We are delighted to announce the visit of our General Assembly Moderator Rev. Joan Gray to San Diego September 16-19. Here are the opportunities for members of the Presbytery to interact with Rev. Gray:

Sunday, Sept. 17th:

Rev. Gray will preach at 9AM, 10:30AM, & 5:30PM at the Village Community Presbyterian Church, 6225 Paseo Delicias, Rancho Santa Fe, 858-756-2441

Monday, Sept. 18th:

• Pastor's Luncheon, 12-2 PM, at Rancho Bernardo Community Presbyterian Church, 17010 Pomerado Rd., San Diego 92128, 858-487-0811 RSVP with Presbytery Office by Sept. 11 Email: officemgr@presbyterysd.org Phone: 619-224-2490
• Dessert and open forum gathering 7-9 PM at Solana Beach Presbyterian Church, 120 Stevens Ave., Solana Beach, 858-509-2580. Everyone is invited.

Tuesday, Sept. 19th:

• Lunch with Task Force on Way Forward
• Stated Meeting of Presbytery 2-6 PM at the Pt. Loma Community Presbyterian Church, 2128 Chatsworth Blvd., San Diego 92107, 619-223-1633.
• Dinner 6-7 PM [Reservations required. Please call the Pt. Loma church office]
• Worship 7-8 PM, Rev. Joan Gray preaching
• Open Reception with Rev. Gray following worship

For additional information, please call the Presbytery office, 619-224-2490

Executive Presbyter's Report to the Presbytery

The Council has declared 2006 to be the "Year of Philip" in the Presbytery of San Diego. Philip the Evangelist showed up when internal conflicts and external opposition were threatening the vitality of the church (Acts 6-7). The dreams of many in the new, growing, vibrant church were shattered as they witnessed the tragic murder of their new leader, Stephen. Great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem. Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. Saul, in particular, worked to destroy the church; going from house to house, he dragged men and women off to prison. All believers except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria (Acts 8). The church was in crisis.

The church in Philip's day was lamenting a death, burying a past, and waiting in a prison of despair and uncertainty. They were in crisis, faced with internal strife, external opposition, and an unknown future. Many must have wondered, "Where is God in all this mess?"

Sound familiar? In many ways, we are lamenting the death of the PC (USA) as we have known it. We must now bury the past of our beloved denomination. We, like the church in Philip's day, stand on the edge of an unknown future. We are a church in crisis, suffering internal strife and external opposition. Birmingham lingers. We need to invite Philip the Evangelist to show up once again. His passion is evangelism. His love is the lost. His ministry is focused on those who are not yet in the church. Philip reminds us of our missional identity in these days of great uncertainty. Philip rescues us from the trivial.

Each of my reports to the presbytery this year are intended to include "best practices testimonies", which will highlight churches engaged ministries of evangelism. As we share what God is doing in our midst to reach the lost across the aisle, across the street and across the seas, I pray we will encourage one another to focus our energies on the Church's missional identity and purpose in these challenging days.

1. Philip reminds us of God's heart for the lost across the aisle…in the church. Philip shared the love of Jesus Christ with a man who had just come from worship (Acts 8:26-29). Philip reminds us that many even inside the church need the Savior. God loves the lost who sit across the aisle.
   
   
   • Best Practices Testimony: Randy Yenter, pastor of Trinity Presbyterian Church, will share a how the Lord is using people involved in Trinity's Alpha program to introduce non-believers to the Savior.


2. Philip reminds us of God's heart for the lost across the street…in the community. Philip shared the love of Jesus Christ with people in the neighboring community of Samaria (Acts 8:4-8). Philip reminds us that people just outside the doors of the church need the Savior. God loves the lost who live across the street.
   
   
   • Best Practices Testimony: Paula Taylor, a staff member of Solana Beach Presbyterian Church will share how the Lord used people from Solana Beach to share the love of Christ with the lost in Mexico.


