So far the biggest thing for me has been other people’s reactions to this challenge.  I spoke a little in church this morning about it (In a very tongue tied, probably un-informative way!) and some comments afterwards really surprised me. For me this is all about sacrifice. Today I have already thought about those who live this way, prayed for them and prayed for the work of tearfund more than I probably ever have in one day. For me this is a big deal. I want to be the type of person who is compassionate and who is generous and who is thoughtful and caring. I realise I won’t achieve all of this in 5 days of a challenge but if I even come closer that is good enough for me.

I have realised a lot about myself just in today, how much I nibble on things for no other reason than just because. How much I LOVE fruit and seem to ‘need’ it as part of my day. That with the power of the brain you can make a hot cup of water taste like tea!! I am sure this week will hold a lot more lessons for me, less shallow than these.

So I will leave you now with Dave’s take on the day and will speak to you all tomorrow!

Linda

We’ve started then!
Day one and I’ve survived so far.
First some good news – I went to Asda today and stocked up on rice and beans – brown rice, red kidney beans, butter beans and black-eyed beans – total price for my week’s food £4.75…..result!

So what have I had to eat today?
Breakfast 30g porridge, made with water, no salt.
Lunch 60g brown rice.
Dinner 30g brown rice, 30g butter beans
The back of the rice packet suggests 75g as a single serving accompaniment to a main course so to have 60g as the only food on a plate made it look just a little lost!

Already missing not having any coffee, Diet Coke or chewing gum

Am I hungry? of course I am, but that’s the whole point though. I’m not on a diet, I’m trying to experience what it’s like to have just enough food to keep you going. I do recognise that at any time I can raid the cupboard / fridge / freezer or phone up and get a takeaway delivered, millions of people don’t have that option open to them.

Let’s see what tomorrow brings.
Dave

Starting tomorrow myself and our friend Dave will begin the Tearfund rice and beans challenge.  The basics of this is to bring more awareness to ourselves about those who are going through severe poverty. To relate to them about how they eat, how they possibly feel when hungry, to of course pray for them and to donate any money we would of spent on groceries to the charity of Tearfund.

Chris was hoping to do this challenge also but due to a throat infection he is unable to take part at this stage but will hopefully we doing it in the near future.

I have to say as the day draws closer I am apprehensive about beginning this challenge.  I have treated tonight as if it was my last supper! This probably defeats the point on lots of levels but I am hoping to give this a go and see if I can do it.  I make no promises however. If it turns out I am a mere weakling and need my food too much then shame on me but I guess we will find out…..

Dave will be contributing to these blogs also. I encourage you to follow the blog posts, to pray for us (!) and to try and support us if you either see or hear from us over this next week.

Here’s to the challenge!

The theme of the Assembly this year was “Love life”, with John Bell being the main speaker. From all accounts John spoke very well – passionate and challenging, over the weekend. When I was there on Monday he was speaking about the importance of recieving blessings from other people alongside the importancd of giving blessings to them. He illustrated this with stories about people he has met over his life that have enriched his life, even when he initially thought they had nothing to give. Now, usually I don’t find myself in agreement with some of John’s approach to Theology, but on Monday I found myself agreeing with him, more than that, I found myself really resonating with what he was saying. It started me thinking about my time at the Youth Assembly over the last 11 years and how it has blessed me through the people that I was often there to serve; about the times when I took part in summer mission and how they people I met more often than not blessed me more than I felt I blessed them; about the hospitality I was shown when I visited an unrecognised Arab village in Israel, visiting a community who had very little, were severely oppressed, yet still gave everything they had to the 11 white people who were visiting them.

There was only one debate on Monday at the assembly, a debate talking about marriage. It was really interesting to listen to the groups as I was walking around taking photos, hearing how each group had picked up on different aspects if the material. Some were delving deeply into Theology of marrisge and looking at what the New Testament had to say about it; some were exploring current cultural approaches to marriage, asking questions such as “Is more emphasis
put on the wedding than on the actual marriage?” and “Is marriage as important to society as it used to be?”; other groups were exploring issues around divorce and remarriage, during the ‘blether’ where they had recieved some background information about the subject they were also asked some specific questions about Marriage and how the Church relates to it, one of the questions being “should the Church develop a liturgy of divorce?” The reasoning behind this being that an earlier survey of young people had brought back the suggestion that a service marking a divorce may help children and young people (and the adults) to cope with thr break up a marrige better. It was a really interesting debate, I’m sure the final deliverance will appear on the COSY blog soon!

