 Ministry committee backs the ordination of educators By Craig M. Kibler The Layman Online Wednesday, June 19, 2002
Five of the six points proposed in the measure – which would permit candidates who meet certain standards to be ordained as ministers of word and sacrament with a concentration in Christian education – were approved by roughly 4-1 margins June 17, sending the measure to the floor of the 214th General Assembly. The five points would:
The vast majority of people speaking on the issue favored it, including former Moderator Freda Gardner, an elder at Nassau Presbytery Church in Princeton, N.J. "There are many people of all ages in our congregations today who have little or no understanding of what it means to be Reformed and Presbyterian. There are many more people in our congregations who need or want to deepen their understanding of what that means," she said. "There are those among us who know themselves to be called to the ministry of education in the church, a ministry essential for the building up of the body of Christ, and with the spiritual formation of the people of God. Ordination to word and sacrament will not be the calling of all educators but, for those for whom it is, the proposals of the task force … will allow them modest but significant alternative ways to answer their calling and to use their particular gifts in the ministry of education," Gardner said, adding: "Our church has for many, many years ordained as ministers of word and sacrament men and women whose calling has been to teach in colleges and universities and seminaries. These people have been prepared for teaching by earning a Ph.D. in a particular field, but with little else to prepare them to educate. Why would we deny the same opportunity for ordination to those who have spent a great deal of time in study and in practice to be the educators of the people of God in congregations?" Most of the commissioners agreed with Gardner, although some – like the Rev. Donald Barrett, pastor of Fremont Presbyterian Church in Sacramento, Calif. – did not. "My congregation is just the kind of congregation that a certified Christian educator would be a part of," Barrett said. "I'm a strong advocate of continuing education, not just for educators , but for any member of our staff. So, we have a large supplement for continuing education for every member of the staff. "But, my objection is … to have a certified Christian educator as a part of a presbytery automatically. First of all because it puts me as the head of staff in an awkward position with the rest of my staff. I have a minister of music who has a Ph.D. in music. She has worked very hard for that degree, she is a deeply committed Christian, she leads the congregation, not only in worship, but in a number of other areas of leadership. She's not allowed to have a vote and voice in presbytery." Barrett listed several other staff members with similar high qualifications, then said, "You set aside one member of a staff in a category in which the rest of the staff, equally dedicated Christians, are not allowed." "The second thing is that … the vast majority of the members of a presbytery are there by the election of the local congregation. This would be one of the exceptions. And the more the exceptions, the more we take presbytery away from the congregations who elect those who go to the presbyteries and who are sensitive to those who are in the pews - they vote for them. It's important that we keep our presbyteries, as well as our synods and general assemblies, as close to the person in the pew as possible. That's the Presbyterian system. And what this does is take another half-step away from a very important principle," he said. |
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