Vote discussed at press conference By Robert P. Mills The Presbyterian Layman Volume 34, Number 5 Posted July 6, 2001 A three-part press conference was held minutes after the assembly voted to delete G-6.0106b from the PCUSA Book of Order. Evangelical reaction The first question, directed to those who opposed the assembly’s action, was, “What is your reaction to today’s vote?” Russ Ritchel Jr., minister commissioner from Salem Presbytery, responded. “Certainly we’re disappointed. I have members of my congregation, by far the majority, who will feel that in this decision we’re abandoning Scripture as an authority in our denomination.” Joe Rightmyer, executive director of Presbyterians for Renewal, shared, “I woke up this morning with a sadness in my heart. In the theology debate yesterday regarding Christology and whether or not we would make a clear affirmation of Jesus Christ as Lord, I heard statements of unbelief. What has crept into the life of the Presbyterian Church is not just difference of opinion but unbelief.” ‘Handcuffed together ...’ The next question concerned the possibility of a split in the denomination if the proposed amendments are ratified. With the evening’s most vivid illustration, Ritchel replied, “There already is a split in the Presbyterian Church. To a certain extent we as Presbyterians are like two or three people handcuffed together. We are handcuffed together by our property.” Nancy Maffett responded, “I fear that the great tragedy here is that people are going to consider this church in too much trouble nationally, and all its 11,000-plus congregations not worth getting into. They won’t even bother. We talk about the numbers we are losing. We have no way of measuring the numbers that never walk in.” Rightmyer said his first conversations after the vote were with “pastors who with tears in their eyes” wondered if their congregations would still be there when they got home. “There will be a vote in the presbyteries. But how many folks will stay around and vote is a legitimate question.” John Bolt of The Presbyterian Outlook then asked, “Is it your sense that the assembly is definitely not speaking the word of God? In Presbyterian polity we believe the Spirit is at work when the body gets together, and the body has spoken.” Jerry Andrews, minister commissioner from Chicago Presbytery, who chaired the assembly’s Theological Issues, Educational Institutions Committee, answered, “The body has not spoken. The body is the church. We’re very clear in our polity. Until the presbyteries have voted, the body has not yet spoken.” Maffett replied, “We have trouble understanding the ways each other use words. We tend in our culture to say, ‘If this is what I want the word to mean, this is what it means.’” Following this portion of the press conference, a number of amendment supporters, representing several pro-gay activist organizations, including “three commissioners who worked on the assembly floor,” filled the front of the room. ‘Chances are good’ Asked about the prospects for the amendments passing the presbyteries, Tony De La Rusa, described as “lead strategist” and “an openly gay elder at Calvary Presbyterian Church in South Pasadena, Calif.,” said, “I think we have our work cut out for us. But I think the chances are good of us ultimately prevailing.” Asked if amendment supporters came to Louisville expecting victory or if there was a moment when it looked like the numbers were there, Mark Palermo answered, “I think the election of the moderator is always one sign of the way the assembly is going to go. I think the election of Jack Rogers on the first ballot indicated to me that this assembly was going to be different.” Moderatorial reflections The last part of the press conference featured Moderator Jack Rogers, who said, “As I looked out at that assembly all week long, I believe that those commissioners represent the broad center of the Presbyterian Church. This is my 30th General Assembly. And I’ve seen assemblies – 1978 in San Diego, 1993 in Orlando – when I think most commissioners came preset to be ideologically committed to one position or the other. All the evidence I could glean is that this year’s commissioners were garden-variety Presbyterians. These were regular folks out of our churches.” The commissioners Rogers described as “committed” voted in favor of the denomination’s historic ordination standards. This year’s “broad center” commissioners actually voted in opposition to positions held by the vast majority of Presbyterians as reported by Presbyterian Panel surveys.

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