The Last Full Day of General Assembly

I'm writing at 8:05 pm. We have been at it since 8:30 this morning, and the day is far from finished. There is a lot of work that has been done by the various committees, and some items call forth very different opinions. As you know, our call is not to vote our opinions, but together to seek God's will through the Holy Spirit's guidance. This is HARD!

We have made decisions about how to name leaders, what do do about misconduct by leaders, how to approach the thorny division between Israelis and Palestinians, affirmed Presbyterian Foundation loans to help development and our call to care for creation. We issued a call to congregations and others to welcome refugees from world conflicts. We thoughtfully crafted wise words for the treatment of animals and our earth in farming to feed the world.

As we work together, we are not unmindful of events in other places in the world. We have prayed for the storms and flooding back home, for the loss of life and the safety of those in danger. We were advised that Presbyterian Disaster Assistance is already on the ground at work in West Virginia. (You can donate to help by going to the PDA web site or by sending a donation to Northside earmarked for West Virginia relief.) We lifted up the "Brexit" vote and those affected.

9:50 pm - One difficult issue we considered was in regard to investing or divestment in fossil fuel corporations to help mitigate climate change. While the Assembly is overwhelmingly in favor of action to combat climate change, negotiating a path toward divestment from fossil fuels is difficult to chart. We voted to use channels available to us to influence decisions by fossil fuel companies, while taking into account people whose livelihoods rest on these endeavors. I believe we chose a good path.

We heard a report from Annie Ntumba Tshiswaka, a representative of the Presbyterian Church of Kinshasha (Congo) on the dire situation in that nation. They asked for support and prayer for justice in their land. The General Secretary of the Presbyterian Reformed Church in Cuba spoke of the possibilities for reconciliation between our countries. Dr. Lee Hong Jung, General Secretary, Presbyterian Church of Korea, asked for prayer for reunification of the Korean peninsula.

We approved a major peacemaking report (developed over the past six years) that calls us to renounce violence and pursue the ways of peace. A website available to view is http://justiceunbound.org/

These are only a few things we considered prayerfully.

10:53 Recess!