3. Philip reminds us of God's heart for the lost across the seas…in the world. Philip shared the love of Jesus Christ with a man from Ethiopia (Acts 8:26-38). Philip reminds us that everyone needs the Savior. God loves the lost who live across the seas.
   
   
   • Best Practices Testimony: Steve Locke, pastor of First Presbyterian Church, El Cajon shared the love of Christ with students at Transkie Bible College in South Africa this past summer. Steve taught a course on Preaching from Romans and the Gospel of Mark to future pastors in South Africa.

Now that the dust is beginning to settle on the decisions of this last General Assembly meeting, the meaning of the amended PUP report is finally becoming clear. The Office of the General Assembly (OGA) has published a document called Constitutional Musings #11 on Examining Officers. Item six of this paper states that "an individual may declare a scruple concerning the appropriateness of a mandatory provision. But a governing body cannot excuse a mandatory provision, for it lacks the power to set aside a provision of the Constitution. However, a candidate may still be ordained or installed so long as she/he is still willing to comply with the mandatory provisions.

This was confirmed by the GA PJC in the Hambrick decision: The Commission recognizes the right of individuals to hold views contrary to the constitution of the PCUS but, for the sake of order, actions contrary to the Constitution are not sanctioned." Item seven of this paper states that the new Authoritative Interpretation does not overturn any previous authoritative interpretations.

Most of the uproar around the PUP report centers around how it affects G-6.0106b (one of our ordination standards is the requirement for officers to live either in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman, or chastity in singleness). So, what does this now mean? It means this:

A candidate can declare a scruple vs. fidelity and chastity, saying they don't believe it. The governing body cannot excuse compliance with the standard, since it is a mandatory requirement. The candidate must still obey it. The candidate may be ordained and installed, even if they don't believe in the requirement, as long as they are willing to abide and live by the requirement.

Governing bodies still do not have the option of ordaining self-affirming, practicing homosexuals, or any others who are actively engaged in sexual behavior outside of a one man/one woman marriage.

The General Assembly did not remove G-6.0106b, but instead re-affirmed it with an 81% vote. The General Assembly did not remove the 1993 Authoritative Interpretation on homosexuality, which reiterated the 1978 prohibition of ordaining sexually active gay persons, but instead voted to send it out to the presbyteries for study and discussion. Therefore, these continue to be mandatory requirements that all elders, deacons, and pastors must agree to live by. The approval of the amended PUP report does not change any of this, and does not give governing bodies "wiggle room" to allow disobedience of the requirements.

This being the case, we are left with two key items: a perception problem and an implementation issue. The perception problem is that many believe our ordination standards have changed, or that presbyteries now have local option or local license to ordain people who refuse to comply with these requirements.

That is not true. People can disagree with our ordination standards, but no presbytery can give permission to defy and disobey them. Even if a presbytery believes the requirements are not essential, the candidate must still comply.

We have a lot of work to do to correct the misunderstandings and misperceptions that exist in our denomination. We must communicate clearly, repeatedly, and repetitiously, so that people really understand that we have not permitted local disobedience.

Secondly, we have an implementation issue. Some people do not trust our system to make the rules work. There have been instances in our past where presbyteries or Permanent Judicial Commissions (PJCs) have not ruled according to the Constitution, or have dismissed charges on minor procedural matters, ignoring the weightier matters of substance, permitting defiance of our Constitution.

This is not acceptable. In order to begin re-building trust in our church, we must call on every presbytery and every PJC to rule according to the constitution, even if they disagree with it. Our constitution protects dissent and the right to disagree. Our constitution does not allow defiance or disobedience. We cannot sanction, nor can we appear to sanction, actions of disobedience.

If we can tackle these two key areas, our denomination can weather the storm we're in. To paraphrase what Mark Twain once said, the rumors of our death will be exaggerated.

