The March 20 Meeting of the Presbytery of San Diego will be held at Chula Vista Presbyterian Church, 940 Hilltop Drive. Pastors and elder commissioners should check the website around March 8 to download the docket, reports and minutes of prior meetings.

Members of the newly formed Chula Vista Hispanic Fellowship will prepare and serve an authentic Mexican-style dinner following the March 20 Meeting of Presbytery. Thanks go to Hugh Carbajal and Nicasio Rojas, lay leaders of the fellowship, as well as Rev. Bill Soldwisch, a PCUSA missionary with Pueblos Hermanos, the San Diego-Tijuana project of Presbyterian Border Ministry.

The Rev. Dr. Andrew Smith, who resigned in December after five years at the helm of San Diego Presbytery, will be honored for his service at the dinner following the March 20 Meeting of Presbytery at the Chula Vista Presbyterian Church.

It is anticipated that an Acting EP will be named by March 7. Rev. Jack Baca, chair of Council, will distribute a letter with that announcement to the churches on or about that date.

The process of finding a permanent EP continues under the direction of the Human Resources Committee chaired by Elder Bill Tayler.

Presbytery Council has approved the appointment of leaders of seven work groups which will study and implement recommendations made last year by the Task Force on the Way Forward, in response to certain actions of the General Assembly.

Vice Moderator Elder Elizabeth Crews, who chaired the TFWF, will continue to chair the Way Forward Work Groups. She reported to council the appointment of these positions:

• Leadership & New Way of Being Presbytery
  Rev. Mike McClenahan, Solana Beach
• Theology and Ordination Standards
  Rev. Tim Beal, Rancho Bernardo
• Property
  Elder David Buck, Rancho Santa Fe
• Per Capita
  Elder Loreto Remorca, Northminster
• Networks & Partnerships
  Rev Paul Cunningham, La Jolla
• Vigilance & Contingency
  Rev Bob Davis, Chula Vista
• National Leadership
  Rev Steve Locke, El Cajon

Each group leader will recruit four to six members for their work group. Anyone interested in serving on a work group should contact the group leader and make their interest known.

Machelle May has joined the staff at the Presbytery of San Diego as secretary-receptionist. She succeeds Sharon Pruess, who was office manager for more than four years. Sharon was honored at the January Meeting of Presbytery.

Machelle, who was raised and still resides in Point Loma, attended Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon, majoring in English and Religious Studies. Why did she choose a small rural college? "I wanted to go to school in a place with real trees," she quips.

Prior to joining the Presbytery staff, Machelle was employed at St. Paul's Senior Health Service in San Diego. She is a member of All Soul's Episcopal Church in Point Loma.

by Toya Richards Hill
Presbyterian News Service

ORLANDO, FL - After a year long courtship, a formal engagement between the New Wineskins Association of Churches (NWAC) and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) was agreed to on Friday, Feb. 9.

The NWAC, a group of Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) congregations unhappy with the state of the denomination, voted unanimously on Feb. 9 to petition the EPC to create a non-geographic, transitional New Wineskins presbytery (NWEPC) for those churches wishing to leave the PC(USA).

The EPC, whose leadership has been working with the New Wineskins on the presbytery idea and was already circulating an internal proposal, will now vote on the matter at its General Assembly (GA) in June. If approved, the NWEPC presbytery, transitional for a period of five years, could be set up immediately following the GA, said the Rev. Dean Weaver, co-moderator of the NWAC.

A courtship that began with a first meeting about a year ago has led to an engagement, and "Oct 29 and 30 is our wedding date, if you will," Weaver told members of New Wineskins-endorsing churches gathered for the group's winter convocation Feb. 8-9 at First Presbyterian Church of Orlando, FL.

Oct. 29-30 is when the New Wineskins meet again for their fall convocation in Sacramento, CA, and will be the first gathering under the NWEPC presbytery, if all goes as planned.

For the complete article, click here.

The decision to petition the EPC to create the new presbytery was one of five recommendations presented to New Wineskins' delegates by a nine-member NWAC strategy team charged with devising an action plan. All five recommendations, which also include endorsing the overall plan, were approved with the one vote.

