 San Francisco Presbytery endorses Reyes-Chow Second candidate announced for next PCUSA moderator The Layman Online Wednesday, January 23, 2008 A pastor in San Francisco has become the second candidate for moderator of the 218th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA).
Reyes-Chow, who was ordained in 1995, is the founding pastor of Mission Bay Community Church in San Francisco. The grandson of Filipino and Chinese immigrants, he graduated from San Francisco State University in 1990 and from San Francisco Theological Seminary in 1995. In a statement on his blog, Reyes-Chow said he "is firmly convicted that life is chaotic and that the key to finding security amidst the chaos is not to put life in a rigidly controlled box, but to embrace and claim God's presence in the ambiguity – a difficult way to live, but a way that honors the authenticity of our lives and strengthens our relationship with God." Candidacy In regard to his candidacy, Reyes-Chow said in his blog he believes that "his experience bridging generations, worldviews and church cultures will uniquely enable him to facilitate conversations that may lead to substantive individual and corporate transformation. At least he hopes so." In a presentation to the Covenant Network Conference in 2003, Reyes-Chow said that, "The gift of the progressive part of our church is that we value and celebrate the gray. We look at our faith as a struggle." "One of the biggest deals for our folks is the instability of their lives," he said in the presentation, titled "Hold On and Let Go: Being Faithful in a Post-Modern, Culturally Creative World." Every Sunday, he said, "we pray for five or six people who don't know if they are going to have a job. These aren't folks in low-income industries. These are folks who have money for six months – but then what? These are folks whose parents are probably divorced. They themselves might have been divorced, or are struggling with what it means to be in relationship these days. They're struggling with theological issues, struggling with so much stuff, and we have to be able to offer Christ as a calming presence in the chaos. The reason I believe my brothers and sisters in a more evangelical setting are growing so well is that they are adjusting to this far better than we are." People, he said, "don't come to the church expecting to leave. They come to the church hoping there is a reason to stay. When we are open with our understanding of Christ and say this is what Christ means for us, despite the instability of the world, the grayness can be a comfort, then we have said to a world that is so chaotic, 'There is calm. There is peace of mind and spirit, and this is a place you can find it.'" In a Web site posting, Reyes-Chow lists 10 reasons why he is committed to staying within the PCUSA, including "Because there is no 'there' there," in which he writes; "At my worst times, I often think about how good it would be if only … if only those moronic wackos left the church, we would all get along. Why do I think that? Am I high? What makes me think that if we all agreed about ordination standards or mission priorities, we wouldn't become just as nasty about worship style, language, etc.? Because I believe in original sin, I have every confidence that whenever we bring a group of people together we WILL find something to create division around. In the same manner, as I believe where two are three are gathered, there is Christ, if I can commit to being part of a community short of staying in an abusive atmosphere, I can have peace in the midst of human chaos." Reyes-Chow and his wife, Robin Pugh, have three daughters: Evelyn, Abigail and Analise. |
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