Maggie Lauterer, Pastor, First Presbyterian Church, Burnsville, North Carolina; Presbytery – Western North Carolina

The Layman is asking each candidate to identify the top five issues at the upcoming General Assembly, and share your position on each. (Answers are printed exactly as received – each candidate had a 500-word limit)

CIVILITY
In my opinion the most significant matter before the 219th General Assembly will not be what we will do – but how we will do it…..

ORDINATION/MARRIAGE
I have tried – and failed – to find middle ground between the “thou shalt not” from Paul and Leviticus, and the love and inclusivity of Jesus’ ministry…….So if God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think I could oppose God?

FORM OF GOVERNMENT (nFOG)
Is it time for a change?……I feel that it’s time to move forward and put it to the will of the presbyteries.

MIDDLE EAST ISSUES
…….I support a two-state solution. But that solution will only become possible when both parties recognize the need for parity in their positions, in rights, in ownership and in self-governance.

THE BELHAR CONFESSION
I believe the Belhar’s impact on us IS confessional on many levels – not the least of which is in our own history…..

READ MORE: http://www.layman.org/News.aspx?article=27122 [Editor’s note: the original URL (link) referenced is no longer valid, so the link has been removed.]