The Assembly voted 97% in favor of affirming and commending "Hope in the Lord Jesus Christ" to the church. Several other overtures answered with the action in affirming and commending "Hope in the Lord Jesus Christ."

One of the interesting things about the debate last evening on biennial assemblies was, to my thinking, an inconsistency in logic. For the last several years we have heard people complaining about the recurring question concerning the ordination of gay and lesbian members. We have heard people say, "The church has spoken over the years why do we keep bring this up?" Last night, during the discussion about biennial assemblies, we heard that the Assembly has voted on this question several times and had rejected the concept. My question about logic is, doesn’t the sense of "we’ve voted on this before" hold on the question of biennial assemblies as it is called for on other issues? I affirm the opportunity to petition, through overtures, the more inclusive governing bodies for change over and over again. My only concern is "why doesn’t the logic on one issue apply to other issues?"

The Moderator, in an Eastern fashion, has often asked the Commissioners to vote by "raising the holy hand," has referred to the Commissioners as holy commissioners, and has made other "holy" references. It has been sad to see so many have trivialized the Moderator’s sincere reference to the "holy" meaning sanctified in and through Christ. "Those who are in Christ are a new creation."

Mary Marks King has been elected to the General Assembly Council. This is the first time our Presbytery will have had a representative on the General Assembly Council. The Council oversees the mission and ministry of our denomination between meetings of the General Assembly. Those serving on the GAC will give 20-30 days a year in this service. In a related matter, John Detterick was confirmed in election to a second term as Executive Director of the General Assembly Council. Since 1983 John is the first Executive Director to be confirmed to a second term. John has been with us in the Presbytery ( November 2000) as our preacher and interpreter of the work of the GAC.

I am glad to see John confirmed to a second term. John is open to conversation and seeks input from a variety of quarters. John and Cliff Kirkpartick, our Stated Clerk, have a partnership which is a positive model for our portion of the church. John and his deputy, Kathy Leuckert (who will be with our presbytery in November 2002 as preacher and GAC interpreter) have a partnership which, also, is a model for our portion of the church. I am glad to call John a friend and colleague.

The afternoon was mostly taken up with a debate around the continuation and content of the denominational sexuality curriculum. The debate was as intense as heard so far during this Assembly. The question is do we acknowledge and discuss sexual expression in an open and honest manner or do we deal with sexuality in a manner which is removed from the experience of young people in our culture. It seems to me that we can promote responsible sexual education and promoting biblical values. The commissioners rejected a minority report which would have discontinued the current sexuality curriculum by a 60% vote. This was one of the closest votes taken during the course of this Assembly. The Assembly voted 73% to approve the continuance, and revision of the current sexuality curriculum.

Erin and I had the wonderful opportunity to have dinner with Jack and Sharon Rogers. Jack is our most recent past Moderator, and was in the presbytery with us in 2001. It was a delight to talk with Jack and Sharon as friends, as brothers and sisters. It was most gracious of Jack and Sharon to invite us to their table as we entered the restaurant. That is the kind of graciousness which is essential to Jack’s and Sharon’s being.

Tonight the Assembly will give itself to the report of the Peacemaking and Global Issues Committee. Given the differences in theological and political perspectives on the issues, we are bound to see the Assembly suddenly begin to grind on a bit. What looked like we might be able to conclude the Assembly by dinner tomorrow evening, now looks like we will be here for the full time. I have been reminding folks that we WILL be here through Saturday morning because the hall is paid for, the rooms are paid for and air transportation is too expensive to try to reschedule.

The first item of contention was an amendment asking that the 34 mission personnel reduced in recent budget cuts and to find reductions in out areas. Throwing budget concerns up in the air creates all kinds of chaos. Five hundred-fifty people cannot make good decisions on budget adjustments. If congregations, across the church, which have reduced or withheld mission funds the cuts in mission personnel would not have been necessary. The Commissioners voted 78% against the proposed amendment. The Commissioners voted overwhelmingly to approve the recommendation, which recognizes the financial necessity of the mission personnel reduction and called for new initiatives in mission funding development. As the Commissioners debated the wisdom of advocating for the establishment of a Federal Department of Peace it became necessary to extend the time for adjournment by 30 minutes. As predicted the Assembly is grinding to a much slower pace. The debate seems to be centered more on political perspectives than theological. The Commissioners approved this recommendation by two votes (50% in favor, 49% against, 1% abstain). This now was the closest vote of the Assembly. While the motion passed, I do not think this is a significant mandate for our advocacy for a Department of Peace. The Commissioners voted 90%