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Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Belhar Notes

For worship today, we had a Korean man preach about racism. He was very profound and just to give you a taste of what he was like, he cited Reverend Jeremiah Wright as a valid source to be listened to. I really liked what he had to say. He was on the line, but he never crossed it. It was profound.

So wouldn’t you know then, that when I get to my committee meeting, the first on the agenda, is the approval of the Belhar Confession, that arose from apartheid in South Africa, and now serves to speak against racism and for the unity of all.

It's hard to pass a confession and many things must be considered before passing one. It is our book of beliefs, so passing a "belief," must stand the test of time. One advocate asked if the confession's truth could be found outside of the history it was written in. In other words, is it and will it be relevant for future churches?

We haven't finished the vote on it yet, but I think we will end up proposing to the floor of GA that a committee be formed to study the Belhar Confession and distribute study guides on it for the presbyteries in our church with the hope that further action to pass will be considered at the next General Assembly. (This is the fastest process for getting it passed.)

The process for Presbyterians is a good one. It might take awhile to get things passed, but it is a necessary task to keep ourselves in check.

I mean, who would want to put their thoughts or beliefs out there for the world to see without carefully thinking about and deciding on them? ;)

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