Anybody happy?

Probably the only thing tonight with which everyone is happy is that the evening is over.

General Assembly went for a wild ride this evening, covering immigration, marriage and civil unions, and wrapping up with some unfinished business from earlier in the day. Things got heated and confusing. Minority reports and substitute motions were considered. Even Gradye Parsons didn't always seem perfectly sure what was happening. A commissioner friend reported that his neighbors were saying "Get me out of here." The evening was getting late, and the heat was definitely on.

Maybe it was to try and make everyone happy. Maybe it was an effort to "save the church" and keep everyone from running away screaming. Maybe it was the quickest way out of a difficult evening. But for whatever reason or combination of them, commissioners late this evening voted to send both the majority AND the minority reports on "Marriage and Civil Unions" to all the Presbyteries and Sessions for their consideration.

You know, maybe it was a reflection of the deep divide felt by the committee itself. The committee which has been at work over the last 2 years preparing this report was divided and reached no conclusions, covered no new ground. They turned to the General Assembly to decide, and when it came down to it, the Assembly found themselves in the same place.

Some are not happy because they feel the commissioners went too far. Others are not happy because they believe the commissioners caved in to pressure. As I said, the unifying event this evening may just have been that the evening finally came to a close.

The news is out there. Fox came to cover the proceedings in the hall this evening. Less than an hour after the closing prayer, headlines were already on the BBC website.

Please know that not all the news we've seen so far is accurate. It's hard enough for seasoned Presbyterians to understand what has taken place, much less someone who may not have a church background at all. I've seen some headlines which are way off base from what really happened. So - please read your news with a discerning eye, ask your pastor or the Presbytery office or me if you don't understand what happened, or check the denominational website at www.pcusa.org. I hope you will not just take the first news story you see at face value.

Well, I'm not even a commissioner and I'm tired. And, I leave for home late Thursday morning. So this will likely be the last installment of my blog. There are still a couple of days to go - the business sessions don't wind up until about noon on Saturday, but by then I will be on my way to Alamogordo. So, stay tuned - if you haven't been already, you can watch live feed of the assembly by going to www.pcusa.org/ga219. You can also follow the current business items in writing by going to www.pc-biz.org; click on "SessionSync," and then click on "General Assembly" when it comes up.

Even while ending this day on a tired and confused note, the whole Assembly has not been this way. It is still a rewarding and invigorating experience. I hope it will be so for our commissioners in the end. Be sure to thank them when they get home and ask them about their experiences. They will have a lot of important things to share with you.

Blessings to you, my friends, and thanks for reading along this week. I'll probably have some further reflections of my own with a little time. See you around the Presbytery!