Executive Presbyter, Tom Cramer, on His GA Experience
Executive Presbyter, Tom Cramer, attended General Assembly, too. He writes here about what the experience meant to him.
God’s People Gather
PLR: What was most rewarding about your GA experience?
Tom: The level of rigor and passion that hundreds of leaders from across our denomination always give to this work is mind blowing. When I arrived at the convention center, it dawned on me that it was the first time in six years that we had been together physically. And then, to meet and talk with presbytery leaders in person whom I had only seen on Zoom for six years was tremendously rewarding.
The General Assembly feels like an extended family reunion in which you can see your DNA everywhere. Suddenly you realize, “That’s where I got my big nose” and, “Oh, no wonder I lost my hair.” Except in this case, your thoughts are more along the lines of, “No wonder I care so much about people who are dispossessed of their lands,” “No wonder it matters that all children of God, claimed by Christ through baptism, are equipped by the Holy Spirit to serve in all ministries of the Church, regardless of their ethnicity, gender identity, or sexual orientation,” and, “No wonder it matters to me that decisions are made decently and in order, including complex decisions about socio-economic systems, sexuality, and power.”
I guess what I’m saying is that my GA experience reminds me that there are all these other followers of Jesus across our nation who love God with their whole hearts and minds, who are open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and who are willing to follow Christ at serious risk of their reputation and social status. Being with them stretches me theologically and spiritually to be more attuned to God’s preference for the economically poor, the weak, and those on the margins of society’s power structures.
Presbyterians care deeply about keeping the first commandment: “You shall have no other gods before me.” So, it is inspiring and challenging to be with people who say and do prophetic things about Christian nationalism, eradication of poverty, and the innumerable traumas caused by majority cultures on vulnerable people, not only in America but in Palestine and throughout the world.
I don’t believe I am “reading into something that’s not there” when I reflect on the General Assembly this way. At our best, we Presbyterians take seriously Jesus’ commandment to “Love your neighbor as yourself.” But doing so starts by “de-centering” ourselves and centering our neighbors’ stories, which I will discuss in my response to your next question.
Tom’s Friend, John Mbae, Traveled All the Way from Kenya
PLR: What did you find challenging?
Tom: As creatures made with bodies and souls, flesh and blood, it is natural to put ourselves first when it comes to pursuing comfort and security, wealth and pleasure. These things, in and of themselves, are beautiful gifts from God and can provide happiness to those who have them. The challenge is that most of the world’s population does not have them because a minority of the world’s population—at least those of us who have obtained sufficient resources and power—“center” ourselves. God calls us to something more, so if it is “natural” to center ourselves first, the gospel calls us to a supernatural, Spirit-filled way of life that centers the stories of others as much as our own.
“How can we de-center ourselves?” you may ask. We de-center ourselves when we remember that the resources we possess and the heritage to which we were born are pure gifts from God. We de-center ourselves when we learn about how other people experience the world, how they experience poverty or their gender or being part of a historically mistreated group. We de-center ourselves when we stop colluding with others to fabricate stories that justify our own way of thinking and behaving, that somehow because we possess more resources, or we are in the majority, we are the “deserving ones” and the realities of others don’t matter as much as ours do.
The challenge of the GA is that there are several hundred people gathered in one room who desperately want the good news of God’s grace and justice to be at the center of their communal lives and not the story of individualism, racism, nationalism, or any other “ism” you want to name. The challenge of the GA, therefore, is to keep pace intellectually and theologically with the conversation and to follow the arguments that are being made to move the church toward a more loving and just community that bears a truer witness to the Risen Lord.
In other words, the gospel is not about being true to your own preferences or ideologies, but about being true to God’s purpose to redeem all creation in love.
Signs
PLR: What is your overall impression of the process and the decisions that were made?
Tom: I stand in awe. I can’t imagine a process that would be more attentive to the concerns of 400-plus commissioners than the GA’s. Discussions on motions were carefully reasoned, and they represented a strong respect for the work of the committees that brought those recommendations to the floor.
The longest discussion involved a review of the Foundations of Presbyterian Polity to determine if new, more specific language should be added to amplify “categories against which this church [PC(USA)] does not discriminate” (Recommendation to Amend the Book of Order POL-01). I use the word “amplify” because the language recommended by the Assembly to add “gender identity” and “sexual orientation” to F-1.0403 does not materially change the responsibility or authority already given to Councils (sessions, presbyteries, synods, etc.) by the Book of Order. The idea, here, is to make all discrimination more visible by placing it in writing alongside the many other reasons why we, as sinful disciples, discriminate against our siblings in Christ (e.g., race, ethnicity, age, disability, etc.).
Los Ranchos Commissioners and Staff Gather for an Evening Meal
PLR: Is there anything else about the experience that is on your heart or mind?
Tom: The theme of the 226th General Assembly was “Live Into Hope.” I couldn’t imagine a more poignant or timely exhortation to the whole church. We “live into hope” when we confess the fears that sometimes consume us, and then, in turn, drive our theology and behaviors. We “live into hope” when we take a stand for things that Jesus stood for—forgiving people’s sins, loving our enemies, caring for the marginalized and the economically poor. We “live into hope” when we make the gospel of God’s love in Christ our center and not personal comfort, biology, or heritage. We “live into hope,” therefore, when we live into the gospel and when we reject ideologies that are contrary to it.
Even though I am a “majority-culture person” on the surface, and perhaps in many other ways, the 226th General Assembly reminded me that I’m part of a big spiritual family that is striving to be counter-cultural in the way Jesus was so that all may know the height and depth and breadth of God’s love for them in Christ.
The last thing I’d like to mention is my gratitude for PLR’s commissioners. Teaching Elder Leanne Strommen (San Juan Capistrano) and Ruling Elder Anne Sivley (Yorba Linda PC) stayed engaged and cheerful throughout the entire assembly. I was in awe of their insight, collegiality, and stamina. Los Ranchos was beautifully represented by them, and our wider church is better off for their faithful contribution. Thank you, Leanne and Anne!