REPORT ON JERUSALEM COUNCIL PROCESS
DATE: December 1, 2004
LOCATION: Syracuse, New York – Meeting at First Baptist Church of Syracuse/Jamesville
SPONSORING MC REGION: Ministers Council of Upstate New York, representing the regions of Rochester-Genesee and ABC-NYS
LETTER OF INVITATION: [see attachment]
BULLETIN: [see attachment]
TIMELINE OF PLANNING:
- September 22, 2004: Executive committee meeting in Syracuse discussed report from senators about the August Senate meeting and the preliminary plans for the Jerusalem Council Process (JCP). After much discussion, we decided we would participate after consulting with the regions’ executive ministers.
- First week in October: A letter was sent to all our current members including the following: the proposed amendment from senate, the report of the Denominational Relations Committee describing the JCP, and an individual response form. We wanted get information out as soon as possible due to the upcoming ABC-NYS biennial where the MC hosts a breakfast.
- October 27, 2004: Special meeting of the executive committee where we again discussed the JCP, approved request to help with financing, and agreed to ask to be one of the first councils to hold a JCP gathering so we can plan for additional gatherings in our region, if needed.
- During November, Susan Chaffin (President) and Jimmy Reader (1st Vice President) planned the details of the meeting scheduled for December 1, by email and phone. A location was secured quickly, and the host pastor, Scott Kavanagh, helped with local arrangements. Kate Harvey and Bob Santilli, our spiritual companion, participated in these email conversations.
LOCAL ARRANGEMENTS:
- The host church was selected after marking on a NY State map where all our members live. Syracuse was determined to be the most central location and was conveniently located near an airport.
- Asked host church to fax the building use form for church’s trustees. Determined room size based on estimate of how many would attend, consulted with spiritual companion for how he wanted the meeting area to be set up. Materials needed: hymnals, candles and flowers for our worship area, chime or bell, newsprint and markers, name tags for participants.
- Host pastor ordered food based on RSVP cards for lunch and for break times. Church provided coffee and tea, executive committee provided water and cold drinks, chips, and of course, the cheesecakes!
- Members of executive committee asked to assist with leading hymns, purchasing food, and transporting Kate and Bob from the hotel to the meeting and then to the airport.
PLANNING TEAM:
Susan Chaffin, President; Jimmy Reader (1st Vice President), Scott Kavanaugh (host pastor)
ATTENDANCE: Forty-two pastors attended, including one from Metro NY and two from New Jersey.
NARRATIVE OF THE DAY:
Our morning session focused on lectio divina – a reading of Acts 15 which encouraged us to prayerfully listen to what God might be saying through this text. Many participants were unfamiliar with it, and at times the comments tended toward Bible study; but it seemed a helpful way to read the text. In the afternoon, most of our time was spent allowing about two minutes each for each person to say what they wanted. Some told their story and others expressed their convictions around the subject of homosexuality and whether gay and lesbian persons can be included in the Ministers Council. About half our group of about 50 clergy spoke with sincere openness toward inclusion of gay and lesbian persons. The other half spoke clearly against inclusion and in favor of a statement against the practice of homosexuality. There was very little discussion relating to how the proposed amendment challenges our commonly held Baptist principles. Most spoke with a degree of humility and graciousness. By the end of the day, several had clearly voiced their feeling that rejecting the amendment next summer would alienate a large majority of ABC clergy. A few individual conversations confirmed that there may be a growing number of people who hold a traditional position who sincerely want to continue the dialogue and expressed a desire to know more about what people "on the other side" think and feel. There is hope in that.
About the process:
- For other JCP gatherings, this is a very full day. It is important to start as close to 9:00 as possible.
- We printed only the pericope of the Jerusalem Council. If all of Chapter 15 is to be read, others preparing an insert should know that.
- With the number of people we had, even giving everyone two minutes in the afternoon proved to be too long of a session. It was important for all of us to hear everyone's testimony/statement of convictions, though. Maybe most gatherings won't be that large.
- The final session was much too short. The group had far more to say than we had time for.
- A number of people shared the feeling that we did not have time for conversation, only for listening to each other. Perhaps that was the intent, and not a bad one. But at least that last session could be longer and give more time for that.
- A number of people expressed strong feeling that many clergy feel the MC doesn't represent them fairly and that in this process we need to find a way to get the feedback of non-members. But how do we do that? Just scheduling meetings is not likely to do it
- Next summer we are voting on an amendment which is more than a simple vote on the resolution about homosexuality. I think it is being interpreted by many as a vote on homosexuality, but it is more than that. There was not enough emphasis on that. Even if senators know where the people stand on homosexuality as an issue, that doesn't tell us where they are on other issues raised in the amendment. That was touched on very briefly at the end in our group, but we had no time to discuss it.
