Well – Kelly Allen and I had a great time standing together for Moderator and Vice Moderator of 221st GA. Ultimately, we were not elected. Now, the loss might have been just awful, but we as an assembly abounding in hope! Moderator Rada (or Moderada as some are affectionately referring to him) and his Vice Moderator, Larissa Kwong Abazia are carrying that hope wonderfully for us. We are now looking to them hopefully for their opinions and observations. Specifically, I appreciated picking up the General Assembly News yesterday and finding Abazia on the front page. In Bolin’s photograph, Abazia’s face is lifted slightly upward, perfectly poised to communicate hope. It makes me want to read Ferguson’s article. I already know that she serves the most diverse neighborhood of our nation, so eagerly, I lean through the poise of the picture and into the article to lap up bit more hope. I hope she will tell me what she knows. I lean in hoping that she will tell me the best practices for the future of the church. As I lean in, I read: “If there’s anything I’ve learned about doing ministry, its that there’s no book that tells us all how to be healthy church and how to grow. There is no one right way to do that.” And in the statement there is a tone of trust that each of us will be able to figure it out. I lean out and back and begin to imagine what I know.
Posts Tagged ‘2014’
Abazia’s observation
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged #GA221, 2014, congregations, detroit, diversity, General Assembly News, Heath Rada, June 16th, Kelly Allen for GA Moderator, Larissa Kwong Abazia, Michael Bolin, Mike Ferguson, Presbyterian Church USA, Queens New York, redevelopment, Vice Moderator PCUSA on June 17, 2014| Leave a Comment »
A Pentecost Prayer
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged 2014, 221st General Assembly, change, church, Creative Transformation, dying, firstpreswaco.org, Holy Spirit, June 8, Kelly Allen for GA Moderator, Pentecost, perishing, Prayer, Presbyterian Church USA, process theology, Romans 8:18-37, suffering on June 7, 2014| 2 Comments »
Oh Lord we feel the pain of all that perishes and dies.
We suffer and it feels as if your will may be turned against us.
Even in our suffering, we will not fear change, for Christ is the agency of Creative Transformation.
Heavenly Host, we feel the advent of something new.
We groan inwardly and outwardly to discern what it is. We suffer and it feels as if your will is breaking through us.
Even in our suffering, we will not fear change for Christ is the agency of Creative Transformation.
Mysterious Holy Spirit, sustain the dance between our intuition and reason.
We suffer to rationalize one and to fully embrace the other.
Even in our suffering to understand, we will not fear the continual birth of your church, for Christ is the agency of creatively transforming all toward your wisdom and way.
Amen.
Leslie's Theology 