PCUSA 'Messianic' mission prompts torrent of criticism By John H. Adams The Layman Online Thursday, October 23, 2003 The Presbyterian Church (USA) has stirred up a torrent of criticism by – of all things – not being politically correct. The denomination is sponsoring, along with the Synod of the Trinity and the Presbytery of Philadelphia, a new church development called Avodat Yisrael, a transliteration of the Hebrew that means "service of Israel." The name is what it says it is – up to a point. The congregation's worship center, where services are held on the Jewish Sabbath (Saturdays), has the appearance and embellishments of a synagogue – the Torah and the menorah, for instance. But there is also a discreetly placed baptismal font in the worship center – for those who would be baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Avodat Yisrael is a Messianic Jewish congregation in which Jesus is recognized as the Jewish Messiah – and Lord and Savior. The congregation is led by Andrew Sparks, 33, a Presbyterian minister who was raised Jewish. Jewish and Protestant groups have criticized the Presbyterian mission and been given widespread publicity for their protests. For example, Religious News Service recently published a nationally syndicated column by Rabbi James Rudin of the American Jewish Committee. Major stories have appeared in The Washington Post and The Philadelphia Enquirer. Rudin described Avodat Yisrael as "a deceptive attempt to lure Jews into the Christian fold." The Washington Post quoted Joe Small, director of the Office of Theology and Worship for the denomination, as saying the PCUSA refrains from direct evangelization of Jews. At the same time, he said, "it's not unreasonable to say that Jews who come to Christian faith would want to have a congregation in which their Jewishness would continue to be a full part of their Christian life." Avodat Yisrael has a Web site that describes the congregation as a Messianic Jewish community "where Jewish people and those who support them can experience Jewish community life. Without losing Jewish identity or giving up cherished and meaningful traditions, members seek maturity in their knowledge of G-d. Children are raised as Jews, with an understanding of their heritage and an appreciation for the Messiah. The community also seeks to be open, welcoming, and traditional, so that everyone who comes feels comfortable to explore spiritual life." But the bottom line and the point of contention for Jewish and some Protestant clergy is that Advodat Yisrael teaches that Jesus is the Messiah. Some have appealed to the presbytery to halt the venture, but presbytery leaders have stood fast. The presbytery pledged $145,000 for five years to support the congregation, along with $75,000 by the Synod of the Trinity and $125,000 by the PCUSA. According to the The Enquirer, the Rev. David Currie, chairman of the presbytery's new-church development committee, said the presbytery saw no reason not to make Presbyterian Christianity welcoming to Jews, just as it had sought to do with groups such as Koreans, Ethiopians and Indonesians. But it's not unanimous in the presbytery. Rev. Cynthia Jarvis, pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill, said, "This is just flying in the face of the Jewish community." She said the presbytery's decision was "done out of ignorance" and that she planned to collect signatures on a petition opposing the new church development. Rudin and other critics say the mission church violates Presbyterian policy against evangelizing Jews. "It is especially disturbing that the PCUSA is supporting such an appalling religious enterprise," Rudin said. "For the past 40 years, Presbyterians were in the forefront of promoting and teaching mutual respect and understanding between themselves and the Jewish people." There is some irony that Avodat Yisrael is presenting the gospel to Jews in Philadelphia, a city that has one of the highest Jewish populations (an estimated 400,000) in the nation. In recent years, and especially since Islamic terrorists destroyed the World Trade Center in New York, the leadership of the PCUSA has become more persistent in developing "dialogue" with Muslims and more critical of the Jewish state of Israel. On the other hand, Avodat Israel is another expression of the denomination's bent for "unity in diversity" and developing ethnic congregations. In any event, Sparks told The Enquirer that Avodat Yisrael is not "going out and trying to get people to leave Judaism." The target audience, he says, is Christian-Jewish couples and secular Jews. "We're hoping it will be a positive atmosphere for Jewish people to explore Jesus." In an Oct. 21 letter to the editor of The Inquirer, Jonathan Kaplan, the congregation's "scholar in residence," took issue with the critics. "Jewish people have a diverse religious tradition that changes and evolves over time," he said. "We seek to contribute to that diversity in ways that nurture all sectors of the Jewish community, including non-religious persons and interfaith couples." Kaplan noted that Avodat Yisrael is affiliated with the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations (an association of 91 congregations and part of a growing international movement of 500 congregations). The Washington Post, which described the PCUSA as "the largest and generally the most liberal" of U.S. Presbyterian congregations, quoted Yaakov Ariel, a University of North Carolina religion professor, who called congregation Avodat Yisrael a "new development" because Presbyterians have been reluctant to target Jews for conversion. Most Christian denominations, including Presbyterians, abandoned direct proselytizing of Jews in the 1960s in favor of interfaith dialogue, Ariel told The Post, although evangelical Christians such as the Assemblies of God and Southern Baptists continue to do so. Like Jarvis, Rudin wants Presbyterians to close down the Christian mission to Messianic Jews. He said Avodat Yisrael repudiates a 1987 PCUSA teaching that "supersessionism maintains that because the Jews refused to receive Jesus as Messiah, they were cursed by God ... We believe and testify that ... supersessionism ... is harmful and in need of reconsideration." "The PCUSA scheme to convert Jews in the guise of Avodat Yisrael is a direct attack on the 1987 document that affirmed 'the continuing existence of the Jewish people ... we (Presbyterians) must always acknowledge that Jews are already ... with God,'" Rudin said. Advodat Yisrael's Web site doesn't promote proselytizing. Other than describe the mission as a "New Messianic Congregation," it mentions Jesus in only two references, according to a Google search of the site.

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