Renewal groups host GA events The Presbyterian Layman Volume 34, Number 5 Posted July 6, 2001 Among the many renewal organizations holding special events during the recent General Assembly in Louisville were Presbyterians Pro-Life, Quickenings, Presbyterian-Reformed Ministries International and OneByOne. Presbyterians Pro-Life Dr. Nigel Cameron was the featured speaker at a dinner event hosted by Presbyterians Pro-Life. Cameron, a Presbyterian bioethicist and theologian, spoke on “the issues behind the life issues at this General Assembly.” Before Cameron’s address, outgoing vice moderator Rebecca McElroy told about how she and her family spent two years caring for her father-in-law, who, at the age of 87, became a quadriplegic as the result of an accident. During those years, McElroy said, “I learned things about myself that I didn’t like very well. And I think it was a good thing.” She said that the mission of PPL “is to draw our hearts and minds to the value of life when it’s no longer pleasant, when someone is no longer his old self, when they get to be a burden, when you wear out, when you wake up on the middle of the night, go downstairs, and wish you’d find him dead. … We’re here as the body of Christ to build each other up when we flag a bit.” Cameron observed that “At its best, the church is called to pick up the questions being addressed in society at large and take a position.” Focusing most of his attention on end of life issues, he noted that our most pressing cultural issues trace back to the question of what it means to be human, questions that have emerged as culture has lost its Judeo-Christian sense that human beings are those who are made in the image of God. In a later interview with The Presbyterian Layman, Cameron said that in discussions of abortion and euthanasia, “The presenting problem really isn’t the problem, which is why good people find such debates so very difficult.” He continued, “All these debates are about what it means to be human, not ‘Where does life begin?’ or ‘Do people have a right to die’ It’s about what it means to be one of us.” In our postmodern, post-Judeo-Christian culture, “There is no kind of objective framework” for discussing such issues, Cameron said, “so you can set up your own. This is the context of those who advocate anti-life positions. At heart, those who don’t know what it means to be human and are on the horns of a dilemma.” Quickenings Quickenings sponsored “The Fifth Annual Memorial Service to Honor Our Creator and His Children, Infants and Pre-born Children Lost to Miscarriage, Abortion and Stillbirth,” which was held during the recent assembly in Louisville. Christine Shaw, Quickenings’ executive director, welcomed those present with a call to commemorate the lives of those unborn children and infants who had died during the previous year. The Rev. Robert P. Mills, associate editor of The Presbyterian Layman, delivered a sermon titled “The Knowledge of God.” Based on Jeremiah 1:1-10, the sermon focused on God’s knowledge of his human creation, even those never born. Quickenings board member Carl W. Schartner invited all those who desired to sign “A Book of Life,” in which they could write the names of unborn children and infants they or their loved ones had lost. OneByOne In his address to a luncheon hosted by OneByOne, Robert Davies presented “The 5 Biggest Myths About Ex-Gay Ministries” along with his refutations of these myths and some understanding of why the myths may be proliferated. Davies is the director of Exodus, North America, affiliated with Exodus, International, which has now been in ministry to those struggling with their own sexuality and/or sexual orientation for twenty-five years. OneByOne is a ministry created by Presbyterian pastors and laypersons to address the needs of those in conflict with their sexuality. PRMI A crowd that began with around 200 people and grew as the evening continued gathered for Presbyterian-Reformed Ministries International’s annual General Assembly worship service. A significant number of board and staff members from Presbyterian Renewal Network organizations came to join in worship. After recognizing their presence, Brad Long, PRMI’s executive director, began the evening with a time of prayer for these individuals and the groups they represented. Throughout the room, clusters of worshipers gathered to uphold these ministries with a time of intensive prayer. Long then preached on John 14:6, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me,” which, he said, answers three significant challenges that western culture presents to the Church. First it reminds us that the gospel is good news for you and for me. Second, it assures us that Jesus is the way. Third, although some declare that a lifestyle characterized by same-gender sex is not a sin, we must live our lives as Jesus taught us to live. Following the sermon, the gathering moved into a time of praise and worship led by Rod and Karen Woods of Troy, Mo.

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