Stated Clerk's Column
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About This Column
Written by Gradye Parsons
Each month the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the Moderator or Vice Moderator of the 220th General Assembly write a column of general interest for the church-at-large.
Recent posts
- June 2016 - A journey of faith—Gradye Parsons
- May 2016 - A distinct family portrait of the PC(USA)
- April 2016 - Pack your mission T
- March 2016 - The hard work of reconciliation
- February 2016 - Sustainable ministry results from sustainable souls
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November 2015 - A listening moment in the life of this church
“Listening is a magnetic and strange thing, a creative force. The friends who listen to us are the ones we move toward. When we are listened to, it creates us, makes us unfold and expand.”
— Karl A. Menninger
Henry was way past 80 when I first met him. He had not attended our congregation for many years because of his wife’s illness. Although I tried to visit with them often, it was not till she was hospitalized that Henry and I had regular conversations. Henry had been a deacon in this congregation almost thirty years previously. One of our conversations led to the solution for a maintenance issue that had puzzled us for a long time.
Renee was a vivacious young girl who wanted to marry me when she grew up. She actually sort of let me off the hook a few years ago when she got married. Renee had great insights into the Bible and what it meant to be good people.
I can’t promise you that I am always a good listener. But I do know it is a very important part of being church. The life of the church is focused around words spoken, heard, and sung. We hear and bear each other’s stories of hope and fear, success and struggle, love and abandonment. We dream dreams about our congregations. We experience hurt from some failure of trust broken. Our hope gets dashed. Our zeal squashed. Yes, all these things happen in the life of the church.
But where do we go from there? This has always been the issue of the struggling church. Is it possible that folks who have hurts and folks who have hopes can be in conversation together? Can people who believe in their church and people who aren’t sure anymore talk together?
There is an effort to create a listening moment in the life of this church. You can find information about that moment at this web address: oga.pcusa.org/section/ga/join-conversation/. I am asking you to get with some sisters and brothers in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and discuss the questions at pcusa.org/identity together. Then, in your own reflection on that conversation, respond on the online form. It is important that your words get a full hearing.
El momento para escuchar dentro de la vida de esta iglesia
- Posted at 9:09 a.m.
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