Presbyterian Record » General Assembly 2010

Unable to Act

web admin — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 05:00:45 +0000

Commissioners at assembly

Opening worship of this year’s assembly gave us the gift of the Cape Breton Orchestra. They played an arrangement of Simple Gifts as an offertory. I was moved by such a beautiful and yet simple piece of music and thought how the gifts we bring to God as a church are simple and sure. Would the business of the assembly be so simple and sure?

Voices

web admin — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 05:00:42 +0000

“It is very difficult to go back to that five year old that I left … I know for many years I blamed the church. I blamed the government. I blamed a religion, I blamed all the religions. In fact I even blamed God. But it’s not God. It’s not the religions. It’s not the churches that did this. It’s people. It’s people like you and I who had a different belief about us. People who believed we were less than they were — nothing more than animals — but here we are. Ready to forgive. And live, side by side. And today, I can say to you, and I can say to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, that I’m not only a survivor. I’m a witness to this horrible history.”
— Terry Paul, Chief of the Membertou First Nation and a residential school survivor

Healing in our Midst

web admin — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 05:00:38 +0000

Lori Ransom, the PCC’s healing and reconciliation animator, Rev. Gordon Williams, Terry Paul, Chief of the Membertou First Nation, Marie Wilson, commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and Rev. Terry LeBlanc, chair of the North American Institute for Indigenous Theological Studies.

General Assembly 2010

web admin — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 05:00:31 +0000

Unable to Act
A report from the 136th General Assembly.
by Ruth Houtby

Voices

Healing in our Midst
Assembly listens to residential school experiences.
by Connie Purvis

Dragging the Anchor
If Assembly never met again, would anyone notice?
by Calvin Brown

Dragging the Anchor

web admin — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 05:00:27 +0000

Sailing Into The Future was the theme chosen for the 136th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, to reflect the Cape Breton heritage where it was held. The nautical theme was maintained and referred to in the daily worship times and by numerous report-givers. The theme hymn for the assembly was Will Your Anchor Hold? I couldn’t help tying the theme and the hymn together and it gave the strange image of a ship sailing out of the harbour while dragging the anchor. The picture gets worse for not only is the ship slowed by the dragging anchor but the ship actually begins to go in circles as the anchor line tied to the rock holds the ship from moving out of the harbour.

Business News

web admin — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 05:00:09 +0000

Rev. C. Joyce Hodgson, Presbytery of Lambton-West Middlesex

Living Faith in Korean

The General Assembly endorsed the Korean translation of Living Faith, commending it for use within the church.

Identity Crisis

Andrew Faiz — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 02:01:22 +0000

“Moderator, its not Presbyterian.”

Business in Brief – June 11, 2010

Connie Wardle — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 19:24:38 +0000

Parish Nursing Program Approved
The committee on theological education proposed a series of courses that can be credited toward a certificate in Reformed principles for parish nurses. These are available through the church’s three theological colleges.

Business Briefs – June 10, 2010

Connie Wardle — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 18:38:30 +0000

Kairos Palestine Document Endorsed for Study and Report
Assembly returned to the report of the ecumenical and interfaith relations committee, again asking if a document crafted by Palestinian Christians should “be sent to congregations, presbyteries and appropriate committees and agencies of the church for study and discussion.”

Business in Brief – June 9, 2010

Amy MacLachlan — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 14:36:45 +0000

Laity and Communion
A discussion about allowing lay people to administer communion continued Wednesday morning, but a decision is yet to be made. An amendment to send the information to presbyteries under the Barrier Act—which could have effectively sped up the process by one year if presbyteries had voted to adopt the proposed legislation—was defeated. A commissioner noted passionately, “Who are we to deny people this grace because of geographical location? Communion is a gift, not something to delegate or to hoard but to share with a world that needs it.”

Business in Brief – June 8, 2010

Connie Wardle — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 15:04:29 +0000

Han-Ca Presbyteries to be Explored
The 2002 assembly approved an end to the trial period for the church’s Han-Ca presbyteries, but also called for a Special Committee on the Life of the Han-Ca Presbyteries to be struck in 2010 to “receive information” on how the Korean presbyteries and church at large have addressed concerns raised in the 2002 report.

Daily Digests

Connie Wardle — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 22:29:24 +0000

The Daily Digest provides an overview of each day’s events. Digests are distributed to commissioners at assembly, but you can read them online:

Monday, June 7, 2010 – A Welcome; Installation of the Moderator; Briefing Groups; A Cape Breton “Kitchen Party.”

136th General Assembly Makes Headlines

Connie Wardle — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 19:09:59 +0000

As the local church’s national gathering launched at Cape Breton University in Sydney, N.S., the local press were waiting in the wings. Here is a story that made the front page: