December 2002

ADVENT AND CHRISTMAS AT OLD FIRST

It is that time of year where we await the arrival of Baby Jesus.  Click here for a schedule of Advent events at Old First.

NEW PEW BIBLES — AT LAST!

As he moderated his last Session meeting here at Old First, Cornell Barnett said, "Please, follow through; get new NRSV pew Bibles." At long last, the Bibles are in; they were dedicated on Sunday, November 24, 2002.

We are grateful to all of those who gave the gift of the Word to the congregation. We hope you will all find that the language is clearer and the scholarship that produced the translation more current than the good ol' RSV.

WEDNESDAY EVENING WORSHIP

7:00 - 7:30 pm

      Dec 4 - Evening Prayers

      Dec 11 - Service of Healing and Wholeness

      Dec 18 - Guided Meditation

INTERFAITH SHELTER MEALS  DEC. 8-13

Each winter the San Francisco Interfaith Council arranges for shelter beds for the homeless in churches and synagogues around the city.  In the past, Old First has served as host to the shelter or provided meals to the guests at other host churches.  This year we will provide meals to a shelter for a week in December -— Sunday, Dec. 8 through Friday, Dec. 13.  Another week in January or February will be identified later.  Please contact Lori Yamauchi, or let the church office know if you are interested in helping with this effort. 

CHRISTMAS JOY OFFERING DEC. 22

On December 22  Old First will receive the Christmas Joy Offering, one of the four offerings that the Presbyterian Church USA collects each year.  The focus and beneficiaries of the Christmas Joy Offering are the racial and ethnic ministries of the Presbyterian Church, and the retired pastors and clergy of the PC(USA).  Please give generously, as we celebrate our Lord's birth, as well as the wonderful gifts that our racial and ethnic ministries and retired clergy have provided to all of us.

TRADITIONS

We've changed one (or two, depending on how you look at it) Old First tradition(s) this year. In the past we’ve had an Advent Sunday with special music by the choir and orchestra, and then a Children's Pageant on Christmas Eve.

This year the Children's Christmas Pageant will be on the fourth Sunday of Advent. The 5 pm Christmas Eve service will be Lessons & Carols, accompanied by a chamber orchestra; it will include many Christ-mas favorites,  including music by John Rutter and David Willcocks.

Another long-standing Old First tradition is Christmas Eve at Steve and Sarah Tabers’ home, with a gathering after the 5 pm worship service. That hasn’t changed. If you need any details, see Steve or Sarah.

EDGEWOOD GIVING TREE

Unwrapped gifts for Edgewood Center for Children and Families need to be turned in to the church by Sunday, December 8  If you don’t have time to buy a gift, you can make a financial donation; the Mission Committee will shop for a gift for the child of your choice or a child who has not been chosen.

Your generous support for this program is deeply appreciated by the children and staff of Edgewood. If you have any questions or need some help, please call Betsy Chiao.

MARCHING FOR PEACE

by Pat Devine

Interim Facilitator, Peace & Justice Committee

On Saturday, October 26th, 2002 three members of Old First joined together to take part in the San Francisco based march against the government's plans for war with Iraq.  Alison Armstrong, Forrest Cummings and Pam Byers were among the 100,000 people locally who took part in the Saturday morning event which started at Justin Herman Plaza and continued up Market Street to the Civic Center.  In tandem with San Francisco,  200,000 people marched in the streets of Washington, D.C. in addition to tens of thousands in other cities around the country, 

At the same time, members of the congregation signed petitions after one of  the Sunday services sponsored by the Peace and Justice Committee.  The petitions were sent to members of the senate and congress as well as to President Bush asking to give inspections a chance as well as to utilize the United Nations and all diplomatic means possible vis-a-vis Iraq. 

Another mass mobilization is planned for the weekend of January 18-19, 2003 to coincide with Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday and the 12th anniversary of the start of the 1991 Gulf War.  The Peace and Justice Committee will try and keep members informed of any planned joint actions here in San Francisco.

PEACE OFFERING

The 2002 Annual Peace offering season came to a close on Sunday, October 27th, with Rod MacDonald presenting his final appeal and reporting to the congregation that as of that date the sum of $844 had been collected.  It was a wonderful and generous display of love and support that members of the congregation gave this year.  Thank you to each and every one of you who contributed to this year's campaign. As our commitment to peacemaking states:  "God's peace is offered wherever there is brokeness--individual lives, families, congregations, communities, nations, and creation.  In God's Covenant the world and the church experience wholeness, security, justice."  Old First responded to this call.  As in the past a portion of the Peace Offering will be spent on a local issue.  The Peace and Justice Committee will be meeting to come up with recommendations of possible local recipients.   Thank you again for your generous support of the 2002 PeaceOffering!

PASTOR'S PONDERINGS

Dear Friends,

The Second Annual Alexander Christmas Open House will begin at 4:00 pm on Saturday, December 21 and go until about 10:00 that night.  You are invited!  Barbara, Matthew and I are looking forward to seeing every one of you at our home. This year we will be renting a small van and asking one of the seminary students to drive it back and forth between our home and the church. So, if you can get to the church, you can get to our home.

I've been here a year. It's a perfect time for us to celebrate our first year of ministry together. The seeds of something wonderful have been sown. The gospel is being born into the world and we have the chance to share it together. These are not shallow times, not times for superficial faith. The demands of the gospel are great, the need for God's message of hope in the midst of struggle starkly relevant. The Spirit of God is alive and well in this church. So many here care so deeply for the worship life of the congregation; so many care so deeply for the witness we have in the community that surrounds us; so many care so deeply that a just and accepting witness will permeate the whole Presbyterian church. And the collection of talents here . . . it's inspiring. We can feel good about who we are. I am very glad I'm here.  So, let’s party!

On another subject — I should mention that I finally met my predecessor, Tim Hart-Andersen, when I went to the Covenant Network conference in Minneapolis. We talked for about an hour in his office one afternoon. I had spoken with him on the phone at some length, but somehow this was better. I learned so many things from him — about his hopes for the church, the close relationships he forged with people here, many in the midst of tragedy — about the work he is called to at Westminster, and the important work he remains committed to in our denomination. I enjoyed the meeting. I believe he did right by this congregation and told him so. He and Beth asked to be remembered to each of you.

About Covenant Network — a group that this congregation helped to found: I came away from the conference with a growing appreciation for the enormity of the task before this group and a growing respect for the way they attend to their goals. We are talking more in this congregation about some of the issues Covenant Network is dealing with,  particularly ordination standards in the PC(USA). The Network has come to the, I believe correct, conclusion that issues of biblical authority and Christology which lie beneath the controversy  need to be addressed now with greater vigor. The Network has a strong commitment to hold those conversations in a church that has members of very different theological ilk. They seek the center ground — a way for the denomination to be together as we seek the truth God is leading us to.

The "right wing" press of our denomination has come out very hard against several of the speakers in Minneapolis.  Frankly, this surprised me; in keeping with their desire to encourage communication, Covenant Network didn't exactly choose radical theologians to address them. The conference itself was built around the Confession of 1967, which is in our Book of Confessions and which, as I recall, every Elder in the Presbyterian Church has promised to be "guided and led" by. The issues that Covenant Network is addressing affect any number of our members and many who have served this congregation well. I'm not sure what to "do," yet. I suspect God's direction will eventually emerge. But in the meantime, thank Pam Byers, Susan Ashton and Rosemary Bledsoe when you see them, and pray for those whose lives and careers are disrupted by all this controversy.

                                                                        Grace and peace,

                                                                                        Sam

LECTIONARY

Dec. 1 - Isa. 64:1-9; Ps. 80:1-7, 17-19; 1 Cor. 1:3-9;  Mark 13:24-37

Dec. 8  - Isa. 40:1-11; Ps. 85:1-2, 8-13; 2 Pet. 3:8-15a;  Mark 1:1-8

Dec. 15  - Isa. 61:1-4, 8-11; Ps. 126 or Luke 1:47-55;

               1 Thess 5:16-24; John 1:6-8, 19-28

Dec. 22  - 2 Sam. 7:1-11, 16; Luke 1:47-55 or Ps. 89:1-4, 19-26;

                Rom. 16:25-27; Luke 1:26-38

Dec. 24, Christmas Eve - Isa. 9:2-7; Ps. 96; Titus 2:11-14;

               Luke 2:1-14 (15-20)

Dec. 25, Christmas Day - Isa. 62:6-12; Ps. 97; Titus 3:4-7;

              Luke 2:(1-7) 8-20; Isa. 52:7-10; Ps. 98; Heb. 1:1-4 (5-12);                       John 1:1-14

Dec. 29  - Isa. 61:10-62:3; Ps. 148; Gal. 4:4-7; Luke 2:22-40

Jan. 5 - Jer. 31:7-14; Ps. 147:12-20; Eph. 1:3-14; John 1:(1-9) 10-18

DIVINE GIFTS

by Megan Rohrer

       "Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there             are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone."  -- 1 Cor. 12: 4-6

In this time of giving and receiving, we remember how God fulfilled God's promise to a faithful and patient people in the birth of Jesus.  However, this gift did not grow up to be the Messiah people expected.  The impossibility of a Messiah who dies before all creation is made right, is made possible when Christ was given new life again and brought renewed hope, love and peace to all of creation.  God's gift is unexpected.

Many other unexpected and unconventional gifts have come to the Welcome Ministry in the past couple of months.  Excluding money and blankets, more people ask for Bibles then any other item.  Now that Old First is replacing the Bibles in its pews, the Welcome Ministry now has hundreds of old Bibles to give its homeless and hungry friends. 

Other churches have also given the Welcome Ministry great gifts.  Sts. Peter and Paul Church, in North Beach, is able to supply the Welcome Ministry with more than enough food to feed its homeless and hungry friends (the extra food is given to the Senior Center).  Also, The Welcome ministry is supported by volunteers from churches throughout the bay area (as far as Novato).  

After church support, The Welcome Ministry receives most of its support from seminarians.  It may have something to do with the fact that I live and learn with these individuals, but seminarians have become integral part of our ministry.  Beyond their faithful volunteering, the Seminarians at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary have decided to work with Luther Seminary in Minneapolis on a program they call "Socks for San Francisco."  For a month, both Seminaries are going to collect socks and underwear for The Welcome Ministry. 

Along with the gifts mentioned above, we have also received more love, support, prayers and blessings from Old First Church, our volunteers and our homeless and hungry neighbors.  Thank you for all of your help, hard work and hospitality.  The Welcome Ministry has been truly blessed this year! 

THE PEOPLE AT THE SENIOR CENTER THAT I LOVE SO MUCH

by Judith L. Dancer, Senior Center Director

Sometimes people don’t understand my love and fascination with elders*.  They have lived for a long while and have made it through joyous times and countless challenges.  I have discovered that talking to elders always opens my horizons and teaches me new lessons about human nature.  Often, elders live by themselves and look forward to coming to the Center for activities and social interaction.  Part of that interaction is sharing their wealth of experience and information with those who work or volunteer with them, as well as friends at the Center.  Last week, a new volunteer made a special connection with Mary Justl, a volunteer and elder, who teaches lip reading weekly.   He is very excited to come back and learn lip reading from her, as well as help make lunch.

Sophie and I were talking the other day about coming to the Center and doing movement. We share a love for dance which makes our conversations and times together even more special.  She said, “When I am at home, sitting in the chair watching television, I’m full of aches and pains in my hips and legs.  I can barely get up out of the chair.  Then I come here and do Tai Chi, Chi Gong and line dancing, and all the aches and pains are forgotten!”  Sophie used to go out ballroom dancing six nights a week.  “Not on Mondays because the ballrooms were closed.  If they were open on Mondays, I would have been there then, too!”  I put on some polka music last week, and she was dancing around the room.  I could imagine her in a flowing dress with a partner, dancing across a ballroom!

We have several former performers in the group as well.  I was talking to John the other day and asked about what brought him out from the Midwest to California.  He said he wanted to become an actor.  He became a member of  the Bishops Company, a theatrical group that toured churches and performed plays with religious content, such as Christopher Frye’s “Boy with a Cart” and “The Witch is Not for Burning.”  Another gentleman played piano at the Mark Hopkins and other hotel lounges in San Francisco.  He is very low key about the whole thing, but I can imagine him in his heyday. 

History was not my favorite subject when I was in school.  It was so canned and dry.  Now I learn history from the elders, like what it was like to live in Honolulu when Pearl Harbor was attacked.  The trip to Chinatown has sparked a lot of reminiscing of growing up in that neighborhood by several of the elders.  One told me her children used to go to Cameron House because of their strong youth programs.  Another said she grew up in Chinatown and never went to a Buddhist temple.  She was excited to experience this new adventure!

Then there are the day-to-day aspects of hearing about people’s lives.  One woman’s husband is in a nursing home, and she has a very full life doing things for herself and visiting him regularly.  Another woman still owns a store and has to decide if it is time to let it go.  One man comes in every week and tells me yet another joke or pun!  I have a memory capacity for three jokes.  Once I learn a new one, one of the old ones fade.  His capacity for remembering jokes amazes me!  A gentleman loves the theatre, films and dance, so every week he gives me a mini-review of yet another performance or film he’s seen.  It brings him such joy to share this with me.  He told me last week he was glad we share our love for the arts together.

The stories are endless, and I’ve just begun working here.  My chosen life of serving elders gives me so many connections, benefits and new aspects on life.  With respect and joy, I love to do this work.  Last week, our kitchen volunteers came out of the kitchen and ate lunch with us.  I felt their beginning nervousness wear off and a giddiness settle in as they began to interact more with the elders around them.  What a joy to witness an opening of energy in them towards a group of people I feel such kinship and caring towards.  Love spreads when it is experienced, shared and witnessed.  Blessings to the elders for sharing their life with me, the volunteers and between themselves.  What a joyous weekly occasion!

            * I prefer the word “elders” to “seniors”, because, in my mind, it encompasses a wide range of ages.  It also denotes a high level of respect, which I feel.  I stopped using this word when I came to Old First, because it has a different usage in the Presbyterian church.  I will use this word for the article.  I hope it is not too confusing.

KUDOS TO YOU

A BIG thank you to all the people who have volunteered at the Senior Center and on the Senior Advisory Committee, including those who set the table every week and help with the tasks of running the Senior Center. You are all deeply appreciated, both for past and current help.  With your willing hands and minds, together we can enhance the lives of others and ourselves.  (Insert applause now!.)

ELVES WANTED

Santa has asked that all you elves out there consider coming to the Senior Center on Monday, December 16th for a Christmas lunch and party with good cheer, carols and good fun!  Elves who have to work could also donate meal items on Sunday, to be served on Monday to a cheery, grateful crowd.  Call Judith Dancer (no, not Prancer), Senior Center Director and one of the reindeer, at 776-5552 x316.  We look forward to the reunion of elves, reindeer and revelers for holiday fun!

FROM THE CHURCH LIBRARY -- A Review by Rod MacDonald

"Devotional Classics - Selected Readings for Individuals &  Groups"

by Richard J. Foster & James Bryan Smith

This is a book of 52 devotional writings aimed at the transforming the human personality, touching the heart, addressing the will and holding the mind.

Contributing writers range from 331 AD to 1935 AD.  Writers include Gregory of Nyssa (331), George Fox (1624), Evelyn Underhull (1875), Dallas Willard (1935).  Others such as John Calvin, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, C.S. Lewis, Catherine of Genoa, also contribute along with another 44 very famous writers. 

These devotional writings are organized into six topic groups, including Spiritual Life, Prayer Filled Life,  The Virtuous Life, The Compassionate Life and The Word-Centered Life.

Each individual writing starts with an introduction of the author.  Excerpts of the author’s writings are next, followed by a biblical selection that embodies the excerpts.  Reflection questions and suggested exercises compliment each writing, followed by reflections of Richard Foster.

This is an excellent book for individual study and particularly group study. It also would be a great resource for lay people planning their Prayers of the People.

The  publisher is Harper Collins.  According to their website, it is still available and costs $16.00

WAIT FOR THE LORD

by Rosemary Bledsoe

The liturgical calendar has two seasons of preparation and anticipation: Advent and Lent.  We spend about twenty percent of the year contemplating the great cycle of birth and death and resurrection, but even that isn't enough time for us to learn something we don't want to learn: how to wait.

Waiting was probably easier, or at least more routine, in years gone by, when time was measured in seasons and the ultimate expression of speed was a fast horse. We who measure our lives in microseconds grow impatient very easily, muttering "Come on, come on" at traffic lights and telephones and computers. We find waiting a shocking waste of time, because it isn't doing anything.

Maybe it would help to think of the seasons of Advent and Lent as  windows of opportunity to become synchronized with God's time.  God's time might seem appallingly slow compared to our own, but God's business and God's products are infinitely larger than our own.

If we can manage to focus our fractured attention in one place for one distressingly long period of our valuable time, we can find ourselves drawn into the field of another kind of power than our own. That's the good news and the bad news, all at once.

Ritual waiting is like any kind of ritual;  we don't participate with our heads, but with our whole selves, and we don't learn the story we're participating in with our heads, but with our whole selves. If you want to know where the ritual is taking you, look at the story. You're waiting for a miraculous event that doesn't turn out the way anybody expected. 

It's always something of a surprise:  the long-awaited Redeemer arriving tiny and helpless and largely ignored, the prophesied Savior dying an ignoble death and returning strangely here-and-not-here, gone from the earth but eternally present.

Got it? We're supposed to spend time we don't have in the practice of waiting, which we hate, in order to become part of God's great plan of things not working out the way we think they should.

That's about it, and there's not much anybody can do about it — except wait and see. If you can manage to wait, sooner or later you will see.

DEAR FRIENDS--

Before it gets any further past, let me share with you the great pleasure of our Covenant Conference in Minneapolis November 7-9.  It came at a time when we all badly needed a lift (two days after the election, and in the midst of increasing tensions in the denomination).  And it was a real high for the 500+ folks who were there. Even the weather cooperated!

One exciting and mind-stretching theological presentation after another, one thrilling and heart-lifting worship service after another, one friend to meet or reconnect with after another -- well, you can read all about it on our website (where I also link to stories in the Presbyterian News Service, the Outlook, and the Witherspoon Network News). Check out www.covenantnetwork.org

It also, of course, was a bit of an Old First Old Home week.  Our host church was Westminster, Minneapolis, which means that our host pastor was Tim Hart-Andersen.  We got to break in their brand-new education building (dedicated the prior month).  The facilities were spectacular and the volunteers (170 of them!) warm and exemplary.  Of course, when the CovNet conference staff consisted of Susan Ashton and Rosemary Bledsoe, along with me, it was fun. Deb Avery, whom many of you will remember from when she was under our care, came from the church in Yonkers where she is now a pastor.  We were also pleased to see former intern Layne Hawley, recently returned from her missionary work in the Middle East and now headquartered in Louisville.  Sam Alexander, Dana Nojima and Glen Potter were the official Old First delegation.

Beth Hart-Andersen decorated the sanctuary for various services, Isabel sang in the children's choir during closing worship, and Beth and all three kids participated in the procession of gifts for the communion service.  It was great fun to see all of them, as you will imagine.  They are all flourishing, and Maddie -- now in 9th grade -- is taller than Beth!  Tim’s parents, Hank and Mary Andersen,  are living in Minneapolis now, just a block from the church. People who confuse their surname with Tim and Beth’s are told very firmly, “We’re the Hart-less Andersens.”

