Special Commission

The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland appointed a special commission this year. Today I received an email asking me to make the information I'm posting in this blog widely known.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND
EAGLAIS NA H-ALBA

Special Commission on Same-sex Relationships and the Ministry

The Remit

The General Assembly of 2009 has given the Special Commission this remit:

“A Special Commission composed of nine persons, representative of the breadth and unity of the Church, to consult with all Presbyteries and Kirk Sessions and to prepare a study on Ordination and Induction to the Ministry of the Church of Scotland in the light of the issues (a) addressed in a Report welcomed by the General Assembly of 2007: “A challenge to unity: same-sex relationships as an issue in theology and human sexuality”, and (b) raised by the case of Aitken et al v the Presbytery of Aberdeen, and to report to the General Assembly of 2011.”


The membership

Rev John Chalmers, Pastoral Adviser and Associate Secretary (Ministries Support and Development), Ministries Council

Mrs Ruth Innes, advocate, member of Palmerston Place Church

Very Rev Dr Sheilagh Kesting, former Moderator of General Assembly; Secretary & Ecumenical Officer, Ecumenical Relations Committee

Rev Dr Donald MacEwan, Minister of Largoward linked with St Monans, secretary of the working group which produced "A Challenge to Unity"

Rev Dr Angus Morrison, Minister of Stornoway St Columba, immediate past Convener of Mission & Discipleship Council, also a member of the working group

Rev James Stewart, Minister of Perth: Letham St Mark’s, with experience of a previous commission

Rev Professor Allan J Torrance, Professor of Systematic Theology, University of St Andrews

Miss Kim Wood, Student at St Andrews; a youth representative commended by the Moderator of the Youth Assembly

The Hon. Lord Hodge (Patrick Hodge), Convener, Court of Session Judge; former Procurator of the Church

Rev W Peter Graham, Clerk, former Clerk to the Presbytery of Edinburgh


Our proposed method of working

We will prepare a short consultation paper which will invite Presbyteries and Kirk Sessions to express their views on the questions which we consider arise from our remit and the divisions in our Church which have led to our appointment. We are considering using the Church’s website to make available documents to supplement the consultation paper.

In order to inform the consultation document, and in particular to enable us to express accurately the competing views within the Church and the views of other Churches, we are engaged in a pre-consultation exercise of obtaining current statements of such views. The aim is to enable us to summarise those views accurately in the consultation paper.

We hope to send out the consultation paper by the end of February 2010 and to have a consultation period until the end of May 2010, during which we will expect every Presbytery and Kirk Session to hold a special meeting in order to prepare a response. We will spend the latter part of the year in analysing the responses and preparing our report for the General Assembly of 2011.

Let Love Be Found Among Us

The Lord has a way of bringing things together. I’m preparing to preach on 1 John 4:7-5:4 for Sunday evening. The key theme is ‘love one another’ which is intimately connected by John to the nature of God, who is love, to the gift of God, which is Christ, to the purpose of God for our lives that we display his love before one another, for one another.

Yesterday I read in the Times of a minister in our church comparing those who disagree with him to Nazi panzer divisions storming into France. Today I read in the Press and Journal another minister in our church calling those who disagree with her fundamentalist terrorists. (I've deliberately note included links to these offensive articles).

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

Sisters and brothers, listen to yourselves. Is this what we have come to? Is there no way we can disagree with one another without also descending into name calling and insulting one another? For the avoidance of doubt ‘insulting one another’ is not close to the same as ‘love one another’.

I believe that God has revealed to us, in his word, that human sexuality is to be enjoyed and celebrated in celibacy or between one man and one woman within the covenant of marriage. I know that my believing this is offensive to those who disagree with me. But I too am offended when I hear my God and my Saviour condemned as a liar or a fool by those who seek to reject his revelation and dismiss his word. It is easy to be offended.
Given that holding any position in this debate will offend someone for whom Christ died, can we not agree with one another, because we love one another, that we will speak and act in a way that does not add to this offence? If we find ourselves unable to speak or act in support of what we believe to be a Godly, Christian position in a way that is loving and Godly perhaps the position we are speaking for is not Godly. If we are unwilling to speak or act in a way that is loving, for the sake of God, in the name of Christ Jesus our Lord we should be silent.

What we need today is not greater displays of offensive rhetoric, but greater displays of Christ like love.

Please, pray for the Church of Scotland, pray for all who speak on this sensitive and contentious matter, pray that in all we do and say the love of Christ would be seen and displayed among us.

Passion - is no excuse!

I didn't see the game on Wednesday, only the highlights. It seems clear that the Referee did make some big mistakes.

At the end in his interview I heard Guus Hiddink ask us to accept that his players were passionate about winning the game and therefore, their conduct was acceptable.

I completely disagree - passion is no excuse!

We have grown too accustomed to footballer expressing their disagreements with refereeing decisions in a wholly inappropriate way. I read some years ago of school boys in the highlands who when playing football shouted and contested every decision, but when playing shinty always accepted the ref's decisions and got on with the game. Is shinty a less passionate game than football?

Passion is no excuse for offensive and rude behaviour.

If this is true in relation to football, how much more in relation to the church and the way we speak to and about one another. Passion is no excuse for rude and offensive behaviour.

At the General Assembly later this month we will be hearing a case and debating an overture which concern human sexuality. This is a subject which arouses strong passions. I'm not against passion or being passionate, we should feel strongly about our God and his glory and his honour which is reflected in our human behaviour. Passion is no excuse for offensive behaviour. I fear my posting on this is already too late as around the blog world, in the press and on web sites rude and offensive comments about sisters and brothers with whom we disagree are legion. The fruit of the Spirit is self control, not dispassionate unconcern, but self control. Can we pray for self control for ourselves and for others taking part in the General Assembly?

Be as passionate as you like, but in Christ's name also be self controlled, gentle, humble, kind, gracious, tempered with love ...