Highlights of the plan include:

• The NWEPC will be self-governing under the NWAC Constitution and shall have the authority to ordain, install, receive and dismiss pastors.
• NWEPC pastors and staff shall be immediately eligible to participate in the pension and medical plans of the EPC.
• Each NWEPC church will own its own property and will elect and ordain elders and deacons from its own congregational members.
• The NWEPC shall have the authority to plant churches.

"I believe we have crossed the Rubicon, for which there is no turning back," the Rev. Gerrit Dawson, co-moderator of the NWAC, said immediately following the vote. He cautioned the group that, "there will be those who will not be pleased" with the action taken, but he told them to look to Christ and "be of good courage."

Under PC(USA) law, a PC(USA) congregation must ask its presbytery to dismiss it in order to officially leave the denomination. A presbytery can only dismiss a congregation, either with or without the church property, to an ecclesiastical body "whose organization is conformed to the doctrines and order of this Church," according to a 1976 General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission decision. The EPC falls within that rubric, said Office of the General Assembly officials.

It's not clear exactly how many PC(USA) congregations might seek to leave the denomination and join the EPC via a newly created New Wineskins presbytery, but the New Wineskins say they have 151 endorsing churches overall.

Not all will opt to leave, particularly with weighty issues over whether they could take church property with them often hanging in the balance, and workshops held in advance of the vote on Friday were indicative of that fact.

Question-and-answer sessions were held separately for those wanting to leave the PC(USA) now, those wanting to leave in the future, those not sure what they want to do and those wanting to stay in the denomination.

All four sessions were well attended, although the meeting for those wishing to remain in the PC(USA) had the least number. Chief among the concerns of those in that workshop was the possibility of being left by themselves without moral support if the NWEPC is formed.

Weaver, Dawson and others in the leadership stressed that staying in the denomination is a "faithful option," and promised that those New Wineskins churches remaining in the PC(USA) would stay formally connected to the NWEPC for cooperative ministry and mission, among other things.

"It's a realignment into a new, additional thing," Weaver said. "The churches that remain are part of that realignment."

NWAC delegates voted to create a task force to flesh out how to handle those New Wineskins churches that opt to remain in the PC(USA), and asked that the task force bring recommendations to the fall convocation.

One concern raised during the discussion of the new presbytery and joining the EPC is the lack of women in ministry in the EPC. The denomination leaves decisions over ordaining women "to the Spirit-guided consciences of particular congregations concerning the ordination of women as elders and deacons, and to the presbyteries concerning the ordination of women as ministers," according to a position adopted by the EPC's General Assembly in 1984.

The EPC, which has 75,000 members in 182 churches within 8 presbyteries in the United States, has two ordained female ministers, one of whom is retiring, said EPC Stated Clerk Jeff Jeremiah.

The Rev. Carmen Fowler, NWAC vice-moderator, assured delegates that women would not be forgotten, and encouraged them to trust.

"I feel confident in saying that the brothers involved are not going to let the sisters involved fall by the wayside, because frankly they know how much work we do," she said.

Fowler also responded to complaints about the all-male, all-white NWAC strategy team - which came up with the recommendations that included joining the EPC - by pointing out that the nominations for the strategy team came from "names you placed in nomination."

New Wineskins' delegates ended up passing a motion calling for the leadership to form a team to "affirm and outline" the biblical basis for women to serve as pastors, elders and deacons.

The Layman Online
Thursday, February 15, 2007

The Presbytery of Santa Barbara, saying that its "intention is to stand in faith and unity against the destruction of our church, its confession, and its witness," has approved a resolution calling on the Presbyterian Church (USA) to "turn from the naturalistic theology, romanticism, folly and idolatry that have characterized our church and return to its first love, Jesus Christ."

Points included in resolutions
The declaration approved by the Presbytery of Santa Barbara includes these points:

1. Compliance with the "fidelity/chastity" requirement in the constitution is essential.
2. No candidate from another presbytery will be considered for membership if the candidate had been granted an exception to the ordination requirement.
3. Contrary to the recommendations of the attorneys working with the General Assembly's stated clerk, the presbytery would work pastorally with any pastor, session or congregation that seeks dismissal from the PCUSA. The presbytery "shall not preemptively take any coercive action against any pastor, session or congregation who merely considers faithfully following the Great Ends of the Church in another Reformed denomination; and shall not treat property as a basis for unity or as an opportunity for division. The presbytery interprets 'use and benefit of the Presbyterian Church (USA)' in G-8.0201 to mean … solely whatever furthers the Great Ends of the Church."
4. The presbytery would honor the protest of every congregation that withholds per-capita funds from the General Assembly.
5. Request the stated clerk of the General Assembly to "publicly repudiate the coercive and unconstitutional practices advocated by his legal counsel regarding actions to be taken in secular or church courts against pastors, sessions and congregations who might contemplate or seek dismissal from the Presbyterian Church (USA)."