One of the things I loved about visiting this assembly was the number of people I recognised, it really wasn’t that big a percentage of the number of people there. I thought that was awesome! Yeah, it was great to see old friends, people I haven’t seen in ages when I went, but it was just as awesome to see more youth and young adults engaging with the wider Church, the more diverse the attendance at the NYA is, the better for the wider Church!

My role on Monday was to take some photos of the day, capturing some of the moments that could be used for publicity for the event. I was able to get a number of good photos, which will be appearing on here, the COSY blog, the COSY flickr page and a few other places soon, I was very aware that I was starting my visual story telling of the weekend at the end of the event. They may be good photos, the may provide a visual narrative to some of Mondays goings on, but they are missing the wider narrative and context of the entire weekend, so I can’t wait to see the photos appearing from others who were there for the whole weekend, or perhaps just for small parts of te weekend.

I’m going to leave my ramblings there for the time being, save to provide some links for you to better explore things around the Church of Scotland National Youth assembly:
For the COSY blog visit: www.cosyblog.wordpress.com
For the COSY Twitter account: www.twitter.com/#!/cosy_nya
For the COSY Flickr page: www.flickr.com/photos/cosyblog

Enjoy exploring these pages!

Peace Out

I’ve been interested in the work of this council since I first became aware of its existence in 2000. I suppose it all boils down to the fact that, when I was younger my mind was captured by adventure, explorers like Marco Polo, Livingstone, Captain Scott, Amundsen, Alexander MacKenzie, James Cook, Shackleton, Edmund Hillary, George Vancouver, to name but a few. When I first heard of World Mission, I still had this romanticised idea of exploration and adventure in my head, and World Mission slotted perfectly into that notion of mine beginning 11 years of interest. I’ve since been able to move past that romanticised notion and recognise the work of World Mission for the great, real, work that it is. The Remit of the council is as follows:

The World Mission Council is the channel through which the Church of Scotland responds to the command of Jesus: “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation” (Mark 16:15). We work in countries around the world, usually on the basis of partnership with local churches and institutions, and always with a view to involving church members in Scotland. The cultivation of two-way partnerships between congregations overseas and congregations in Scotland not only creates friendships but expands horizons.

Taking the first steps towards connecting with people in different countries can be the beginning of an exciting and life-changing relationship. Discover challenges people face every day; experience their heart and resilience; share in the joy of giving and receiving.

The Council report is available for download here. I’ll let you read it for yourself, it makes for interesting reading, but I will share with you here the proposed deliverance:

1. Receive the report.
2. Give thanks for the life and witness of Mission Partners who have died, acknowledge with gratitude those who have
completed their period of service overseas, and uphold in prayer all who continue to serve.
3. Urge members of the Church to visit, meet and support the Christian community in the Middle East.
4. Encourage members to pray for the Presbyterian and other churches in Egypt and the work of the Coptic Evangelical
Organisation for Social Services (CEOSS) amongst the least in the society.
5. Encourage members to pray for the witness of the Presbyterian and other Churches in Lebanon and Syria.
6. Commend the Kairos Palestine document to the whole church.
7. Give thanks for Jewish, Christian and Muslim cooperation in upholding the rights of the poor and oppressed in the
Middle East and beyond.
8. Appreciate the work of the Council in developing its Centres to support the Council’s work in the pursuit of justice,
peace and reconciliation.
9. Commend the Council for seeking to engage every member of the Church of Scotland in support of peacemaking
in Israel and Palestine.
10. Give thanks for the renewed co-operation between the Council and congregations of the Church of Scotland with
Christian Aid, and urge all members to support Christian Aid in expressing solidarity with the world church.
11. Thank the Guild for their keen interest and support for the Council’s work around the world.
12. Encourage congregations to join in twinning relationships.
13. Encourage members to offer for service as Mission Partners.
14. Encourage members to volunteer as Ecumenical Accompaniers.
15. Give thanks for the peaceful emergence of South Sudan as a new country and encourage the Council to continue
to support the Christian communities in North and South Sudan.
16. Urge the Government of Pakistan to release and pardon Ms. Asia Bibi and to ensure that she and her family are
protected.
17. Urge the Government of Pakistan to repeal the Blasphemy Law.
18. Urge congregations to be involved in advocacy activities in support of minority Christian communities.
19. Give thanks for the HIV Programme and the work of our partners at home and overseas, and re-commit the Church
of Scotland to playing its part in response to the pandemic.
20. Thank congregations for their enthusiastic support for Souper Sunday and encourage them to continue to support
the HIV Programme in prayer, action and giving.

