1.  Proposal to modify rules for selling real estate ruled out of order;   2.  Pittsburgh area pastor tells congregation to stop doing evangelism;  3.  College campus ministry to be renamed UKIRK;   4.  Covenant Network celebrates ‘victories’; says more changes coming

Since The Aquila Report has limited staff and budget, we are unable to cover the PCUSA General Assembly.  Our good friends at the Layman are there in force, even adding a new writer just for the occasion.  Plus others are blogging on the meetings. We will be providing daily ‘teases’ and links to many interesting stories, such as:

Committee begins day with moderator ruling new business out of order

Paula R. Kincaid, The Layman

A committee moderator’s decision to rule an item of new business out of order was sustained by the full committee after her ruling was challenged.
Charles (Jeff) Garrison of New Michigan Presbytery, and a member of General Assembly Committee 6 on Church Polity, wanted to propose a new item of business concerning the selling or encumbering of congregational property for the committee to consider during its time together.
Garrison wanted to amend G-4.0206 to read:
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A congregation shall not sell, mortgage or otherwise encumber any of it real property that has been used for ministry or mission and it shall not acquire real property subject to an encumbered without written permission of the presbytery transmitted through the session of the congregation. Property given to a local congregation as a gift for the purpose of funding ministry and mission activities, and has never been used for such activities, does not require the approval of the congregation or the presbytery.
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He used the General Assembly Standing Rule E3a, which allows committees to consider new business related to the business of a particular committee.
Following a motion and a second, Moderator Emily Anderson ruled the motion out of order and Garrison challenged her ruling.
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PCUSA Pastor on Evangelism: “Knock It Off”

Bart Gingerich at Juicyecumenism.com

Before the heavy proceedings of General Assembly 2012 went under way, members of the Presbyterian Church (USA) took the opportunity to visit various churches in Pittsburgh. Progressives flocked to the gorgeous East Liberty Presbyterian Church (ELPC), Pittburgh’s flagship congregation for liberal theology.,,I went to listen in on what this (in)famous congregation had to say to its numerous visitors. Chances for a good scoop were high since the church website revealed that the sermon would center on that veritable standby of progressive theology—and, to my knowledge, one of the few portions of Scripture that liberal Christians put to memory—Micah 6:8.

……….

The Rev. Dr. Randall K. Bush opened with this famous viral video to prove that we now live in a “single global civilization.” “How would we live to see the world as God sees it?” he asked. The pastor then asserted, “We started to commodify [the Gospel] as if we owned it.” He mocked the 1700s and 1800s missionary movements, with missionaries and their supporting societies going out into the world to share the Gospel of Christ. He made sure to put the phrase “evangelize to the heathen” in ominous scare quotes. To my astonishment at least, he then claimed, “As of this point, the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been preached to all the corners of the world, so knock it off.” He followed up with yet another proof of theological cluelessness: “Once the evangelical notion of the church can be turned down for a moment, the wisdom of other faiths can finally speak.”

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Collegiate ministry rebranded  – get ready for UKIRK

James D. Berkley, The Layman

Compared to adults as a whole, twice as many Presbyterians are college educated: 60 percent. So why the scarcity of Presbyterian ministries around colleges?

General Assembly in 2010 restored funding for an office of Collegiate Ministries, and Adrian McMullen now serves as Associate for Collegiate Ministries. Monday at General you ready for UKIRK Ministries? As is probably obvious, UKIRK stands for University Church, with a distinctive Scottish flair.
UKIRK is described as “a network of ministries supported by the Presbyterian Church (USA), charged with reaching, loving and teaching college students so that they may be lifelong followers of Jesus Christ.” It’s basically the umbrella meant to spread across a number of campus manifestations: cooperative faith fellowships, congregational outreaches, established college groups and groups yet to be launched.
The hope is that all Presbyterian college ministries eventually would wear the UKIRK brand, either as an actual name or attached to the name, such as “Westminster Fellowship: A UKIRK Ministry.” Collegiate Ministries debuted a packet with information about affiliating with UKIRK and a Readiness Assessment Tool for congregations considering collegiate ministry.
All this came out in a luncheon meeting of Collegiate Ministries at General Assembly Monday in Pittsburgh. More than a hundred collegians, emerging adults, campus ministry leaders, interested parties and denominational staff members appeared excited about UKIRK possibilities and the re-invigoration of the ministry group. McMullen enthused that lunch ticket sales caused him to increase the room size three times.

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Covenant Network celebrates victories

Parker T. Williamson, The Layman

A huge, euphoric crowd gathered for lunch in the Allegheny Ballroom of Pittsburgh’s Westin Hotel. Covenant Network of Presbyterians leaders cheered their denomination’s passage of Amendment 10-A, the eradication of all sexual behavior standards from its constitution, while warning one another that their battle against “sexism and heterosexism in the PCUSA” is far from over.
Pamela Byers, the organization’s retiring executive director received a standing ovation. Then, welcomed as Byers’ successor, Brian Ellison took the opportunity to introduce his heretofore closeted same-sex partner, a coming out announcement that evoked thunderous applause.
Honored by being seated at the featured speaker’s reserved table, were the denomination’s former Stated Clerk Clifton Kirkpatrick, former Fuller Theological Seminary professor and General Assembly Moderator Jack Rogers, former president of McCormick Theological Seminary Cynthia Campbell, each of whom played prominent roles in the denomination’s sexual revolution.

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