 Covenant Network wants fair trial and guilty verdict An analysis by John H. Adams The Layman Online Friday, November 12, 1999
During its annual meeting in Atlanta recently, the Network issued a statement that, in one paragraph, called for a bipartisan approach for "Unity in Diversity" conferences and, in the next, reiterated the Network's commitment to defeat the constitutional "fidelity/chastity" requirement for church officers by 2001. In other words, the Network is proposing exactly what the conferences seek to overcome – intransigence on the constitutional issue that has polarized the Presbyterian Church (USA) since 1978. The Network has worked against the majority decision – now G-6.0l06b in the Book of Order – although it has repeatedly tried to convince a broad segment of the denomination that it is willing to labor in harmony with others as evidence of a united front. Covenant Network's statement Let the Covenant Network speak for itself. These are two verbatim and consecutive paragraphs from the statement released in Atlanta: "Therefore, we have agreed to support the 211th General Assembly's call for a two-year study period around the theme of Unity and Diversity. We welcome with enthusiasm the recent invitation of the Presbyterian Coalition to join with them in helping to facilitate Unity and Diversity Conferences across the church. Further, we hope it may be possible for the Coalition to hold a conference alongside ours in the fall of 2000, November 2-4, at the time of our annual national Covenant Network gathering, which will focus on "Biblical Authority and the Church." "At the same time, the Covenant Network leadership feels it important to reaffirm its initial commitment to a fully inclusive church built upon the gracious hospitality of our Lord Jesus Christ. To that end we restate our goal of the removal of G-6.0106b from the Book of Order and commit ourselves to bringing that issue back before the 213th GA in 2001. We intend to support presbyteries in bringing overtures to that effect, and we hope such overtures can be offered in a spirit of unity with those with whom we disagree today." Background to issue A bit of background: 61 percent of the commissioners to the 1999 General Assembly voted against an overture seeking removal of G-6.0106b. Instead, they approved a recommendation that "Unity in Diversity" conferences be held to consider ways Presbyterians can get along even when they strongly disagree. Interestingly, the General Assembly also recommended one document for study at the conferences. It's known as "Historic Principles, Conscience and Government," a theological statement approved by the 1983 General Assembly and never superseded by a subsequent General Assembly statement. "Historic Principles" essentially says that the main way to ensure unity is obedience to the Constitution, a position that the Covenant Network refuses to affirm. The Network has consistently opposed G-6.0106b in spite of its approval by 60 percent of the presbyteries in 1997 and reaffirmation by a 2-1 vote in a 1998 national referendum on a watered-down alternative to the standard. Network's protest not passive The Network has not made a passive protest. It has said it would provide money and advice to sessions and presbyteries, encouraging them to violate the Book of Order by ordaining and/or installing people who have publicly stated that they are living in a gay relationship and issuing statements of intention to violate the constitution. Even the Permanent Judicial Commission of the predominantly liberal Synod of Northeast has ruled, 11-0 in one case and 8-3 in another, that congregations and presbyteries do not have the right to defy the denomination's constitution or state their intention to defy it. Whether a majority of the commission members agree with G-6.0106b is not known. But they clearly said that Presbyterian connectionalism does not permit every congregation to do what is right it its own eyes. Until its statement in Atlanta, the Network seemed content to enjoy the aura of bipartisanship that lended credibility to its "middle of the church" claim. But Atlanta was a different audience, and there was a marked change. For one, the leading gay activists, those who were most chagrined that the Network had retreated from its political aggression to change the constitution, attended the Atlanta meeting in large numbers. They took center stage on several occasions. Gene Huff, a retired presbytery executive who is on the board of More Light Presbyterians, a leading force against the ordination standard, wrote enthusiastically of the gay involvement and declared, "All the way out of the closet could be a characterization of the Covenant Network [CN] conference in Atlanta, Nov. 4-6." How Huff saw the meeting Here are two verbatim and consecutive paragraphs from Huff's account:
The Covenant Network policy statements refute its claim to represent the "center of the church" and it should be honest about its own intentions. Does it plan to seek ordination for bisexuals? Will it also carry the torch for those who have had sex-change operations in contradiction to how God created them? Presbyterians deserve answers to these questions consistent with the Biblical standards that have guided the Church since its beginning. And they should beware the Covenant Network's self-serving centrist language when its agenda is to the left of more than two-thirds of the members of the Presbyterian Church (USA). |
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