I don’t want to preempt the debate this afternoon, but I am especially interested to see what might be said on the floor about sections 3, 12, 13 and 17.

My interest in the Council was boosted over the last few years due to 2 trips I was privileged to participate in. In 2008 I was part of a trip to the holy Land with the Mission and Discipleship council, you can read more about it here. Last year I was part of a faithshare visit to Nepal to spend time with the South Asia Christian Youth Network, you can read more about that here. These trips did more than I can vocalise to re-ignite my interest and passion for the work of World Mission. The people I met and the things I saw galvanised something in me, a desire to get more involved and see if I can’t help in someway, to see if i have something worthwhile to offer in this area. I’ve been nominated to join the Council this year, which I’m very excited about, which means I’ll be blogging more about World Mission.

In the meantime, here are 6 blogs from World Mission mission partners around the world:

• Joel Githinji in Nepal http://joelgithinji.blogspot.com
• Colin Johnston in Israel / Palestine http://colinintiberias.blogspot.com
• David & Rebecca Morton in Malawi davidrebeccamorton.wordpress.com
• George Shand in Israel / Palestine http://georgeshand.wordpress.com
• Ida and Keith Waddell in Zambia http://idaandkeith.blogspot.com
• Tabeetha School in Jaffa has a blog at: http://tabeethaschool.blogspot.com

Enjoy the Debate!

Peace Out

I attended the General Assembly 6 times as a youth rep: 2001, 2002, 2o03, 2005, 2008, 2009 and this issue came up every year! It was rarely brought up by a Youth Rep, it was more often brought up by a commissioner to the assembly who appreciated the input of the Youth Reps and wanted to see that input given further weight. The argument against has been consistent since I first attended, Youth Reps are not allowed to vote because of 2 reasons: There is the issue of ordination, most Youth Reps are not ordained; The other issue is that Youth Reps, ordained or not, are not commissioned to assembly. For Youth Reps to be allowed to vote would require, in my opinion, fulfillment across the board on both of these issues, which would then of course require an overhaul of how Youth Reps are chosen to attend the assembly and an overhaul of who/ how the Church of Scotland Ordains people.

I have not always been against the vote, when I first attended the General Assembly I couldn’t understand why the Church wouldn’t just let Youth Reps vote. It made no sense to me, it seemed to me that they were just being awkward, mean perhaps! I blame that on the fire of youth (I was 17 with a full head of hair after all!). I’m now 10 years older and able to better channel my passion into avenues that have an opportunity to bear fruit. I understand the nuances better than I did when I was an inexperienced, naive 17 year old. Now, before you all get mad that I’m labeling all youth Reps (and others) who support Youth Reps getting the vote as naive, inexperienced, young, stupid or anything like that, I’m not. I’m only pointing out that when I was 17 I often spoke/ acted before I thought, I didn’t always understand what I was talking about (i’m not sure that last point has moved on much TBH!).

Youth Reps at the assembly are an incredible force, they speak with passion, with power with pride, with emotion, with eloquence (ok, that last one isn’t always true, some Youth reps have been known to mumble or even inform the assembly that they possess “mind-boggling expertise”). The pint is, Youth Reps are always a welcomed part of the assembly, a celebrated part of the assembly. They are not scared to speak (30-40 people having your back tends to boost you confidence!), they are not scared to challenge, to ask questions (even awkward or stupid ones!). So is it really that big a deal if Youth Reps never get to vote? Youth Reps still make a valued input, still do and say enough to change the assemblies mind and influence them.

I’ll leave you with a quote from my friend Lynsey on twitter: “Hoping the youth that don’t think we have a vote were represented. We don’t all think the same. We’re all pals though….beautiful”

They disagree, but they love each other anyway…….

Peace Out

Before I launch into my ramble, here are the relevant sections from the report and deliverance (before any addendums/ amendments from the floor). the report can be downloaded from the Church of Scotland website here (titled: The involvement of young people and decision-making in the Church)

The relevant section of the pre-debated deliverance is as follows:

Young People and Decision Making (See Section 8 of the Church and Society Council Report)
8. Commend this report to Kirk Sessions, Presbyteries, Councils, Committees and groups associated with the life of the
Church of Scotland for study and action.
9. Urge every Presbytery and national Council and Committee to appoint a named person to champion young
peoples’ involvement in their decision-making, whose role will be to work with the established structures and to
develop new and appropriate ways for young people to be involved.
10. Instruct the Church and Society Council, the Mission and Discipleship Council and the National Youth Assembly
to prepare a report to the General Assembly in 2013 and every two years thereafter, evaluating progress and
suggesting further ways in which the Church of Scotland can make a difference in this area.
11. Encourage all Presbyteries to take seriously their responsibility for nominating a Youth Representative to the
General Assembly and encourage all congregations and Presbyteries to support their young people in attending
the National Youth Assembly.