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is in crisis. We have turned our eyes inward and have lost the central focus of the New Testament church: its apostolic calling to bear witness to Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth. We live in a time when our own culture is a mission field, and we acknowledge that maintaining old institutions and systems leads neither renewal nor to faithfulness in God's mission. The mandate of the Gospel and the needs of the world are urgent.

We confess that the living and reigning Lord Jesus Christ alone is the hope of the world.

We believe that the Father sent the Son into the world out of love (John 3:16) and that the church is not an end in itself but a gift given to the world in order that all may believe (John 17:21)

We believe Christ is calling us to recommit ourselves to the authority of Holy Scripture and to the faithful summaries of biblical teaching found in the historic Reformed confessions.

We believe Christ is calling us, as covenantal people, to be transformed by his indwelling Holy Spirit and to be empowered by the Spirit for faithful witness.

We believe Christ is calling us to move beyond confidence in our own capacity and culture to a new interdependence with others in the global Body of Christ.

We believe Christ is calling for significant transformation of our congregations, both in who we are and what we do, as we engage in God's missional purpose for the church.

We believe it is time to gather anew around God's mission to the world.

Therefore, in dependence upon the grace of God, we covenant with one another, and with others who share these convictions and would join us in these commitments:

• To commit to a common discipline of prayer, study and discernment as we address the challenges of this time and seek to live faithfully for Christ in our communities and world.
• To invite global partners into this fellowship, at all of its levels, developing relationships that allow for mutual blessings, that we may become a truly global fellowship. We recognize both that we have gifts to share but also that we need to receive the leadership, missionaries and example of the global church. We also commit to reaching out to members of other communions in North America, especially those whose faith is consonant with the Reformed confessional heritage, that we may join together in God's mission to the world.
• To build relationships of mutual support and accountability-locally, nationally, and internationally-as we discern our gifts and the gifts of the communities in which we worship, so that we may discover how God would have us use these gifts in living out the church's missional purpose;
• To heed God's voice through the global church and repent where we have not been faithful to His Word, especially with regard to wealth and power, ethnic and racial reconciliation, human sexuality and public witness.
• To invest our financial resources only in those local and global mission efforts that we believe are biblically faithful and accountable, within the Presbyterian family and through other partnerships into which the Lord calls us;
• To use existing and emerging technologies to share resources and best participate in ways that will help congregations train leaders for effective service and equip the saints for the work of ministry;

We join in this Covenant joyfully, humbly and prayerfully, confessing our own sinfulness, our dependence upon the grace of God, and our willingness to augment this covenant as we deepen our relationships with the global church.

May we be transformed by God's Spirit into the likeness of Jesus Christ, so that we can faithfully participate in God's mission throughout the world, to the glory of Almighty God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit!

1. To promote the peace, unity, and purity of our presbytery, we resolve that the Sacramento Presbytery holds that all candidates for ordination, installation, and/or membership in this Presbytery shall comply with all standards for ordination set forth in the Constitution of the (PCUSA) (G-1.0500), or shall be ineligible for ordination, installation, and/or membership (approved 87-59-1).
2. To promote the peace, unity, and purity of our presbytery, we resolve that the Sacramento Presbytery shall not receive into membership, nor recognize as a member, anyone who has been ordained or installed under a scruple (that is taking exception to any of the ordination standards as set forth in the Constitution of the (PCUSA) (G-1.0500)) (approved 82-63-2).
3. To promote the peace, unity, and purity of our presbytery, we resolve that the Sacramento Presbytery shall honor the protest of every congregation that chooses to exercise its right to withhold its per capita, therefore, only designated congregational per capita funds shall be used to fulfill presbytery per capita obligations, and presbytery per capita assessments shall not be increased to compensate for such protests (approved 73-66-6).
4. To promote the peace, unity, and purity of our presbytery, we resolve that the Sacramento Presbytery shall take no action to enforce any general trust interest claimed against any property, real or personal, held by an individual congregation within the Sacramento Presbytery (approved 73-65-2).

