There are only a few weeks left before the General Assembly meeting in Denver. A record number of commissioners have already registered for this historic gathering which has the potential to be a major turning point in the EPC.
The Ad Interim Committee on Same Sex Attraction and Ordination (AIC) will give its report with recommendations. An overture from Pacific Northwest Presbytery, passed by four presbyteries, offers an alternative to the AIC recommendations. We encourage commissioners to carefully review the General Assembly Handbook when it arrives so that they can participate in debate and voting on all the issues before the EPC at this year’s Assembly. On Thursday (June 18) the Assembly will meet at the bigger venue of Cherry Hills Church to accommodate the number of commissioners for the important votes that day. To help you prepare thoughtfully and prayerfully for GA, we offer the latest issue of the Presbyterian Plumb Line.
The first article by RE Yvonne Chapman, a former moderator of the Permanent Judicial Commission (PJC), is a review and critique of recent PJC rulings on homosexuality. The second article by the Plumb Line editors responds to the AIC’s “Frequently Asked Questions” (FAQ) document. A third article is by TE Sharon Beekmann, a psychotherapist with clinical experience with homosexuals who helped write the original EPC Position Paper on Human Sexuality. Fourth is an article by TE David Weber, whose Session endorsed the Pacific Northwest overture, in which he offers a big-picture view of what’s at stake at the 46th General Assembly. He argues that we need a definitive verdict at this Assembly. The final article is by TE Peter Larson. He warns that viewing same sex attraction as fixed and unchanging is a denial of the transforming power of the gospel of grace. As always, former GA Moderator Gordon Miller offers a variety of thoughts. At the end of these five new articles, we have included two standalone articles that we published in previous weeks.
There are four new articles in the News section. The first item reports on a recent presbytery overture coming to the Assembly which asks that the Position Papers on Homosexuality and The Sanctity of Marriage be posted back on the EPC website. The second article describes the ongoing issues of financial accountability in the Office of the General Assembly. Finally we report on the departure of two EPC churches from the denomination: Covenant Presbyterian Church in Monroe, La., and Lebanon Presbyterian Church in Greenwood, Va.
We want to thank all the individuals and Sessions who have provided financial support for the Presbyterian Plumb Line. The editors of the Plumb Line are all unpaid volunteers, and you stepping up to help us cover the costs of publishing our articles is a great encouragement to us! Your prayers and gifts have sustained us through the last eighteen months. We thank God for His faithfulness. He has met us at every turn, and we give the Lord praise for His provision.
It has also been encouraging to see a growing number of ruling and teaching elders submitting articles to the Plumb Line.
As the editors of the Plumb Line, our goal is to build up the church according to the plumb line of Scripture (Amos 7). We are extremely grateful for your support and encouragement and ask that you please pray for us. Previous issues are available on the Archive page, where they can also be downloaded in PDF format. As always, we welcome and value your comments.
If you would like to contribute to the Plumb Line financially or submit an article for consideration, we invite you to contact us at [email protected]
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