12. Affirm the work of Young Scot, the Scottish Youth Parliament and the Children’s Commissioner and urge every
Presbytery and national Council and Committee of the Church of Scotland to consider the need to work with them
to develop new ways of engaging with young people and supporting their participation in decision-making within
the Church.
13. Commend the Presbytery of Europe for its initiative in convening the first ever Youth Presbytery for 18-25 year olds
and encourage other Presbyteries to consider how they might adapt this model for their own context.
14. Invite the Nomination Committee of the Church of Scotland to include in its reports a record of the number of
young people (aged 18-25) who have been nominated and the number appointed each year.
15. Encourage Kirk Sessions and Presbyteries to reflect on the appointment of young Elders (aged 18-25) and young
Commissioners to the General Assembly.
16. Invite every Presbytery and national Council and Committee to consider the timing and format of meetings to
allow young people to participate in decision-making.

I’ll let you make your won opinions about the report and section of the deliverance. Needless to say, there was substantial debate in the assembly hall, as well as on twitter, around the topic. Basically, the Church and Society Council are trying to advocate for young people to become more involved in all areas and levels of the Church. There wasn’t really any arguing against this idea (didn’t expect there to be!). there was a lot of debating around sections 9&11, the idea of getting Kirk Sessions and Presbyteries to ensure that they have young people involved. Again, no arguing against the idea, but many people standing up and saying that they couldn’t do so because they just don’t have young people to do so. It seemed that they were more fixated on lamenting the lack of young people involved in the Church where they are than on the challenge to them put forth by the fact that they needed new/ different ways (perhaps just plain better ways!) to engage with the young people who live in their area. I feel confident that I can guarantee there are no Kirk Sessions or Presbyteries who have no young people within their boundaries!

Kim Wood, one of the youth reps (also the current National Youth Assembly Moderator) made a very eloquent, passionate speech about how young people are involved in the Church, they are passionate about the Church, and they want to be more so!

There were many things said today that I thought were spot on, many things that I thought were moot points and some I disagreed with, I’m not going to go into it all. I think it’s enough to say that here, today, we have a council of the Church other than Mission and Discipleship (who have been long-running supporters, advocates, encouragers, role-models and inspirational figures to young people within the Church of Scotland) encouraging the Church to engage more with young people and for young people to become more engaged and passionate about the Church. I thinks that superb, outstanding. The passion of the young people in the assembly hall today was beautiful to listen to, to watch. The youth Reps at the assembly really do represent the young people involved in the wider Church. Perhaps not necessarily in belief and opinion, but without a doubt in passion and drive for the work of the Church, for God’s Kingdom. A phrase used yesterday and many years before in the assembly is that there is more that unites us than there is that separates us. I believe that, within the Church, this is never more apparent than when we look towards the young adults attending the Youth Assembly and at the General Assembly as Youth reps. So many differing opinions, beliefs, backgrounds. And yet when they (we, even though I’m now too old!)get together, we don’t let our differences drive a wedge between us. We argue, we debate, we disagree, but we respect, we all know that we are aiming for the same ultimate goal, and that unites us more powerfully than our disagreements, our differences ever could!

There were a few interesting points floating around twitter. My friend Stewart pointed out that there was not any discussion on involving children and young people who are under 18.

Peace Out (hope it wasn’t too rambly!)

First, the official Church of Scotland media:

twitter: @generalassembly

Live video stream: webcast

Life and Work, the Church of Scotland magazine are also tweeting and posting regular notes on Facebook:

twitter: @cofslifeandwork

facebook: Life and Work

There is also an official hashtag on twitter where you can follow what is being said about the assembly: #GA11

There are also a number of individual twitter users who are regularly tweeting about the assembly:

Shuna Dicks: @shunad

Stewart Cutler: @stewartcutler

Niall MacKenzie: @rawxing

Lynsey Martin: @lynsey1889

Bryan Kerr: @revbk

Alistair Vannet: @Vdawg

Church of Scotland Youth: @cosy_nya

Fiona Fidgin: @Fidge

Mary Haddow: @WeeRant

Rev Marc Kenton: @kirkofscotland

GA_Junkie: @ga_junkie

A few blogs that are worth keeping an eye on this week too:

