ENCORE ISSUE

Feature Article

What does it mean to be Presbyterian?

About the time I started high school, two major events occurred in my life---I found out I needed glasses and I found the church. Looking back, I think the two events had a lot to do with one another. The glasses helped me see things I didn't even know I was missing---so did the church.

Presbyopia refers to someone who has a vision problem, who is far-sighted. I like to think that Presbyterians are farsighted when it comes to thinking through theology and issues that confront the church. We recognize that there's a larger world out there, with divergent opinions and people who proclaim their faith wearing all kinds of different eyeglasses. Some prefer contact lenses and others need bifocals, but we strive to see clearly through our eyes of faith and to be far-sighted in how we live that faith.

---Kathleen Bostrom,
age 47, ordained in 1983
Chicago Presbytery, Synod of Lincoln Trails
copastor of Wildwood Presbyterian Church, Wildwood, Illinois;
author of 2005--06 Horizons Bible study on the Christian calendar

First, a Presbyterian is a disciple of Jesus Christ---a Trinitarian Christian whose faith is informed by the ecumenical creeds of the church. She is regenerate, forgiven, justified and in the process of being sanctified. Second, a Presbyterian is a Protestant Christian who affirms the great themes of the Reformation-grace alone as the cause of her salvation, faith alone as the means by which she lays hold of God's grace, Christ alone as the object of her faith and scripture alone as her authority. Third, a Presbyterian is a Protestant Christian from the Reformed branch of the Reformation which had its roots in Switzerland under John Calvin and whose confessions emphasize the sovereignty and providence of God, divine election to salvation and service, and the glory of God as the primary purpose of human life. Last, a Presbyterian is a Protestant Christian of Reformed convictions whose membership is in a denomination that governs itself through elected representatives known as ruling and teaching elders (presbyters), and whose congregations are connected for service, worship and accountability through governing bodies known as presbyteries.

---Sylvia D. Dooling, age 57,
Presbyterian for 48 years
Plains and Peaks Presbytery, Synod of the Rocky Mountains
president of Voices of Orthodox Women

I don't know . . . maybe singing and loving God?

---Hannah Glasgow,
age 3, lifelong Presbyterian
Southern Kansas Presbytery, Synod of MidAmerica

Being Presbyterian means having sound theology and polity that really works. It means diversity of persons, races, politics and theological points of view. Being Presbyterian also means taking on the tough questions, helping folks in need, sharing our faith and talents all over the world, writing brilliant curriculum and music, making an art of peacemaking and having an ecumenical track record that is unequaled. Presbyterians celebrate God in worship and every other venue of life. We dare to discern where God is at work in the world and join God in that work. Do we always get all this right? No, but we're working on it and dancing with the Dove as we piece ourselves together in grace. I cannot imagine not being Presbyterian.

---Elaine McRobbie, age 57, Presbyterian for 30 years
Heartland Presbytery, Synod of MidAmerica
pastor of Bethel Presbyterian Church in Kansas City, Kansas; public school teacher

Being Presbyterian means believing we are meant to love God with our brains as well as our hearts and being open to new voices and new ways of understanding age-old truths, including having confidence that new scientific discoveries cannot surprise God or contradict the wonder of God's creation. It also means caring about justice for people whether we know them as nearby neighbors or as those on the other side of the world and holding firmly to my Christian faith while being willing to listen to another person's heartfelt beliefs.

--Jane Parker Huber,
age 75, lifelong Presbyterian
Presbytery of Ohio Valley, Synod of Lincoln Trails
hymnwriter; contributor to Horizons magazine

To me, being Presbyterian means coming home. When my beliefs and ideas diverged with the denomination in which I was raised, I could no longer be a part of that group and truly felt like an orphan. My searching led me to the Presbyterian Church, where my mind has been challenged with lively intellectual discussions and thought-provoking sermons, and where I've been spiritually fed with Bible study and worship that resonates with me.

Over time I've learned the importance of inclusive language, the lectionary, the church calendar, the connectional church and many other facets of Presbyterianism. I especially love how Presbyterians are always striving for consensus while reveling in diversity. Far from family and birthplace, in a very conservative part of the country, I am at home with my Presbyterian family.

---Sara Pendley, age 46, Presbyterian for 12 years
Palo Duro Presbytery, Synod of the Sun
housewife, mom, part-time assistant to the director of the Lubbock Symphony Suzuki Program

Being Presbyterian means there is always something more to learn about the mystery of faith. For some folks that would be a reason not to be Presbyterian, but I thrive on the openness and the process of always reforming. It is freeing not to have to be right in order to be loved by God. It gives me peace and permission to boldly share what I do understand, and to invite others on the delightful journey of discovering the endless love of God in Jesus Christ.

