We cannot emphasize enough that the Fellowship of Presbyterians is a movement that is committed to “adaptive” change rather than “tactical” change. There is a great deal of discussion across the denomination about moving congregations… While these discussions are important, we are encouraging “adaptive change,” learning ministry in new and very different ways

We are honored and pleased that so many people were able to be part of the Fellowship Gathering in Minneapolis in August. It was a rare experience in many ways.

We have heard repeatedly from folks across the theological and political spectrum of the denomination that they saw the Spirit of the living God moving and active in our midst-vibrant worship, deep fellowship, and a vision for Christ-honoring mission. Discouragement, unhelpful rhetoric, and unhealthy posturing were nowhere to be found. For the renewing of relationships alone was truly medicine for the soul! Yet, there was also a sense that something new is happening in our midst-hope for a different future for many who have felt stuck for so long.

Much is happening in the few short weeks since August. I want to get you caught up:

· Detailed plans are coming together for our next gathering, a Covenanting Convention in Orlando January 18-20, 2012. Sorry for the change of the dates we announced in Minneapolis. A suitable venue was simply not available in Orlando that week. A general schedule for the Orlando gathering is posted at www.fellowship-pres.org. We will be meeting and staying at the beautiful Rosen Shingle Creek Resort near the Orlando airport http://www.rosenshinglecreek.com. The only way to get the special Fellowship rate is to book your room through the Fellowship registration site that will be online within the next week.

· Included in Orlando will be a pre-conference event (Tuesday evening through Wednesday afternoon) specifically for Christian leaders under the age of 45. We are committed to nurturing the next generations of Christian leaders, and we are starting here. Please help us spread the word.

· We have expanded the Steering Committee to include both women and racial ethnic participants. This leadership team has been renamed the interim Board of Directors for both the Fellowship and the new reformed body (NRB). We have also contracted additional staff in administration and communications to help us keep up with the rapidly growing Fellowship movement.

Many people have been hard at work since the Minneapolis Gathering:

· Our theology work group, headed by Jerry Andrews, Pastor of First Presbyterian Church San Diego, is working in three different areas. Initial documents will be available in November for discussion and review:

1. Determining and defining the confessional documents that connect both the Fellowship of Presbyterians and the NRB to the faith of the whole Church,

2. Creating a fresh theological statement that addresses the essentials of the Reformed faith, and

3. Creating a proposal for sustained, committed conversation on the faith of the Church.

· Our polity work group, headed by David Dobler, Executive Presbyter in the Presbytery of Alaska, is creating documents that will serve the NRB, but will also have implications for how congregations anywhere underneath the Fellowship umbrella can relate to each other. All overtures to the 2012 GA need to be received by March 1, 2012. Our time is short. These documents will also be available in November.

And we have more information on each of the “Tiers” presented in Minneapolis:

· Tier 1 Congregations (focusing strictly on adaptive change within the PC(USA)) can expect to find information in Orlando visibly identifying themselves as part of the Fellowship of Presbyterians, information on vows pastors and other leaders can take that call them to specific theological and missional commitments, and other resources and networks under the umbrella of the Fellowship of Presbyterians

· Tier 2 Congregations (working to create overlay presbyteries) have learned since the Gathering in Minneapolis that the Office of the General Assembly has ruled that the creation of an overlay presbytery requires an amendment to the Book of Order. Included in the work of our polity group will be sample overtures to the 2012 General Assembly regarding overlay presbyteries and presbyteries with porous boundaries.

· Tier 3 Congregations (exploring the possibility of dual COMs/CPMs within a presbytery) is currently possible under the new Form of Government and is being explored in some presbyteries.

· Tier 4 Congregations (the New Reformed Body) Those interested in the NRB are exploring two different ways this can be accomplished:

1. dismissal in 2012 to the NRB-there are many presbyteries currently creating and passing gracious dismissal policies.

2. becoming a “union” congregation or presbytery-part of both the PC(USA) and also part of the NRB. This possibility may appeal to many for a variety of reasons. More information is coming.

Several regional gatherings have already been sponsored and more are on the way. If congregations in your area want to gather to share information, ideas, resources, and prayer, either before or after the Orlando Covenanting Conference, contact our Administrative Consultant Paul Detterman, [email protected], for help getting organized and getting the word out.

We cannot emphasize enough that the Fellowship of Presbyterians is a movement that is committed to “adaptive” change rather than “tactical” change. There is a great deal of discussion across the denomination about moving congregations from one middle governing body (or “council” in the New Form of Government) to another. While these discussions are important, we are encouraging “adaptive change,” learning ministry in new and very different ways. That’s why our next gathering is intentionally being designed as a “covenanting” conference-building a covenanted life together, underneath the Fellowship “umbrella,” and across bureaucratic boundaries. Tactical change can happen in a timely way. Adaptive change is much harder and takes longer to effect.

• We need to re-discover our core theological commitments; pluralism is blunting our witness.

• We need to relate in ways that are encouraging rather than bureaucratic.

• We must stimulate each other to find creative ways to reach lost people and lost communities.

• We must hold each other accountable for ministry to the poor and take a stance for biblical social justice, the Church God calls us to be.

• We believe we can find a way to articulate moral theology in a world of vast confusion that is life-giving.

• We are committed to shaping the next generations in our midst through mentored relationships.

• We believe the Fellowship of Presbyterians can encourage an “ordered way” of being Christian leaders that will ultimately lead us into a richer experience of life in Christ than we have known.

I hope these convictions ring true with you, and that you will join us in Orlando for an event that will offer the next steps in this new way of being Church. We will be sending you communications like this to help you see more and more what is developing in this very important season. Bless you in your ministry!

This article was distributed as an email from Jim Singleton, President, Fellowship of Presbyterians.