. July 15, 2010
Good
People of the Presbytery:
We have received several inquiries about actions taken at General
Assembly regarding
the ordination of practicing homosexual people and concerning the
definition of
marriage. We want to try to explain exactly what has been done.
General Assembly voted to send to the presbyteries for their approval or
disapproval an amendment to the Book
of Order. G-6.0106b, the
passage that requires church officers to "to live either in fidelity
within the
covenant of marriage between a man and a woman (W-4.9001), or chastity
in
singleness,” would be amended to read:
"Standards
for ordained service reflect the church’s desire to submit joyfully to
the
Lordship of Jesus Christ in all aspects of life (G-1.0000). The
governing body
responsible for ordination and/or installation (G.14.0240; G-14.0450)
shall
examine each candidate’s calling, gifts, preparation, and suitability
for the
responsibilities of office. The examination shall include, but not be
limited
to, a determination of the candidate’s ability and commitment to fulfill
all
requirements as expressed in the constitutional questions for ordination
and
installation (W-4.4003). Governing bodies shall be guided by Scripture
and the
confessions in applying standards to individual candidates.”
This amendment must be passed by a majority of the presbyteries in the
denomination
in order to take effect. We will vote on it at our presbytery meeting
of
March 2011.
Please note: the amendment does not directly permit the ordination of
practicing homosexual people. Rather, it leaves it to the presbyteries
of
ordination to determine how the confessions guide us in evaluating
individual
candidates for ordination. It would make it possible for some
presbyteries to ordain practicing homosexual people, but it would also
leave
room for other presbyteries to decide that such practice is more than
the
guidance of the confessions would allow.
Concerning marriage: the General Assembly received and commended to the
presbyteries and to sessions of churches the report of the Special
Committee to
Study Issues of Civil Union and Christian Marriage. This report will
include both the majority report and also the minority report. The
majority report asks the church to consider whether there might be
acceptable
forms of non-traditional marriage that could be regarded as Christian.
The minority report asks us to reaffirm and bind ourselves to the
traditional
view of Christian marriage.
No action whatsoever was taken to change the definition of Christian
marriage
or to change the form and character of our participation in civil
unions.
It was voted to answer all the overtures and business pertaining to
those
issues with the commendation to the church for study of the Special
Committee. The presumption is that the General Assembly will revisit
these issues at its next meeting in 2012, when the church has had a
chance to
study the majority and the minority report.
This is where things stand on these issues at this time.
D.
Paul La Montagne
stated
clerk
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We have experienced some difficulty with our presbytery
email domain name. If you need to get in touch with us here at the
office, please use the following email addresses for now:
Cathie - cvolzpnb@gmail.com
Ilene - iblackpnb@gmail.com
Marcia - Marcia.MacKillop@alum.ptsem.edu
Lowell -
lowelltk@msn.com
Paul - dypxlamo@earthlink.net
Please note that Monday in Ministry
is available on our website.
The next Stated
Meeting of the Presbytery of New Brunswick will beheld on Tuesday,
September 14, 2010 at the Frenchtown Presbyterian Church, Frenchtown,
New Jersey
5:45 p.m. Dinner
6:45 p.m. Stated Meeting
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To download the PRESBYTERIAN WOMEN PULSE 2010 SUMMER NEWSLETTER, CLICK
HERE
Report from the Westminster
Foundation of Bloomfield
College
Bloomfield
College is the
only
Presbyterian related school in the synod of the Northeast.
Located in Bloomfield,
NJ, just outside of Newark, the college is one of the most
diverse student populations in the country.
A semester doesn’t go by without many stories of students who are
the
first in their families to go to college.
New Brunswick Presbytery is a financial supporter
of Bloomfield
College through
the Westminster
Foundation. The Westminster Foundation
is the board supporting religious life on campus, the
Director of Spiritual Life and scholarships
for Religious Studies majors. On behalf
of the Board, thank you for your support!
It is greatly appreciated.
As a board we are in the process of developing a
new
scholarship for students. We will also
be working with the College as it searches for a new Director of
Spiritual
Life. The Rev. Todd Shumpert will be
resigning effective the end of June to take a call as installed Pastor
of the
Pleasantdale Presbyterian Church in West
Orange, NJ. Todd has been a faithful worker at Bloomfield College for 8 years, and we thank
him
for his ministry among the college.
If I can be of any help in answering questions
about Bloomfield
College, please
feel free to contact
me. I am this presbytery’s
representative to the board. I love Bloomfield College and strongly believe in
its
mission as a school. If anyone would be
interested in serving on this board, there is plenty of work to be done.
Peace,
Rev. Kenneth Good, Stockton
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Central Presbyterian Church
in Summit, New Jersey: Job Opportunity
Central Presbyterian Church, Summit, New
Jersey is
searching for marketing communications professional to join our winning
team. All inquiries can be
directed to the attention of Claire M. Davis, Elder , Central
Presbyterian Church,
by email: smainc2k@earthlink.net.
Please feel free to reach out to her in her office (908-598-1009) with
any
questions or concerns! Please
click here to download the job
description
******
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