---Linda LeBron, age 54, lifelong Presbyterian
Grace Presbytery, Synod of the Sun
certified Christian Educator; director of children's ministries at Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church in Dallas, Texas; will be president of the Association of Presbyterian Church Educators in 2002

Being a Presbyterian in 2002 means being challenged constantly "to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints" (Jude 1:3b). It means constantly striving to fend off a critical illness that presently afflicts the PC(USA): the religious pluralism and moral relativism that pervade our culture and that are encroaching our denomination. Many of the national leaders of the denomination have embraced this invasion in the name of diversity and inclusivity, rather than upholding the Gospel and representing the faithful members of our congregations across the nation and around the world. The good news is that the Gospel is still the Gospel and the Holy Spirit is doing an amazing thing through a steadily-growing Confessing Church Movement that has risen from the grassroots with an affirmative declaration of the essential tenets of the Gospel. Being a Presbyterian in 2002 means sharing in that joyful declaration that Jesus Christ alone is Lord of all and the way of salvation; that Holy Scripture is the Triune God's revealed word, the Church's only infallible rule of faith and life; and that God's people are called to holiness in all aspects of life.

---Marcia Slentz-Whalen, age 54,
lifelong Presbyterian
Baltimore Presbytery,
Synod of the Mid-Atlantic
musician

I became a Presbyterian because I was born into a Presbyterian family. My parents were devout Presbyterians whose own parents had been converted by American missionaries in Puerto Rico during the early part of the 20th century. I have remained a Presbyterian because the basic tenets of this Reformed faith have satisfied me spiritually and because the Presbyterian Church has taken stands that, in my opinion, are in keeping with the important biblical message that we love because God first loved us.

As our denomination continues to make the Gospel message relevant to all people, the church struggles with issues about which there are vast differences of opinion: pro-life/pro-choice, illegal immigrants, the role of homosexuals in the church, attitudes toward people of other faiths, to name just a few. I am proud that my church does not shy away from these concerns and indeed keeps an open mind as it seeks to discover God's will regarding them.

---Ruth Burgos-Sasscer, age 70,
lifelong Presbyterian
New Covenant Presbytery, Synod of the Sun
former chancellor of the Houston Community College System, retired

Being Presbyterian means being a Christian who seeks the guidance of the Holy Spirit through scripture, prayer, the Church's confessions and corporate life as a community of faith; acknowledges the ongoing need of believers and the church to be reformed and transformed by God's Spirit; extends God's love and grace to all human beings, and empowers clergy and lay people, both men and women, to share the leadership at all levels of the church; and is committed to ushering in God's realm of peace by building a more just world in partnership with our brothers and sisters of other faiths and nonbelievers.

---Magdalena I. García, age 44,
Presbyterian for 30 years
Chicago Presbytery, Synod of Lincoln Trails
minister of Word and Sacrament; editor

Being Presbyterian means being a normal person of faith with certain peculiarities that are instilled from birth (at baptism) until death. These peculiarities include, but are not limited to:

· a willingness to deepen one's faith by reading the Word of God and having properly prepared persons to interpret its contents

· believing that you will never know everything, thus, education is required and lifelong education is part of God's plans

· living as you believe-consciously and consistently

· growing in your knowledge of God and in matters pertaining to knowledge of the world (academics) and life

· reaching out as a witness and an evangelizer, doing justice, loving mercy and walking humbly

· being open to receive the empowerment of the Holy Spirit and knowing how that feels

· being open to the opinions of others

· recognizing the need for change, as long as change enhances the kingdom of God

· participating (adamantly) in actions and activities that lead to justice

· having a sense of belonging, knowing that you are loved by God in Jesus the Christ, the local church family and the extended church family

· knowing that the community of faith is not limited to Presbyterians, but is inclusive of other religious faiths as well

· having a commitment to corporate worship that is frequent and reflective of your own racial ethnic heritage

· partaking of the sacraments

· giving your time, talent and monetary gifts to the church as a top priority

· loving and serving God passionately, as an extension of the love that God gives freely in Jesus the Christ

· doing and being all of this for seven generations, even while being subjected to such embarrassing questions as: Why do Black folks become Presbyterians when the word is so hard to spell?

---Melva Wilson Costen, age 50+, lifelong Presbyterian
Presbytery of Greater Atlanta, Synod of South Atlantic
professor of Worship and Music,
Johnson C. Smith Seminary;
current member of the General Assembly Council

Compare your thoughts on what it meansto be Presbyterianwith others' in the complete text published in Horizons magazine. Read more of this and other great articles in the current issue of Horizons.

Back to top | Previous Article