There were more Westminster connections for us, as Dana saw many old friends from the days when he was a member there, and as we assured those who remembered Erwin Barron when he was on their staff that he is doing well in California.

Three years ago this week many of us were in Minneapolis for Tim's installation at Westminster.  Some of you may remember that a neighboring rabbi gave a benediction in which he told Tim, "You are where you are supposed to be."  (The rabbi was in our conference, by the way.)  That was very hard for me to believe at the time.  But — aided, of course, by our having a wonderful new pastor of our own -- I have come to know that it is true.  And the gift that Westminster was able to give to the whole denomination in hosting this conference was just a demonstration.

If you are interested, I do hope you'll go to our Covenant Network website and read many of the papers and sermons, or order audio tapes.  We had a great time!  Even so, it is good to be back home at Old First.

                                                                         Best to all :)

                                                                           Pam Byers

 REFLECTIONS ON TRINIDAD: TOWARD A RAINBOW THEOLOGY

by Jeanne Choy Tate

Trinidad, with its colorful diversity of flowers (700 varieties of orchids), birds (400 different species) and  cultures, is often referred to as the Rainbow Nation. Racially, the island is slightly over 40% East Indian and slightly under 40% African descent. The remainder are of European or Chinese descent , with 18% of the population racially mixed. Catholics make up the largest religious group with a little over 25%, and Hindus only slightly less, followed by 11% Anglican, 6% Muslim, and 3.4% Presbyterian. It  may be obvious that religious affiliation follows racial lines, with the majority of East Indians Hindu or Muslim while those of African descent are primarily Catholic.  The surprise, at least to those of us who are unaware North Americans, is that 90% of the Presbyterians are East Indian.

A striking feature of the Presbyterian church in Trinidad is it s comfortable relationship with both its Presbyterian and its Hindu roots. To a North American struggling with issues of living as Christian in a pluralistic society, ‘Trini' Presbyterians offer an intriguing witness. Hinduism, with its colorful religious practice and panoply of gods, including the devouring Kali, has often seemed to me the most difficult religion for Protestants to understand.  Here in Trinidad, however, I experienced the gift of a lived relationship between these two world religions, a relationship characterized not so much by blending – which would imply that both had lost their unique identities – as by a ‘relationship' where both are changed in interaction with one another but the essence of each religious heritage remains intact and true to its own identity. Trinidad may well present an opportunity to view our own pluralistic future, both its vision and its issues.                

We had our first hint of Trinidad's unique multi-cultural, multiracial and multi-religious history on a tour of the capital,  Port-of-Spain. When Trinidad, which lies off the coast of Venezuela, was ‘discovered' by Columbus on his third voyage, it was inhabited by aboriginal tribes whose numbers were soon decimated by white men's diseases and ill-treatment. Spain never really colonized the island; instead, it  encouraged Catholic French from other Caribbean islands to bring their African slaves and establish cocoa and sugar plantations. In 1797 Trinidad was captured by the British, who ruled it until 1962. When slavery in British colonies was abolished in 1834 and freed men and women of African descent moved off the plantations, a new source of cheap labor was needed. After an aborted attempt to import Chinese, who tended to die, East  Indians were brought over in large numbers as indentured laborers, taking their place on the lowest rung of the social ladder.

Our guide told us this history had been passed to him from his Hindu grandfather who, at 103, was one of those who came from India to work the sugar cane. When our guide's father converted to Christianity, however, he was disowned. While there remains no relationship between the grandfather and his own children, the grandchildren have re-established their ties and take great pleasure in their cultural and religious roots. In a few weeks, the whole nation would join together to celebrate the Hindu feast of Divali; signs of the preparation were already in evidence. Christians join this celebration and also celebrate Muslim festivals (somewhat to the dismay of the more purist Muslims, who feel their festivals have been co-opted). Then, of course, there is Carnivale – people of all religions are said to unite on Shrove Tuesday and separate again Ash Wednesday. Our guide, a devout Presbyterian, participates fully in these religious festivals, drawing the line only at the eating of food consecrated to other deities.

