Lady Church, You Are Alive

Those paths that once made the way so clear, the seminarian-to-associate-to-head-of-staff paths have begun to crack (some might even say crumble.) As those seminarians step from the classroom they’re finding other trails – some muddy, some hidden, some that haven’t even been revealed yet. They lead to counseling centers where clients cry out for the Spirit and to taverns where friends fellowship at tables over bread & beverages... sound familiar? These ministers are finding it necessary to supplement their ministerial incomes by brewing coffee or substitute teaching or even returning to the careers they swore they had abandoned – all for the chance to supply preach at the fifteen member church forty-five minutes away. They don’t have to. But they do. Why, you ask? Because they are called. Lady Church lives among them and she smiles at their freedom. Yes, the Church is alive.

Think what you will, say what you want – it appears as though Lady Church has given us every reason to believe that she dying. Just weeks ago as seminary presidents and elected church representatives gathered for the November meeting of the PC(USA) Committee on Theological Education, the statistics spoke a clear picture:

“Half of PC(USA) congregations are no longer served by fulltime theologically trained ministers.”

“Two-thirds of the congregations in my home presbytery cannot afford full time pastoral ministers.”

At this very moment, 2156 ministers are seeking a call, while there are only 559 open positions for them to fill.

It did not take long for our committee to arrive at the obvious question: for what kind of church are we preparing our seminarians? If the simple laws of supply and demand are shouting: “TOO MANY PASTORS!!! NOT ENOUGH CHURCHES!!!” then why do we continue to admit, financially support, and educate people young and old who claim that God has placed a call upon their lives to the Ministry of Word and Sacrament.

Because, friends – God has placed a call upon their lives to the Ministry of Word and Sacrament. It just doesn’t look like it used to. The Church is alive; she’s just rearranging the furniture a little. While the paths from seminary were once laid in solid rows from classroom to pulpit, recently they’ve begun to wind a bit more – and Lady Church has decided to seek opportunity outside the stained glass windows. Forget the wood paneled walls and the antique desk lamp, Lady Church is not always found in her office anymore. In fact, she’s taken to spending her mornings at the coffee shop: Calvin on her Kindle and Indigo Girls on her IPOD. Jesus told her life was more interesting on the road.


Not all of the straight paths to the pulpit are gone – not at all. There are places where the fulltime, theologically trained, well paid pastor continues to thrive – and Lady Church tips her hat. However, she must admit that these new places and faces bring her such a particular joy. Perhaps it’s because they bring God joy and it is because they bring God joy they must not be ignored.

Lady Church is alive – alive with God’s mysterious Spirit that inspires her to open the doors and repaint the walls and breathe in the life that is going on because of her or in spite of her. Therefore, we owe it to Lady Church to pay attention to her life as we train the ministers who will soon step out onto those paths. Technology, diversity, creativity and ingenuity are all steps along the way. As theological institutions learn to walk the line between tradition and change, Lady Church is with them – her Blackberry in one hand and her Bible in the other.

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Kathy Wolf Reed is a member of the PC(USA) Committee on Theological Education. She is currently serving as a resident Chaplain at St. Thomas Hospital in Nashville, TN..

The Politics of Jesus…

Recently I have been rereading one of my favorite books, Jesus for President: Politics for Ordinary Radicals, by Shane Claiborne. Throughout the body of this book it consistently reminds me as a follower of Christ that I am called to adhere to a radical politics of love and justice. Indeed, Micah 6:8 continually reminds us as God’s people “to do justice, love kindness, and to walk humbly with our God.” And somehow in our society today it is difficult to remember and live out that call. We become so focused on ourselves (checking everything off the to-do list and wading through the day-to-day) that we forget the weak and oppressed in society.

Several days a week I try to live out that call in a unique way when I get off the D.C. Metro near Capitol Hill, walk by the Russell and Hart Congressional buildings and into the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Washington Office which sits directly across from the Capitol building and next door to the Supreme Court. The Washington Office is the public policy information and advocacy office of General Assembly and therefore advocates on behalf of social witness perspectives and policies of GA. Through the work of the Washington Office, the voice of the Church is heard on Capitol Hill and by our legislators, as we continue to call for justice in the world. From sign-on letters, to hill visits and constituent briefings the Washington Office works hard to let Capitol Hill know where the Presbyterian faith community stands on a variety of issues as they are determined by General Assembly through intensive scriptural based study.

Through this office I am able to live out the radical call of Christians: to show love and compassion to all while working for justice throughout the world. This work reminds me of a Derek Webb song, “King and a Kingdom” which says,

my first allegiance is not to a flag, a country, or a man
my first allegiance is not to democracy or blood
it’s to a King & a Kingdom

Indeed, my first allegiance is to God and to the clear call of Jesus Christ to “love my neighbor as myself” and to “care for the least of these”. Therefore, I urge each of you to show that the church is still alive by being an advocate, a Presbyterian advocate calling for justice in the world. Get involved in work to bring about justice for all, as Representative and great Civil Rights leader John Lewis said in his book Walking with the Wind that we should be like children attempting to hold down the corners of the house being lifted up by the wind. “You and I. Children holding hands, walking with the wind. That is America…not just the movement for civil rights but the endless struggle to respond with decency, dignity, and a sense of brotherhood to all challenges that face the nation, as a whole.” So let us go forth and be children, holding hands, and walking with the winds—children walking with the winds to hold down the four corners of justice.

For more information of how to be an advocate within the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) please visit the Washington Office Webpage.

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Nan Arnold is a 2009 religion and history graduate of Presbyterian College in SC. She is currently the intern at the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Washington office and seeks a future within the church.

Website News!

That title is a little more positive than I felt this morning, when I realized that the Church is Alive website was broken in Chrome and Safari. The method I was using to mask the blog was broken by an update to web kit (I think), so for the time being we'll be on blogspot. Don't cha worry though, you can still send your friends to thechurchisalive.com! Sorry about the mess!

Grace and Peace - Josh.

[UPDATE 11/21/09] Everything should be A-OK now, including any image caching issues you might have had. Things still look wonky or did you find something I missed? Shoot me an email: joshutk(at)gmail.com

What If? A (Very) Open Question

"What if...?" is one of my favorite questions, it really allows you to move into the wonderful land of the hypothetical and daydream a little bit. So I was intrigued by a video from the PC(USA) that popped up on YouTube last week and made its way around the offices of Montreat Conference Center, where I work...


The video poses some great questions, and I think we're best served by taking this to the comments.What do you think about the PC(USA) office teaming up with institutions like Montreat to offer special programs? Are camps and conference centers connected to the denomination at large as closely as they should be? What would you like to see camps and conference centers do more of? Less of? Start doing?

For the record, one of my favorite answers is "Why not?"

Generations of Christ - Carol Howard-Merritt

One of our elders, a twenty-something law student, explained recently, “Living in D.C. as a young woman, I could live my whole life and never talk to someone who is older.” She went on to tell us that the reason why she attends Western Presbyterian Church is because she has a chance to be with people from all different generations.

And it is wonderful to see—we have Christmas Pageants with responsible college students working as stage director, making sure that the costumes stay on. We have Easter hunts, with young professionals stuffing eggs. And all throughout the year, recent graduates learn from young parents, how to juggle the challenges of careers and raising children. Men and women who are getting their first “real” job have a chance to talk to retiring people, and learn what they need to negotiate now, in order to be prepared for the future.