Thanks, in part, to a grant from Columbia Seminary’s Student Coordinating Council, I attended the Covenant Network of Presbyterians Conference last week in Minneapolis.  Yes, it did snow.  But it also rained compassion, justice, and hope for the church.  My report to the CTS community follows.

What’s Cov Net?

Covenant Network is the largest PC(USA) affinity group working for the deletion of what in Presbyterian lingo is called “Amendment B,” and in real world speak is a few sentences in our constitution added in the late 90s that, in practice, bar gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender members from being ordained to the office of elder or minister.  Cov Net was formed for the sole purpose of deleting this amendment.  They still have work to do.

Conference Overview

This year’s conference theme was, “Covenant: God is Faithful Still” and we were warmly hosted by the gracious congregation of Westminster Presbyterian Church in downtown Minneapolis.  I was really impressed with the congregation’s organization and with the spirit with which they welcomed us.

The three day event included six worship services — who said Presbyterians don’t like our worship? — and featured three plenary presentations.  William Stacey Johnson of Princeton Seminary delivered two addresses, “I will be your God–But how?” and “You will be my people’–But when and where?”  Johnson, in his usual entertaining way, delved deeply into an explication of God’s covenant with us.  I can’t do justice to his presentation in this space, but I will say that it both emphasized to extent to which our world is a place of injustice — ”becoming used to injustice may be hazardous to our spiritual health,” he said — and the confession that God is going to fix it.  Johnson’s view of God is of a compassionate, emotional, heart-broken God, God who is less the unmoved mover and more the caring, self-giving, hands-dirtying God whom we glimpse in Calvin who writes, “God is known where humanity is cared for.”

Walter Brueggemann delivered the second address, “Summoned to a Dialogic Life” which nicely shook hands with Johnson’s work.  Based on the covenant of Abraham and Moses, Brueggemann said, we see not an unmoving God of certitude, but a God in covenant, not a God concerned with intellectual certitude but with God with-us-ness (well, something like that.)

Preachers Diane Givens Moffett, Barbara Lunblad, Eily Marlow, and John Wilkinson proclaimed the word with wisdom and joy.

Workshops

The organizers offered many workshops including conversations with Walter Brueggemann, William Stacy Johnson, Barbara Lundblad; justice messages that work, from the Human Rights Campaign; changes in the PC(USA) legal landscape; building community across differences; study and discernment processes; best practices in congregational leadership, mission, education, worship, and music; what the Bible says (and doesn’t say) about homosexuality; what determines sexual orientation; what our young people wish we knew.

I really enjoyed my workshops.  One was my first foray into polarity management.  In the other I heard the story of how a diverse Michigan congregation journeyed together through the discernment process on Amendment B and same-sex unions in the sanctuary.

New This Year: Youth Track

I am of two minds regarding the first time youth track of the conference.  On the one hand, I was thrilled to see 30+ youth and young adults from late high school to college to seminarians and pastors have the option of attending workshops and social events designed with younger folks in mind.  Cov Net, as an organization, is aware of the need to include young people in greater numbers than in past forms of the network (and, by the way, did a good job of having young adults lead worship and preach).  I was heartened by the young adult caucus presentation on Saturday morning — and thrilled that the leadership gave the young adult caucus report 30 minutes of floor time.

On the other hand, I’m always aware of the danger of grouping folks by ages.  Though I didn’t feel too too much of it in this case, I always get a bit suspicious when youth are assumed to speak with a unified voice, or are given a “special status” that can too easily become a marginalized one.  It’s the old danger of Youth Sunday — as if that is the only sunday in the year when youth are noticed and welcomed into leadership.

Curiously Quiet?

Overall, the conference was very well run and certainly successful, but I do wonder about a certain lack of, shall I say, “spunk.”  Vigor.  Energy.  I didn’t get the feeling the group was really pumped about the possibility of deleting Amendment B (or replacing it, really) 18 months from now.  They seemed cautiously optimistic, perhaps, but with an emphasis on the “cautious.”

Perhaps this is just a Presbyterian family trait, aided by the rocky economy.  Perhaps the progressive movement is very concerned with what a “win” on B will do to the unity of the PC(USA).  Perhaps they were just tired after campaigning for Obama.  Or, perhaps, they need a jolt of enthusiasm from the Greek, “enthous” for “possessed by God, inspired.”

For funsies: conference coverage around the internets:

• Shuck and Jive gives his take here.
• Presbyterian News Service story.
• Presbyterian Outlook story.
• Witherspoon Society here.
• any other bloggers out there? let me know