Requires Sensitivity

The Will of Christ, October News

I would ask my friends at the Record to take special care in reporting on recently proposed changes to our denomination’s position on human sexuality and marriage. In my view, this article fails to adequately represent what took place at the meeting of the Presbytery of Waterloo – Wellington on Sept. 9th. You may not be aware of just how controversial this overture was in our presbytery. More could have been done to seek out other voices. We heard a lot from Mark Lewis—and nothing from an alternative viewpoint. Rev. Lewis may not approve, but he certainly knows that his motion generated controversy. Eight presbyters, myself included, recorded our dissent. More would have dissented if they had read the overture, which was buried in 15 pages of presbytery material and sent out a little more than 24 hours in advance of the meeting. To trumpet this overture as the will of Christ—and to give the article that headline—seems most likely to shut down those of us who disagree and reduce the chance that we might actually listen to each other. It’s not a promising beginning to this next chapter of what may be a long and divisive debate. Let’s all do what we can to cultivate unity even as we’re honest about our differences.