DEPLOYED from San Diego:
Chaplain Margaret Kibben
(Afghanistan)

Chaplain Mark Smith
(Iraq)

DEPLOYED FROM 29 Palms:

Chaplain Diana Lantz
(Iraq)

SERVING Locally:

Chaplain Bill Middleton
(DESRON 1; going to Washington)

Chaplain John Owen
(Balboa Hospital; going to Annapolis)

Chaplain Mike Chaney
(USS PRINCETON)

Chaplain Ed Pease
(MCRD)

Chaplain Dan Link
(Coronado)

Chaplain Chaplain Alfred Pena
(DESRON 1)

Chaplain James Giddens
(Army reserve)

Chaplain Victoria Kelly
(Camp Pendleton Naval Hospital; going to hospital ship, Mercy)

For more information, contact the Presbyterian Council for Chaplains
& Military Personnel - telephone (202) 244-4177

Local council representative: Pat Kellenbarger 760-231-9609

By: Elizabeth Crews, Contributing Writer

In May, 2001, Christopher Yanov began a program designed to change the lives of young people seemingly destined to a life of addiction, crime and poverty. After five years of working with troubled young people from tough neighborhoods through his ministry at the Hispanic Presbyterian Church, Chris began to envision a better way.

Rather than waiting until these at-risk teens became involved in gangs, drugs, violence and the self-destructive behavior that defined their future, Chris was determined to find a way to stop the downward cycle before it began. He started to actively seek out students from these same troubled neighborhoods who wanted a better life and had a strong desire to change their reality before the reality of their neighborhood changed them!

With a stated goal of building first generation college students who follow God's word, Chris named this exciting new adventure Reality Changers (Agentes de Cambio) -agents of positive change who would impact the world around them.

Five years later, Christopher Yanov's dream became reality for the original class of Reality Changers, those who began the program as eighth graders in 2001. Scholarships in hand, these first generation college students are on their way to top universities across the nation. Harvard selected Miguel for a full-ride scholarship; Arlene was awarded $181,000 from Northwestern. As a group these original class Reality Changes received scholarships totaling over $1,000,000, and along the way they learned to hold themselves accountable to God, their family, their group and themselves.

"Others may choose to accept reality," declares the Reality Changers statement of purpose, "God willing, we choose to transform it. We show up, work hard, and tell the truth. We are the Reality Changers: Agentes de Cambio." Their faith and perseverance paid big dividends, not only in terms of college scholarships, but also in lives rooted and grounded in the truth of God's Word.

How does the program work? Reality Changers raises money all year long to send their high school students to UCSD's Academic Connections. Tuition is $3,000 per student for this three-week summer residential program, where the students take college-level classes, earn college credit, and become convinced that they can succeed at a four-year university. Upon graduating high school, these ready and prepared students become highly sought after by the nation's top schools.

Does this program work? Since 2001 RC students have earned over $1,500,000 in scholarships, and the best is yet to come. Seventeen of the 24 Reality Changers at UCSD's Academic Connections were there for the very first time in 2005!

But academic rewards aren't the only goal for these motivated Reality Changers: Spiritual growth is part of being a Reality Changer too. In addition to attending Academic Connections, the Reality Changers attend Forest Home summer camp. Students "earn" a Forest Home scholarship by taking weekly SAT practice tests and getting "points" for their efforts. They also learn all of the camp's memory verses before their arrival each August.

Students at Reality Changers attend about 20 different high schools across San Diego County. After entering the program most raise their G.P.A. by at least one full grade point average. Solana Beach Reality Changers opened in September 2004 to serve North County students, and in 2005 five of the SBRC students qualified to attend UCSD's Academic Connections and all of the SBRC members attended Forest Home.

How can you become a supporter of positive change? Go to the Reality Changers website: www.realitychangers.com and look for exciting ways to become part of this program that is transforming lives and welcomes your gifts and support in their Reality Changing efforts.