Bryan Kerr,  a Minister in Lanark: http://www.lanarkgreyfriars.com/bryans-blog/

COSY Blog, a blog set up to talk about various Church of Scotland Youth endeavours, this week featuring the youth Representatives to the assembly: http://cosyblog.wordpress.com/

GA Junkie, a blog by Steve Salyard following the politics of presbyterianism: http://blog.gajunkie.com/

John Orr, a probationer Minister with the Chuch of Scotland, and my old YF leader!: http://johnorr.me.uk/

Of course, this is not an exhaustive list, I’m bound to have missed some people given that I don’t follow everyone! If you do see someone that I have missed, please add them in the comments below this post!

Peace Out

Anyway, as I understand it (I was not able to follow the debate all day, so this is what I’ve gleaned from reading other blogs, following twitter and the CofS website. If I have picked some of it up wrong, please tell me!), the Assembly agreed the following:

1. Receive the Report.
2. Adopt as the proper approach to homosexual Christians the recommendations of the Special Commission,
namely:
(i) The pastoral care of homosexual Christians
(1) It is contrary to God’s will that Christians should be hostile in any way to a person because he or she is homosexual by orientation and in his or her practice. In other words we view homophobia as sinful. We do not include in the concept of homophobia both the bona fide belief that homosexual practice is contrary to God’s will and the responsible statement of that belief in preaching or writing.
(2) It is the duty of the Church to welcome, minister, and reach out to people regardless of their sexual orientation and practice. The Church should strive to manifest God’s love to all of his people.
(3) In particular, the Church should recognise the heavy burden which a homosexual orientation continues to place on some who find it difficult or impossible to reconcile their orientation with their understanding of God’s purposes as revealed in the Bible. There is a particular need for the Church to reach out pastorally to them and to make them welcome.
(ii) The eligibility of homosexual Christians to hold office
(4) People who are homosexual by orientation are not barred by their orientation from membership of the Church or from taking up leadership roles in the Church, including the ministry of Word and Sacrament, the diaconate and eldership.

3. Subject to the moratorium set out in 8 below, maintain the unlawfulness of discrimination in the Church on the grounds of sexual orientation in terms of the Act anent Discrimination (Act V 2007).

4. During the moratorium set out in 8 below, allow the induction into pastoral charges of ministers and deacons ordained before May 2009 who are in a same-sex relationship.

5. During the moratorium set out in 8 below, instruct all Courts, Councils and Committees of the Church not to issue press statements or otherwise talk to the media in relation to contentious matters of human sexuality, in respect to Ordination and Induction to the Ministry of the Church of Scotland.
6. In the light of the experience of the Special Commission and, in particular, the need for a sustained theological addressing of the matters before the Church, establish a Theological Commission of seven persons representative of the breadth of the Church’s theological understanding, with the task of addressing the theological issues raised in the course of the Special Commission’s work; and instruct the Selection Committee to bring names to a future
session of the General Assembly.

7. b) Resolve to consider further the lifting of the moratorium on the acceptance for training and ordination of persons in a same-sex relationship, and to that end instruct the Theological Commission to prepare a report for the General Assembly of 2013 containing:
(i) a theological discussion of issues around same-sex relationships, civil partnerships and marriage;
(ii) an examination of whether, if the Church were to allow its ministers freedom of conscience in deciding whether to bless same-sex relationships involving life-long commitments, the recognition of such lifelong relationships should take the form of a blessing of a civil partnership or should involve a liturgy to recognise and celebrate commitments which the parties enter into in a Church service in addition to the
civil partnership, and if so to recommend liturgy therefor;
(iii) an examination of whether persons, who have entered into a civil partnership and have made lifelong commitments in a Church ceremony, should be eligible for admission for training, ordination and induction as ministers of Word and Sacrament or deacons in the context that no member of Presbytery will be required to take part in such ordination or induction against his or her conscience; and to report to the General Assembly of 2013.

8. Instruct all Courts, Councils and Committees of the Church not to make decisions in relation to contentious matters of same-sex relationships, accept for training, allow to transfer from another denomination, ordain or (subject to 2 above) induct any person in a same-sex relationship until 31 May 2013 until the General Assembly of 2013 has heard the report of the Theological Commission.
9. Thank and discharge the Special Commission.

