This I believe----CAY-3

Wow! What a Presbytery Meeting! Attending a Presbytery Meeting is not necessarily high on most people’s list of a momentous occasion. I am very proud of Giddings-Lovejoy Presbytery and the actions taken at the August 24, 2023, meeting. I will never forget that meeting.

The issue on the docket concerned reparative action to address a series of events beginning in 2006 that resulted in a Black congregation being saddled with a huge debt. There was a line drawn between “reparation” and all that word suggests in today’s culture, and “reparative action”, which works to “move from apology to action.” The two motions involved the Presbytery assuming the remaining debt and reimbursing the Black congregation for the principal and interest they have paid over the years.

Being Presbyterian, there was lots of “order”. There was prayer to begin and prayer at the end. There was respect. There was consideration for anyone who wanted to speak. There was serious discussion. There was no accusatory blame. There was no hurry to rush through any portion of the meeting. There was a heavy sense of responsibility to the past AND to the future. You could feel that in the room—and even remotely via Zoom.

As that meeting ended, I was uplifted in the thought that there is hope for us as human beings, as a culture, as a country—when we follow Christ’s path. This was an experience so far removed from what we see daily in the news and all around us. God was in that room. God was in our hearts.

The guest speaker before the meeting, Rev Jimmie Hawkins, PCUSA Director of the Office of Public Witness, reminded us that we have a responsibility to act on what we believe. We are charged to advocate, to step up and speak out when there is injustice or wrong, just as Christ taught. Standing up, acknowledging the wrong, and taking action happened at that meeting.

Cay Noble August 2023

We hope you are inspired, not only by the faith we express, but by the

challenge to write your own faith story. We are re-posting the stories from last summer hoping you will be inspired to share your faith story with us.

 

If you write a faith story you would like to share with the congregation, send

it to Bill Tucker for feedback and publication. Only with your permission, we

will publish it on the St. Mark Blog.