The Third Annual Music Benefit, which raises funds for Military Outreach Ministries and the Presbyterian Crisis Center, will be held at Chula Vista Presbyterian Church on October 29, beginning at 2:30 p.m. A wide range of musical talent will be presented: a gospel choir, operatic soprano and bass-baritone, comedy, folk music, guitarist and pianist. Tickets are $15 for adults and $13 for children 13 and under.

Westminster Choir Reunion Concert is planned for Sunday, November 12

Dr. Myron Tweed, Minister of Music, is retiring after 28 years of dedicated service at First Presbyterian Church. The Retirement Committee is making plans for the farewell events.

A Westminster Choir Reunion Concert is planned for Sunday, November 12, at 4:00 PM. All former members of the choir who sang under his direction beginning in January 1979 are invited to return and perform in this concert. Favorite anthems from worship services over 28 years will be selected for this program. We encourage all former members to come and enjoy this exciting event. A rehearsal will be held on Saturday, November 11 at 9:00 AM in the Sanctuary.

A reunion of all former New Dawn Singers will also be held on Saturday, November 11 at 11:15-12:30 PM. Favorite anthems will be selected for both choirs and performed at the concert on Sunday afternoon at 4:00 PM. A reception will be held immediately following the concert so we can greet old friends and share a "hug or two." Robin Tweed has invited Jerry Monroe to arrange video excerpts of selected programs during the reception.

You may check the church website---www.fpcsd.org for further information.

Additional events include the Autumn Fest on Saturday, October 7 at 4:00 PM in the church patio. Favorites from the previous ice cream socials will be recalled, including Disney tunes, Tweed Family Singers, Oompah-pah Band, and much more. Any former singers who would like to participate in any or all events including the Feast of Lights please RSVP to Mary Price at: 619-660-8834, mlp1828@aol.com or Robin Tweed at: 619-990-6917, robintweed@cox.net - Subject: Reunion Events.

Thank you for your prayers and support of this exciting era of music ministry.

by the Rev. Martha Cross Sexton, Chair Peacemaking and Social Justice Ministry Team, Presbytery of San Diego

Ms. Sanjana Das of Nagpur, India will be with us Sunday, October 15 through Wednesday, October 18 to address peacemaking in families and in community living, one of eight emphases of the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program.

Coordinator of Children's Concerns for the Church of North India, a mission partner of the PC(USA), Sanjana also serves as secretary of the South Asia Ecumenical Network for the Dignity of Children for the World Council of churches and the Christian Conference of Asia. She works to promote the rights of children, to ensure their basic needs are met, to protect them from exploitation and abuse, and to ensure opportunities for their development. She has developed a curriculum for UNESCO for the non-formal education of street children.

While in our Presbytery, Sanjana will use DVD and PowerPoint presentations (she will bring her own laptop) to address the following topics:

Child rights violation in India/South Asia
Trafficking in women and children in India/South Asia
Role of the church in protecting children at risk and children's rights

Sanjana is available to speak to your church group Monday, October 16. Also, her mid-day flight on Wednesday, October 18 allows her to meet for breakfast with your youth, men or women's group that morning. Please contact Kyle Holberg @ 619-470-7195 or kholberg@pacbell.net to arrange a specific time and place.

You are invited to attend any of these scheduled events:

• Sun. October 15, 10 AM - Worship, lunch and discussion with Sanjana Das at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 3598 Talbot St., San Diego, 619-223-3193.
• Sun. October 15, 4 PM - Chapel service with Sanjana Das at White Sands of La Jolla, 7450 Olivetas Ave., La Jolla, 858-454-4201.
• Tues. October 17, 11 AM - Women's Association welcomes Sanjana Das for program and lunch, Grace Presbyterian Church, 1450 E. Vista Way, Vista, 760-724-0077. (Please call to make reservations for lunch.)