GA day #1

So here I am in my hotel room for the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) with little idea of what to expect. All these Presbyterians coming from all over the country to do what? My hope is that we are seeking God together and that somehow in the craziness of all the expense (!!!) put into this meeting, the church is equipped to move deeper into the theme of the convention... love mercy, do justice and walk humbly with our God. At least the conference title is hopeful. We'll see...

Either way, I am taking a class called "Presbyterian: Principles and Practices" and so I am here as an observer and learner to delve deep into this world of Presbyterian polity and government. I am pretty new to the Presbyterian church and new to the whole world of Reformed and/or mainline denominations period. Having been in Baptist or free church or no church communities for most of my life, all this structure is really foreign. I appreciate the care and intentionality of it but I also question how much of it is sustainable in a country that puts little stake in denominations and is so wary of religious institutions... On the other hand, the history and careful deliberating of the Presbyterian church, while checkered, has brought forth amazing movements of freedom and justice for many and they continue to seek to make new inroads. In fact, a lot of the history of the American church can be found by tracking the movements within the PCUSA. But is it still the case now? And is the ordination of homosexuals the burning question or do we need to just move past it so we can address real things like poverty, human slavery, environmental crisis? Is our work this week creating communities of faith, love and hope that live together in gracious hospitality and continually extend that hospitality to the world?

So I will try to blog about what I see and hear and where I find myself in these thousands of Presbys in hot San Jose, California