The resolution was approved Feb. 10 and copies are being sent to all congregations in the PCUSA.

The 19-page theological declaration and resolutions, "A Declaration of Theology and Action," were approved unanimously by the elders of Community Presbyterian Church in Ventura on Oct. 29, 2006, Reformation Sunday.

The document includes strongly worded assertions affirming orthodox Reformed theology, the singular Lordship of Jesus Christ, essential tenets and the authority of Scripture. The assertions include blunt criticism - including some charges of teaching heresy - of theological "progressives," General Assembly actions and the General Assembly's stated clerk.

It repudiates the denomination's legal and administrative strategies, called "The Louisville Papers," designed to coerce ministers and sessions to cease talking about leaving the PCUSA with their property.

An invitation to leave the PCUSA
But it welcomes an exodus by those who reject a traditional understanding of the Reformed faith. "It is time, in the name of integrity and honesty, for those who have denied and rejected the essential tenets of the Reformed faith to graciously separate from the body and leave the church to those who have remained faithful to its standards, doctrine and tradition," the declaration states.

The Barmen-like declaration includes a number of resolutions in response to the declaration's theological affirmations and repudiation of "heretical" teachings and doctrine.

After declaring that Scripture, through the work of the Holy Spirit, is the church's highest authority for truth, the declaration states, "We hold that the natural theology manifesting in the progressive wing of the church and defining its theology is radically inconsistent with the teaching of Scripture and our Reformed tradition."

The document uses extensive quotations from Scripture, the PCUSA's Book of Order and The Book of Confessions to ground its assertions.

It makes five theological statements that it describes as "essential and defining doctrines of the Reformed faith" and declares that the five "are being annulled by alien principles leveraging for a place of authority in the PCUSA."

"The anemic and impotent state of the church today is the result of its confusion over doctrine, its faithlessness, immorality, materialism, and its subtle replacement of the Gospel of Christ for another gospel that is nothing more than the romantic hopes of a lost humanity," the statement reads.

The 'essentials'
Five theological statements the declaration describes as "essentials" are:

• "Jesus is unique, unrivaled and singular in nature, being and work, the center of God's saving work and the singular goal of creation." The declaration rejects "the errors of progressive and revisionist theology that deny the singular saving work of Christ by proclaiming that Jesus is but one way of salvation among others of equal validity … We believe that any holding or teaching such errors have departed from the Reformed faith, are deceived, and have become promoters of heresy."
• "We believe that Jesus Christ is the One Word of God to whom we turn, whom alone we obey and trust in life and in death … We reject the false claims of modern Gnosticism and neo-mysticism that boasts of secret, personal, innate or inner knowledge that openly contradicts God's self revelation."
• "We hold that the Scriptures by God's inspiration and the interpretative work of the Holy Spirit do manifest themselves to be the Word of God written, and thus wholly sufficient to lead the church into true wisdom, godliness, reform, obedience and worship of God … We reject the false doctrine that would raise alongside or over the Scriptures other authorities, opinions, and voices intended to transcend, correct, repeal or annul the Word of God. … We hold, with the guidance of Calvin, that opinions formed without the leading of the Word of God are of no account and are voices without authority or relevance to the Christian life."
• "[T]hat our righteousness before the Triune God is itself a gift of God through Christ, wholly imparted and thus entirely an act of grace. … We hold that Christ Jesus is our righteousness, our justification, our sanctification and this righteousness, extrinsic to us by nature, is made ours only through the sacrifice of Christ and the inner work of the Holy Spirit and true faith which is its fruit and effect. … We reject as false any doctrine or teaching that holds that persons by their nature bear or possess an intrinsic, natural, or innate righteousness before God based on human works, nature, spirituality, or by the fact of their being created in God's image. We reject as heresy any doctrine that would hold the human race as essentially righteous, holy, and pleasing before God apart from the work of salvation in Christ Jesus …"
• "Our knowledge of God is neither noetic nor a postulate of human reason or discovery but the result of God being among us, drawing us to himself as his people and redeeming us to be a nation of priests before him … We reject the populist doctrine that one can know God without true relationship - making God a postulate of human knowledge - or that one can have a relationship with God without knowledge of his revealed will and work - making God little more than the fabrication of subjective romanticism or Gnostic mysticism."

