what would motivate me to be on a committee for the presbyterian church (usa)

SO I have never considered myself much of an institution person and as you can see from my reflections on GA, I am a bit ambivalent about it still but there are things about the institution of the PC(USA) that I love and as I become more familiar with them, I have become very excited about.

One of those things is the Book of Confessions. It is a collection of documents from the past half millenium that have formed the church's self-understanding. In other words, it says what the church is, believes and intends to do. In the 20th century, two documents were added. One was the Barmen Declaration which was written by the Confessing Church in Hitler's Germany to say why they would not sanction the Nazi regime. The other is the Confession of 1967 which is one of the reasons I am Presbyterian. It is a beautiful statement of the centrality of reconciliation to the Christian faith.

While I was at GA, they passed a resolution to continue study of the Belhar Confession. You can read about its history here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belhar_Confession. I am hoping to be on the committee that continues this study and this morning I wrote my request to our oh so distinguished moderator, Bruce Reyes- Chow. I thought I'd share it here:

Request to be considered for the committee on the Belhar Confession
Jennifer Warner

Reconciliation is the heart of the gospel. The Confession of 1967 articulates that it is also at the heart of the PC(USA). In line with this firmly held conviction, the Belhar Confession stands as a statement made from on-the-ground struggle for reconciliation. It takes the belief in reconciliation from the halls and pages of academia and church structure and makes reconciliation concrete, immediate and urgent.

Considering Belhar for inclusion in the Book of Confessions is significant on several levels. First, if accepted, it would be the first document written and set in the Global South, providing a significant post-colonial voice and directing the church’s action in a world that is increasingly globalized and in a global church whose locus is shifting southward. Second, it makes a significant ecumenical statement by stating solidarity and unity with the larger Reformed global community where it works for justice and unity. Third, Belhar tells a story. The story contained in Belhar and the stories of racism and discrimination that it will draw out have the power to change individual and communal beliefs and engage the church in concrete and intentional actions of reconciliation. These actions are as important in the U.S. as they are in South Africa in our international, national and local actions and self-understanding.

Because of this, I would be honored to serve on the committee considering the inclusion of The Belhar Confession in the Book of Confessions. In the committee, I would bring gifts of theological study, writing and clear communication to the committee. I have studied and worked in diverse cross-cultural and theological settings, and continue to keep a foot in both academic and church settings. I have been involved with the emergent church movement for over six years, which has a strong commitment to global and postcolonial voices. I have studied the PC(USA) and Reformed Church of America study guides to Belhar and plan to lead a group of churches through the study of the Belhar this coming year. As part of a polity course, I sat in the discussion on committee at the 218th General Assembly where Belhar was discussed and became familiar with some of the issues involved in adopting Belhar. Lastly, I bring a deep passion for reconciliation and believe that it must continue to penetrate the church in body, spirit, soul and mind.


Pray for the decisions made regarding this committee and all of the committees. While it can all feel very political and bureaucratic, there is some significant and important work to be done that has huge potential for the action of the church in the world.