Re Through Action and Prayers, March Letters
This is an interesting exchange and Bill Ashby, a member of the Life and Mission Agency committee and a representative elder to presbytery, makes a valid point; but I hope he won’t mind if I (perhaps unfairly) use his response as a springboard.
We can all say “Amen” with Ashby when he says (my paraphrase) that we must all pull our weight and row the Presbyterian ship together. But Hans Kouwenberg is asking, “Where is the ship headed?”
Kouwenberg, for his part, is reaching out, thinking like an apostle or a missionary. He is asking, not how can we improve the state of the Presbyterian Church in Canada, but how can we share the good news of Jesus Christ with the next generation? He asks, in effect, have we listened to this generation enough to be able to speak to it?
Amen.
Kouwenberg points to the limited knowledge, limited availability and limited ability of the resource personnel in the Vine network to provide “tangible help,” and calls for a national strategy and a realignment of resources.
Kouwenberg writes, “[L]et’s share more gifted, skilled and experienced people who can embody some of the changes we need.”
Amen.
Maybe I’m presbyopic; but I’ve seen a lot of talented people in the Presbyterian Church who could be, should be, sharing their gifts in implementing a national, denominational strategy for making our worship alive, vibrant and joyful, and for effectively sharing our faith. Is there a place in the Presbyterian system for them?
