PRESBYTERIAN WOMEN of First Presbyterian Church Birmingham Michigan

UPDATE (March 2010)

There will be (at least) 6 overtures to this summer's General Assembly that propose changing the "fidelity and chastity" wording of G-6.0106b in our denomination's Book of Order. One will come from the Presbytery of Detroit. This is the first step in changing our Book of Order - if an overture is approved by GA, it goes to the Presbyteries for approval. So we are knitting (and crocheting) prayers again. Scarves are being collected in the main office - there are also some skeins of Mexicana yarn available, thanks to a generous donation.

UPDATE (July 2009)

The Boston Overture passed our Presbytery of Detroit on April 28, but did not get enough positive votes from the other Presbyteries, so it was defeated. Was our knitting in vain? I don't think so. I felt like I was doing something important while I knitted, and I felt connected to those others of you in our church and around our country who also were praying and knitting so that all persons can be free to serve God as equals in our Presbyterian Church (USA). 

Today I received a thank you letter from the organizers of the Rainbow Scarves project. It is linked here (pdf opens in a new window).

MARCH, 2009

Our national Presbyterian Church, PC(USA) is struggling to find consensus in the matter of how we decide who should be ordained as Minister of Word and Sacrament, as Elder, as Deacon.  To make such decisions standard across all of our churches and presbyteries, we must change our Book of Order to reflect what most of us believe about our church, our calling, our Lord and Savior, and our God.

This is what the Book of Order now says about who may be ordained, and what Sessions and Presbyteries must confirm of their chosen leaders:

Those who are called to office in the church are to lead a life in obedience to Scripture and in conformity to the historic confessional standards of the church.  Among these standards is the requirement to live either in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman (W-4.9001), or chastity in singleness.  Persons refusing to repent of any self-acknowledged practice which the confessions call sin shall not be ordained and/or installed as deacons, elders, or ministers of the Word and Sacrament.

The proposal, called Amendment B, would change this to read:

Those who are called to ordained service in the church, by their assent to the constitutional questions for ordination and installation, pledge themselves to live lives obedient to Jesus Christ the Head of the Church, striving to follow where he leads through the witness of the Scriptures, and to understand the Scriptures through the instruction of the Confessions. In so doing, they declare their fidelity to the standards of the Church. Each governing body charged with examination for ordination and/or installation establishes the candidate’s sincere efforts to adhere to these standards.”

There is much discussion available elsewhere (on the internet) on this topic. Just google "Boston Overture 08B".

When Presbyterian Women responded to an initiative in support of inclusion back in February, they were seeking a way to be heard, and a tangible way to express their support of including ALL of God's people in the fellowship and community of service to Our Lord. Each shawl knitted was a prayer, to be worn as a visible sign to those who stand among us excluded from ordained service and leadership, that we believe that we should neither judge nor deny those whom God calls.

But this has been a divisive issue for over 30 years, in our church as well as in our world. And God also calls us into community and fellowship with those we disagree with. If we believe that our church is the Body of Christ, then no member is more or less important than any other. Our Presbytery with over 90 churches representing many diverse views is nevertheless a community of believers. The attached letter from the moderator of the Detroit Presbytery expresses that belief and the need to gently and lovingly handle this contentious issue. He is asking that those knitted scarves which so vibrantly announce our position on this issue NOT be worn in the Presbytery Meeting.

As I thought about this, I realized what a blessing to me the knitting of that scarf was - sometimes I don't feel that my prayers are all that effective. How nice to be DOING something as well as praying. And when I found that so many of you felt the same, I felt a wonderful sense of community. I'm glad we did it even if we can't wear them! And I want to buy more yarn to knit hats and mittens to go with them - those prayers need to be wrapped around other children of God.

Comments are welcome!