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Amendment Discussion Resources
A Perspective on Presbytery of Salem and the General Assembly Amendments Whenever we gather to discuss and vote on General Assembly amendments, there are always differences of opinion. In the midst of all these feelings, I believe there are some assurances that need to be offered to the congregations, elders and clergy of Salem. I believe the Presbytery gathers “peaceably” to greet one another as we wrestle with these decisions. There are almost 35,000 members of the Presbytery in our congregations – and we have all worked, worshipped, and witnessed to the Gospel of Jesus Christ as partners for many years. There are personal friendships and family connections which are fully capable of bearing up under challenging times. It is my personal opinion as your General Presbyter, that the issues which have surfaced should not be granted power to hurt or divide us. Certainly the social and economic challenges we face remind us of our need for one another and God’s guidance. We are not afraid to discuss extraordinarily difficult topics, but there is a great distinction in debating these issues as children of God, or as adversaries. “The bonds of our affection may have been strained,” as President Lincoln once said, “but we are not enemies, but friends.” What was encouraging at the General Assembly was the respect with which the debates over these issues were handled. I trust we will embrace that spirit which asks that we create safe spaces to discuss difficult issues, and seek to understand and discern each other’s interpretation of what is taking place in the months ahead. We are a Presbytery that is seeking to learn from each other; that appreciates our differences; works cooperatively and passionately in mission; supports one another in prayer; and sees in each other the image of Christ. We Reach people for Christ, Equip them to be faithful disciples, and Send them to proclaim God’s Hope and Love to all. We will first gather in our respective “neighborhoods” to have lunch and discuss these amendments in a “round table” format that involves the listening process of “mutual invitation”. That is described in the document attachment “Facilitator and Group Discussion Guidelines Mutual Invitation – Salem” The documents are grouped by theme: A for Analysis, D for Doctrine of the Church’s Unity, FD for Facilitator-Discussion Guidelines, H for History, P for Process. Some are rather lengthy, but are worth reading. I sought to provide Analysis documents that portray pros and cons of each amendment. Following our neighborhood discussions, there will also be two hours allotted for this process during the lunch break at Presbytery on April 21 when the vote is taken; followed by an hour for debate and voting on the floor. I hope you will enter into this process with a spirit of openness and learning from one another, trusting in God’s love of us all. Christ enough to break all barriers,
Gracefully, Sam Marshall, III If you would like to print the entire resource packet, click the following link (please be patient as this document may take a while to load especially if you are on dial-up): Amendment Discussion Resources
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