The essentials section concludes with a theological assault on the "unity in diversity" emphasis that has been the springboard for the denomination's often confusing statements about the saving work of Christ, the Trinity and the compatibility of Christianity and non-Christian religions.

"It would be institutional suicide and utter faithlessness before God to equate forbearance with uncertainty or require tolerance to mean denial, agnosticism or rejection of truth … To allow and respect the conscience of a Muslim, a Mormon, or atheist does not mean we agree with them, hold their doctrine or welcome them as equal members within the church. …

"Sadly, many in leadership in the church have ignored the clear mandate of the constitution and refused to censure or cast out the erroneous and scandalous. … [I]n losing real unity, we have lost our witness and are in the process of losing our very existence. At some point, if we have enough courage, we will need to wrestle with the question of whether our divided house and hearts have not led us to lose our God."

In a section on "Faith and Full Participation in Christ Jesus," the declaration holds that "faith in Christ and purity of life are the two, necessary, sides of the one act of Christian discipleship. One cannot have one without the other." Under that rubric, it strongly affirms the constitutional ordination requirement of "fidelity to marital vows between a man and a woman, chastity in singleness."

Between Easter and Pentecost, April 8 and May 27, 2007

Excellent aids for celebrating the Week of Prayer and Witness have been created for you by the offices of the General Assembly Council that relate to our Christian partners in the Middle East in collaboration with volunteers from the Israel/Palestine Mission Network of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

Resources for celebrating the week:

• Worship booklet and bulletin insert
• Adult study resources
• Children and youth resource
• Travel opportunities
• Craft fairs and partnership products
• Dinner and discussion
• PC(USA) mission connections

The 217th General Assembly invites all 11,000 Presbyterian congregations to participate…

By Paul West

Gunnar de Paul, the recently appointed Interim Director of the Presbyterian Crisis Center, a Shared Mission Ministry of the Presbytery of San Diego, had just spent an hour talking with a visitor about his hopes and plans for the Center and about the journey that brought him there as director last November.

As he was leading his guest through the front gate to the sidewalk, the gate abruptly lost one of its hinges and hung precariously ajar. Immediately De Paul set about trying to right the situation, squeezing another task into the very crowded days that come with his new position.

The Presbyterian Crisis Center is located in a stylish old two-story house on Market Street in the Sherman Heights/Golden Hill area of San Diego. It has served the homeless and intercity poor from this location for 40 years though the support of the Presbytery, the various congregations and other private gifts.

Unfortunately, according to de Paul, the Crisis Center is seeing a drop in the type and amount of support it has received in the past.

A staff of four, including de Paul, and a host of volunteers served about 4,000 people in 2006. "We expect to equal or increase that number this year," de Paul said, "but right now we are running on faith. We are fully running on faith that God will provide."

De Paul was born in Minneapolis 35 years ago but looks as though he could be a freshman or sophomore in college. He has an easy-going manner and is comfortable and willing to talk about his life, his faith, and his belief that God tapped him on the shoulder one day and took hold of the direction his life was to take.

He holds a degree in economics from the University of Minnesota and has worked in corporate finance and with a corporate 100 company in Los Angeles. He quickly tired of that and returned to school to get a graduate degree in economics with an emphasis in real estate at the University of Denver. It was during the last month of graduate work that God changed the direction his life was to take.

"I was walking down the street and saw a homeless guy," de Paul said. "For the first and only time I felt the word of God. I felt Him tap me on the shoulder and say, 'You're going to come and work for me.' "

De Paul said he has always had what he calls a "service heart" since he was a little kid. He said he grew up going to church but didn't know what it meant to have a relationship with God. While working in real estate (which he didn't like) he was researching homeless and other welfare programs and did a lot of volunteering.

