Haberer and Wheeler showcase 'inclusive church' By Parker T. Williamson The Layman Online Saturday, May 24, 2003 215th General Assembly Denver, Colo. May 24-31, 2003 DENVER – Rev. Jack Haberer, president of Presbyterians for Renewal, told a pre-General Assembly gathering that his organization has begun to place greater emphasis on diversity. "This is a new thing for us," he said, while spotlighting a recent issue of PFR's ReNews that he said had been devoted to diversity themes. Haberer made his comment at a meeting of Semper Reformanda, a collection of Presbyterian activists whose members advocate overturning the denomination's ordination standards and promoting a "progressive theology," that rejects traditional Christian doctrines like the Atonement and the bodily Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Included in the audience were lesbian "evangelist" Jane Spahr, Bill and Gail Knox, of the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship and Presbyterians for Restoring Creation, Gene T'Selle, former executive of the Witherspoon Society, and Barbara Wheeler, a member of the executive committee of the Covenant Network. Haberer shared the platform with Wheeler, who is a fellow member of the denomination's Theological Task Force. Both Haberer and Wheeler emphasized that they were not authorized to represent the task force in their presentation to Semper Reformanda and that they did not wish to deal with specific issues that were being addressed by the task force. This was their third joint public appearance. Promoting the 'inclusive church' Haberer and Wheeler have expressed their hope for progress toward the ideal of an "inclusive" church. Wheeler said of Haberer, "Although Jack and I disagree on some issues, I would not want to be a member of a denomination in which he was not a member." Haberer responded, "I am a slow learner. I am very white, very male and very much establishment … so I am thankful for Barbara Wheeler for helping me to see things from another perspective. Jesus was radically inclusive, and to uphold the tradition of the church is to be radically inclusive." Although it has met for almost two years at a cost of $114,860, the task force of which Haberer and Wheeler are members has not substantially addressed any of the theological or ethical issues that have fractured the Presbyterian communion. To date, its discussions have focused on members' pleasure at affirming one another regardless of their different theological perspectives. They have announced plans to create a multi-media production for the 2004 General Assembly that will showcase their "can't-we-all-just-get-along" plea. Their budget for the year of the task force presentation will jump by $22,000 to $77,250. Compromise and confrontation Wheeler began her Semper Reformanda remarks with a dour assessment of current Presbyterian Church relations. "I'm not in a very cheerful mood about the current state of the Presbyterian Church (USA)," she said. "This has been a tough year." Wheeler referred her audience to a paper that she wrote earlier in which she applauded progress that "moderates, liberals and conservatives" had made at the 2002 General Assembly. "Common ground" was achieved, she said, on a statement that affirmed Jesus Christ and on a decision not to insist that a defiant church comply with the denomination's ordination standards. Wheeler labeled the results of discussions between representatives of her Covenant Network and Haberer's Presbyterians for Renewal during the assembly "a small miracle." She said their 2002 General Assembly experience was a case in which "party politics did not determine the outcome." "In the months since the Assembly, there has been more provocative behavior and partisan posturing than I've seen in the twenty-five years I have been a Presbyterian," said Wheeler. "The ink was not dry on reports of that remarkably gracious assembly … before all hell – I use that term advisedly – broke loose … While some on my side have been devising the most effective ways to break the law, some on yours have been combing the Constitution and all our other rule books for the most militant means to enforce it." Hopes for the church Wheeler, who has counseled members of her Covenant Network that it may be necessary to defy church standards or to lie about one's defiance, said she had three hopes for the Presbyterian Church (USA): (1) that we will become a church that has a zeal for the truth; (2) that we will become a disciplined church, by which she means "doing justice:" and (3) that we will become an inclusive church that makes room for "open, honest, and sincere conservative members." Haberer said his hope is that Presbyterians might recover the vision of being a covenant church. "We have lost our covenantal way of relating," he said. Referring to instances in which blatant defiance of the ordination standards have occurred, Haberer said, "We don't have a police force for enforcement. We have a covenant to abide by standards, even while we are trying to change them. But today we are in a place where the covenant that holds us together is intensely strained." Speaking to a predominantly liberal audience that finds the denomination's ordination standards loathsome, Haberer said, "I realize that justice delayed is justice denied. But the alternative is anarchy, and I don't think you would want to advocate that." He reminded the group that "our tradition has hit hot issues head-on before … and we usually have come out on the right side of those issues."

Respond to this article

2003 General Assembly news index Home · News · PLC Publications · The Presbyterian Layman Online Reviews · Archives · History of the Lay Committee · Feedback · Links