbyterian Mission Agency. The assembly confirmed the re-election of the Rev. Dr. Tom Taylor as president and CEO of the Presbyterian Foundation, his fourth term. The assembly also confirmed the 2021 election of Rev. Dr. Asa Lee, president of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.
Israel/Palestine
The General Assembly voted 266-116 to approve INT-02, a “Recognition that Israel’s Laws, Policies and Practices Constitute Apartheid Against the Palestinian People.” It declares that the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) “recognizes that the laws, policies, and practices of the government of Israel regarding the Palestinian people fulfill the international legal definition of apartheid.”
Fossil fuel divestment
General Assembly approved ENV-10 calling for divestment from five oil and gas companies: Chevron, ExxonMobil, Marathon Petroleum, Phillips 66 and Valero Energy. The assembly said the companies were not doing enough to slow global warming.
Mission Responsibility Through Investment (MRTI) reports that this is the first time the PC(USA) has voted to divest from companies out of compliance with GA’s environmental policies (which was established in 2018.)
Unification and National Structure
On a vote of 321-54, General Assembly approved FIN-10, which calls for the appointment of a commission to oversee and facilitate the unification of the Office of the General Assembly (OGA) and the Presbyterian Mission Agency (PMA) into a single agency. The assembly also approved MOV-02, which moves Mission Engagement and Support (MES) from the Mission Agency to the Administrative Services Group, which supports both OGA and PMA.
Unified budget/per capita
The assembly approved FIN-14, which includes unified budgets for the Office of the General Assembly, Presbyterian Mission Agency and the Administrative Services Group of the PC(USA), A Corporation. The budget for the three agencies and entities totals $88.3 million in 2023 and $89.5 million in 2024. The breakdown of the budget will be 16% for OGA, 79% for PMA, and 5% for ASG.
The assembly voted to approve FIN-13 which assesses a per capita rate of $9.85 per member in 2023 and $9.80 per member in 2024. The current per capita rate is $8.98 per member meaning an 87-cent (9.6%) increase next year while the 2024 rate will drop by five cents (0.5%) in 2024. The per capita budget for 2023 was approved at $15.2 million and $15.6 million for 2024.
Immigration
By a vote of 340-25, the General Assembly approved IMM-06, allowing the church to declare itself a “Sanctuary and Accompaniment Church.” The assembly’s Immigration Committee says the decision sends a message that the church is committed to working for justice in U.S. immigration policy.
Gun violence
General Assembly approved a motion that the church renew its commitment to end gun violence by developing a 10-year campaign, the Decade to End Gun Violence (2022 – 2032).
The assembly also voted to direct Mission Responsibility Through Investment (MRTI) to engage with Walmart, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Kroger, three publicly traded companies held by either the Board of Pensions or Presbyterian Foundation, that sell guns not classified as semi-automatic and assault-based weapons.
Ukraine
The assembly also voted 374-1 to approve INT-19, a commissioners’ resolution condemning the Russian military invasion of Ukraine and crimes against humanity, and calling for a cease-fire and the immediate resumption of internationally mediated negotiations.
Race and gender justice
Commissioners and advisory delegates approved several items of business from the Race and Gender Justice Committee (RGJ), including RGJ-07: “A Resolution Addressing the Lack of Installed Pastoral Leadership in People of Color Congregations in the PC(USA) — From the Racial Equity Advocacy Committee” and RGJ-08: “On Offering an Apology to African Americans for the Sin of Slavery and Its Legacy.”
A two-hour plenary ended with votes overwhelmingly approving both items, and with white Presbyterians reading aloud “A Litany of Repentance” found in RGJ-08, which begins with the words: “As white Christians we repent of our complicity in the belief in white supremacy.”
The assembly also approved RGJ-12 calling for a new special committee to expose white supremacy within the denomination and make recommendations for improvement. In addition, the assembly approved RGJ-13, directing the Presbyterian Mission Agency and the Presbyterian Publishing Corporation to “create educational resources for congregations to identify and interrupt practices and policies that perpetuate the adultificaiton of Black girls and criminalization of adolescent behavior.” Commissioners and advisory delegates passed a resolution, RGJ-14, denouncing violence against Asian women and Pacific Islanders.
The Church will form a committee to write a new PC(USA) confession.
226th General Assembly
The assembly voted to change the format of the 226th General Assembly, whereby committee meetings will be held online, with in-person plenaries being conducted on site in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 2024. The assembly is expected to cost approximately $2.8 million.
Mid councils
Commissioners and advisory delegates approved MC-10, which creates a task force to explore the theology and practice of ordination for ruling elders and recommend any changes to the 226th General Assembly (2024). The task force will include representatives who identify as BIPOC, immigrant congregations and New Worshiping Communities. Several amendments and motions were considered, but the overture was approved as amended by the committee.
Other
The General Assembly approved changes to the Standing Rules (STAN-22) that alter requirements for those serving as Young Adult Advisory Delegates to the assembly. YAADs must be:
J. Herbert Nelson, II, says now is not the time to return to in-person gatherings
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| The Rev. J. Herbert Nelson, II speaks on June 27, 2020 during the 224th General Assembly (2020), which was held online as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. —Photo by Randy Hobson |
