Solitude is Closer Than You Think

Sitting on a park bench in the shade of the Harris County Courthouse building (I had jury duty today) only 2 days after sitting on the shore of the lower Blue Lake at 11,000' in the mountains of Western Colorado it occurs to me that solitude may have little to do with one's surroundings.

I'm not knocking the practice of spiritual retreat from the noise of daily life. Far from it. In fact it may be precisely because of finding solitude in the mountains that I now find it in the city. It's just that the practice of solitude which our Savior modeled for us isn't dependent on "getting away from it all." How often have I said "if only I could get some quiet then I would retreat with Him"?

Solitude is closer than you think.

Courthouse Mountain

Today I had a chance to lead the guys up one of my favorite Colorado climbs - Courthouse Mountain. It was a good training hike for acclimating to the altitude. The hike started at a little over 10,000 ft. and the summit was at 12,000 ft. The distance to the top from the trail head is only 1.8 miles so needless to say, it was steep!  The view from the top was awesome.

As we set out tomorrow I've been thinking a lot about Luke 24 when Jesus appears to the disciples while they walked along the road to Emmaus. A lot is made of Jesus eating with people in the Bible and the importance of table fellowship. There is something sacred about eating together and sharing a meal.  But being with these guys, hiking today; and thinking about all the miles that these guys have walked together training for this hike, makes me think about the sacredness of literally walking together. "As they talk and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walke along with them..." (Luke 24:15).

We'll be walking and talking as we hike tomorrow up to Blue Lakes. We'll be walking and talking a lot as we hike up Mt. Sneffels on Monday and then more walking and talking as we hike back to our vehicles on Tuesday. In our walking and talking pray that we would have the awareness that Jesus is walking along with us.

Dinner

Stopped at Del's in Tucumcari, NM. Enjoyed their famous chicken fried steak for dinner. Great food!

Morning Start

Here's the driving gang - church van and one pick-up truck. We didn't pull out I the parking lot until 5:10 but we did manage to make it all the way to the donut shop on Clear Lake City Blvd before making our first stop.

Packed for Colorado

I've done quite a bit of RV type camping but I'm a real rookie when it comes to backpack camping. However, thanks to the CLPC guys' experience and generosity (I'm basically borrowing all the gear) I think I'm ready.

There are 18 men from our church who are participating in the trip. Seven of us depart bright and early tomorrow morning - departing from the church parking lot at 5:00 a.m. - driving in the church van. The rest of the group is arriving by jet, RV, and auto (from the West). The whole gang is to rendezvous Saturday evening at First Presbyterian Church (FPC) in Montrose, CO where some FPC  church members are graciously planning a spaghetti dinner for us. (Thanks Jeannie and all!)

After camping out at FPC Saturday night we'll start our hike early the next morning. We'll spend Sunday Night at Blue Lakes and climb Mt. Sneffels (yes, that really is the name!) on Monday. Tuesday we hike back to our vehicles and then head for home.

Rob, one of the guys in our group, has some sort of GPS gismo that will broadcast our location as we hike along the trail. Click HERE if you'd like to follow our progress.  I'll try to send some pictures and post some thoughts along the way if and when I have internet availability.

Pray for good weather and no serious injuries (minor injuries are okay :-). Most of all, pray that somehow we guys would understand more of God's love for us and the great adventure of following Christ.

Adolescent Assembly?

"General Assembly will pursue positive investment in Israeli-occupied Palestine rather than withdraw church investments from three companies accused of complicity in the Israeli oppression of Palestinians." Read the story from the Presbyterian Outlook here.

It took a LONG time and lots of parliamentary wrangling to deal with the business from Committee 15 "Middle East and Peacemaking Issues." It wasn't just that the vote on divestment was close and that it came about by virtue of a substitute motion (in other words, the action the Assembly took was not the action recommended by Committee 15), it was the spirit of distrust reflected from in comments from the microphones that was troubling. One commissioner accused the moderator of "parliamentary sleight of hand." There was one formal 'motion to reconsider' this morning and then a few more informal attempts to reverse the Assembly's decision on divestment.

I can only imagine how contentious the Assembly's debate on redefining marriage will be when they take up that issue this afternoon. Committee 10 on "Civil Union and Marriage Issues" is recommending a two year study on marriage while at the same time recommending a change to our Book of Order that redefines marriage as between two persons.

A friend's observation who has attended a number of GA's is that this Assembly hasn't "found itself" yet. This is only the second General Assembly I've observed, but I'd have to agree. They seem sort of stuck in adolescence - flexing muscles and experimenting with parliamentary power. I'm all for our denomination tuning its ears to our younger members, but what I'm longing for in this Assembly are for wise and measured voices of our elders to emerge.

Inside Plenary Hall

Fireworks - Presbyterian Style!

There were plenty of fireworks inside the David L. Lawrence Convention Center today at General Assembly. In a surprise move, the Vice-Moderator resigned her position in the first item of business this afternoon. The Presbyterian Outlook website has a good summary article with more details here. The short version is that this past summer the vice-moderator (Rev. Tara McCabe) conducted a ceremony, and signed the marriage license, for a same sex couple. The marriage was legal in the state where she pastors, but it's still a no-no in the PCUSA (Presbyterians still define a marriage as between a man and a woman regardless of what the civil law of any given state says). Many were upset that Rev. McCabe was allowed to stand for the position of vice-moderator when she had violated the rules of our church constitution.  Apparently those who were upset by her election put up enough of a fuss that Rev. McCabe decided the Assembly would be better served by her resignation.

At this evening's session, a commissioner moved to adjust the docket to allow for 20 minutes of discussion about the day's events.  In a vote that reflects just how profoundly divided this Assembly is, the motion failed literally by one ballot. 

I can see how folks on both sides of the issue are upset about this. Progressives feel that McCabe was simply being faithful to her calling as a pastor in caring a couple that wanted to get married. They reason, it's not her fault that in some states our polity hasn't caught up with the law. On the other hand, conservatives see McCabe's action as an blatant disregard for the Book of Order. Perhaps the PCUSA will change the definition of marriage. But the definition hasn't changed yet. What does it say about our denomination if our second highest elected official is permitted to willfully ignore the constitution of the church she is being elected to steward?

In the end, I believe McCabe did the honorable thing in stepping down. And going back a step, I think she probably did the honorable thing, given her pastoral context, in dealing with the same sex couple. What remains to be seen is whether or not the Assembly responds with honor in dealing with one another and the weighty business that remains.

220th General Assembly

Some thoughts regarding the opening day of General Assembly. (It's my first stab at inserting a video in my blog - which I guess now would be a VLOG? or a VBLOG? or maybe just a GLOG??)