He finally connected with Set Free Ministry, a 25-year-old ministry dedicated to reaching out to the homeless and addicted headquarted in El Cajon. While with Set Free Ministry, de Paul enrolled at Southern California Seminary located in El Cajon. He will finish his work there this summer with a Masters in Theology which he feels with equip him for urban ministry and pastoral care.

And now, he said, he knows that he is in it for the long haul. His work at the Crisis Center is 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day and his classes at seminary are from 7 to 11 p.m. every weekday evening.

"I feel that God is taking care of me, that I am here for a purpose," he said. "I'm really getting tested. I really feel that I am one with these broken people.

"Our goal is to be a positive witness to Christ for them. We want to plant the seed by the loving acts we do here," he said. "My hope for this place is that we could move into a position to be a more life transforming ministry.

The Presbyterian Crisis Center is located at 2459 Market Street, San Diego 92102. For more information, call 619-232-2753 or send email to pccpsd@cox.net

Provide organ leadership for traditional Sunday worship and a few special occasions

Play prelude, postlude, and offertory
Accompany small choir on organ, piano, or keyboard
Accompany congregational singing

This person would have experience playing a diverse range of music (classical, hymnody, and modern) on church organs and be familiar with church organizations and worship services.

Send Resume to:

Northminster Presbyterian Church
4324 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92117-1945

Attn: Isabelle McCutchen

The 65-voice Carthage College Choir from Kenosha, Wis., will present a concert at 7 pm, Monday, March 12, in the sanctuary at First Presbyterian Church in Oceanside. Dr. Michael Burkhardt, a well-known composer-organist, will direct. Carthage College has a tradition of excellence in music. A freewill offering will be taken.

The US Naval Academy Men's Glee Club, which has achieved national prominence as one of America's premier men's choral groups under the direction of Dr. John Barry Talley, will present an evening of fine music and entertainment at 7 p.m. on Sunday, March 22, at La Jolla Presbyterian Church. Tickets are not required, a freewill offering will be taken. The church is located at 7715 Draper Ave. Call 858-729-5531 for recorded information.

This year's theme provides a great opportunity to hear from three pastor-leaders who have played an enormous role in shaping the church's understanding and proclamation of the gospel over the past 50 years - Eugene Peterson, Roberta Hestenes, and Earl Palmer. Grounded in the scriptures and filled with practical wisdom, these gifted teachers will lead us in reflecting on the call of Jesus to be faithful witnesses in our complex and troubled world.

Each year, WIM provides an extraordinary opportunity for clergy and laity, and their spouses and children, to be encouraged in their lives and ministries. We hope you can join us for a week of spiritual encouragement, equipping for ministry, and inspiring worship. Our staff will provide an enjoyable time for you, your family, and leaders in your church. We will also provide a special track for pastors, staff, and laity who come together from the same church. We look forward to seeing you at WIM this summer!

Institute activities feature a daily Bible hour and Convocation hour, afternoon workshops, and evening worship service. Institute speakers include these acclaimed theologians and educators:

Register online at www.whitworth.edu/wim or by phone at 509.777.4345. (To receive early registration discount please register before May 1)

World Mission Celebration '07

Presbyterian Church (USA) mission network members and other supporters of international mission will gather in Louisville just before Mission Challenge '07 representatives hit the road.

At the October 3-4 "World Mission Celebration '07: A Celebration of Grace," any who sense a call to support or work in international mission will be invited to participate in the event, which will include plenary sessions, workshops, worship, and informal conversation with the missionaries.

Mission leaders from around the world will present a vision of international mission and invite input from participants. The conference will celebrate mission efforts carried out by any part of the PC(USA)

The celebration, which will be preceded and followed by mission network meetings, will include a commissioning of missionaries who are part of Mission Challenge '07.

Some of the PC(USA)'s mission networks will be meeting October 1-2 and others will convene October 5-6. The networks' event, titled "World Mission network Gathering '07: Gathered by Grace," will feature one day of network meetings and another day devoted to educational opportunities geared toward network members.

For more information on the event, contact Stanley de Voogd at (888) 728-7228 ext. 5835, (502) 419-7604, or sdevoogd@ctr.pcusa.org.