Monday was a busy day for us at General Assembly. Our two sederunts were reminders to us as commissioners that God’s work is diverse and it touches each of us in a variety of ways. We come together to discern the work and ministry of the Presbyterian Church in Canada from remote areas north in our country to the far shores of the Atlantic Provinces. But no matter where we hail from, we are reminded that the answers and solutions we seek are not easy to come by. How some decisions affect those of us in cities can be very different than how it affects those of us who live in rural areas. As in all we do, we walk in the presence of God and we are continually touched by the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Yesterday as we went about our discussion and decision making, I was reminded over and over that the ministry we do together is precious. As we walk on the edge, we are called to be faithful and to do so looking to each other for guidance and support. As ruling and teaching elders and through our congregations, we are invited to act faithfully. In doing so we continue to wonder if we are doing enough to answer the call to ministry to all people of all situations.
We were reminded by our 138th Moderator, the Rev. Dr. John Vissers that throughout our time here we are always able to ask for a time of prayer to help us as we discern and discuss. And, yesterday as we discussed together some of the difficult recommendations we stopped for a time of prayer. It was a blessing to unite in prayer and ask for God’s Spirit to be felt among us despite the business mindset we all were in. Even as we struggled to do our work as we got caught up in the polity of the PCC.
We found ourselves talking about the difficult situation we have with our PCC Pension Plan. After a long discussion, we decided that we as the General Assembly gathered could not answer the questions fully that we had nor could we solve the problems through the answers we were given by the Pension Board. What we did decide though is that we trust that the Pension Board will hear our concerns and be willing to act in our best interests to care for the Plan’s needs. We also suggested some possible changes to the payments made to the plan by both ministers and congregations. We were reminded that as ministers of all ages, we will be affected by these choices. But, we as an Assembly are expressing ownership of the Pension Plan as our own and we are encouraged we can have a positive future if we make good decisions as faithful stewards.
We also discussed the use of technology to help assist in providing communion. This is an important decision for our church and we prayerfully decided that it is proper to do so. This allows many who do not have a settled minister or lay missionary to have an opportunity to celebrate the Lord’s Supper via the media.
The Church Doctrine Committee also moved a recommendation that we answer the question of whether or not ruling elders should be able to administer the sacrament of baptism in places of need where there are no settled ministers at a future General Assembly. I honestly had not spent a lot of time thinking about that recommendation till I had a discussion with my roommate who ministers in the Cariboo. She reminded me that Jesus does not say: Ministers do this! She reminded me Jesus said “DO THIS!” So my friends, why can’t we answer this faithfully now! It is obvious that many communities are in need now; let us be there for them in the name of Jesus Christ. To continue to leave these communities without the opportunity for the sacraments is disconcerting. Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour is our example of love and mercy. Do we honestly believe he would turn his back from those who were in need and say—Wait we need to think more—stay on the edge!
So Church Doctrine Committee please answer this overture at the next General Assembly, do’t leave our brothers and sisters in Christ on the edge. I will be waiting to hear your answer and pray you do so in a way that is in the ministry example of Jesus Christ.
This day was long and many more things happened but I will leave it there. I felt like we were on the edge a lot getting ready to meet God at the crossing but as in the good order as Presbyterians we decided that we needed to wait and do it in pieces and through committee. So we find ourselves still on the edge and we meet still in session.