 

If you would like to read to read more about the day as it happened and the events of the rest of the week, check out the official General Assembly 2011 hashtag here.

From what I have heard, from the twitterverse and from texting my friends who are Youth Representatives and Commissioners at the assembly this year, the debate seems to have been conducted well by the moderator, the convenor of the commission and most of the commissioners in attendance.

Peace Out

The General Assembly has been a big part of my Christian journey, I’ve had the privilege of attending 6 times, representing Falkirk Presbytery, The Church of Scotland National Youth Assembly and Kincardine and Deeside Presbytery twice each. some people hate the event, some people find it incredibly dull, others irrelevant. I love it. I love the feeling of being a part of something that matters, something that is so much bigger than the individual, something so big that is seeking to guide a nationwide community of believers, something seeking to discern God’s will for a nation.

I’ve seen many great things said and done at the assembly, been party to some awesome people doing everything they can to further God’s Kingdom. Sure, I’ve seen and heard some daft things done and said there (I’m sure I’ve been a perpetrator of that!).

I could ramble on and on about the General Assembly and how much I’ve enjoyed being a part of the event, the process, the excitement (hidden as it may be!). But I’d rather focus on what it has taught me. Everytime I’ve attended the Assembly as a Youth representative, we’ve stayed together as a group. Imagine that, 30-40 young, passionate Christians living together as a tight-knit group for a week. Frankly, I’m amazed I’ve seen as few arguments in my 6 General Assemblies as I have (and when I say arguments, I mean minor disagreements). Each year there is a group of Youth Reps who have different backgrounds, different outlooks on life, Theology and God, different perspectives on the happenings of the General Assembly. Imagine that multiplied up to almost 1000 people. Thats one of the beautiful aspects of the General Assembly. So many individuals meeting together, sharing a similar goal, a similar prayer, all with different backgrounds, theological stances, perspectives, ideas. It’s taught me well. As with most people, I firmly believe that my way of seeing things is right, that my interpretation is correct. I’ve been humbled(not humiliated) many times through listening to others and discussing things with those I disagree with. I’m not saying that the General Assembly has taught me to change my mind and be wishy washy, it’s taught me to be open to what others think and believe. It’s taught me that, while I hold fast to my beliefs and interpretations, it’s not absurd to be willing to listen to others, to not dismiss those that I disagree with, to listen to them and when necessary, respectfully disagree.

Why am I saying all this? Partly because I’m a nostalgic fool , partly because I want to say something about the General Assembly and I have nothing more substantial to say! But mostly, it’s because I value the General Assembly and the Church of Scotland, despite their many obvious flaws. Today is going to be a difficult day for this years General Assembly, today is the Report of the Special Commission on Same Sex Relationships and the Ministry. Today a very long, difficult discussion will be held in the assembly rooms, people will have a lot to say, some will be scared to voice their opinions, some will not hold back. The last time this issue came up (2009) the actual debate in the Assembly hall was conducted with graciousness, with sensitivity, with class. I pray it is again today. We also proved two years ago (as a Church) that we are not very good at conducting ourselves civilly in public when it comes to this issue. we proved that, as a Church, we are fallible, we are flawed, we are human. It was painful, it was hard, but I think it was perhaps a lesson we had to learn. I’m praying that we have learned that lesson, that when the opportunity comes this year for that public debate to re-open via blogs, twitter, newspapers and other media, that we will treat each other with respect, dignity, sensitivity and graciousness. Last time, the call came from both extremes of the Theological spectrum that the other end was close-minded. I pray that we don’t have that again. Christians so often get a bad press in this world, no more so than when we are at each others throats. I pray that this does not come again after today. I won’t call for the Church to be perfect, that would be stupid. But we have to show the world that we can follow Jesus’ commands, that we can put aside our differences, our disagreements and love each other as neighbours.

We’re people, we’re fallible, we’re imperfect, we’re Christians. Let’s listen to each other, let’s try and understand each other, let’s not be afraid to disagree. But let’s find a way to disagree whilst still being a good witness for Christ to the world. Let’s remember that the most important thing is not who is right and who is wrong, it’s not who wins and who loses. The most important thing is that God’s will is sought. That God is placed in the centre, that we seek God’s guidance, God’s wisdom. If we don’t do that, whats the point? If we do not focus on God, on His desires, His will, why bother?

Let’s pray for the General Assembly today, for those who will partake in this well publicised, difficult discussion. Let’s also pray for how we deal with the decisions made today.

Peace Out

Anne Dillard