In 1868,  Presbyterians from Canada took over a failed American mission. The East Indians were the only social group not already being proselytized then, so the Canadians learned Hindi and began their work with this ethnic group. Our first night in Trinidad we stayed in Morton House, the home of that first missionary. The missionaries brought schools with them, giving East Indians access to some of the best education on the island; in an unforeseen consequence, the East Indians have now moved to the top of the socioeconomic ladder.

The Presbyterian worship we attended was a blend of anthems in Hindi, praise songs, and traditional Euro-centric Reformed hymns. A youth accompaniment on steel drums, along with organ and piano, to some of the praise songs added a tone of deep yearning that left us holding our breath. Later, we were treated to a dinner spread that included curries and roti (nan) and a traditional Indian dance.  Not only has the language of Hindi been retained within the church,  but other cultural traditions as well. For instance, there is a Hindu tradition of ‘purba,' an occasion of prayer and celebration during major life events – a new home, new, job, starting an education, maybe even looking for a job – where friends and members of the congregation gather in a person's home for prayer, dedication and the sharing of a feast.

We North Americans brought our own perspectives to the worship service. While I experienced the Hindi hymns as culturally enriching and liberating, others were struck by the lack of an indigenous impact on the basic Reformed structure of worship. Some wondered whether the traditional East Indian cultural forms might make the worship unwelcoming for those of African descent and whether worship forms indigenous to Trinidad could be found, forms which would welcome all ethnic groups. This, however, might cause the East Indian community to lose contact with their own cultural heritage. Then there were the Trini youth, who wanted popular music and worship styles to make worship more attractive to the younger generation – yet contemporary styles are predominantly shaped by American culture, raising yet another cultural issue. Experiencing and thinking through such issues of  worship and culture are part of what make the cross-cultural sharing of CANAAC so fruitful and exciting.

How did I happen to be in Trinidad and what is CANAAC? CANAAC is an organization of both large and small Reformed denominations from the Caribbean, USA and Canada which meets every eighteen months. It is a regional branch of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, which meets to create dialogue around issues of theology and social reform. In the USA, this means PC(USA), UCC, Reformed Church in America, Cumberland, Christian Reformed, Evangelical Presbyterians, Hungarian and Lithuanian Reformed and Korean Presbyterians, along with their Presbyterian and United Church counterparts in Canada, Guyana, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and Cuba.

Our Trinidad meeting had two foci, youth and re-visioning. Because CANAAC is intentional about raising up the next generation of ecumenical leadership, concurrent with our meeting and integrated into it, a youth consultation was held, primarily with youth from Guyana and Trinidad. Our second focus involved re-visioning CANAAC based on a paper by the current moderator from Jamaica which challenges that overtones from the organization's white missionary days remain which hamper the ability of members from dominant  nations, i.e. people of privilege, to engage in honest dialogue with members of the Two Thirds World on global issues. Such issues are wide-ranging – transnational corporations, sweatshops, the Cuban embargo, the deportation of gang members from the U.S. to ‘home' countries where they have never lived, the rights of women and gays and lesbians – even the huge debts that Caribbean nationals owe after attending North American seminaries.

CANAAC also grapples with how to bring theology and social action together in dialogue. Reformed theology has always been the strength of WARC and CANAAC; the theology committees are well organized with clear direction. But an academic tradition which remains rational and remote, performing its function by distancing itself from its subject in the Euro-centric male mode, often fails to engage reality. On the other hand, social activists are too often so submersed in the messiness of lived reality, they fail to take time to surface and reflect theologically upon their experience.

In the future, in order to bring theology and social reform into deeper dialogue, it is recommended that CANAAC make greater use of our host countries as a source for contextual theology and liturgy. Our host church from Trinidad was immediately responsive to this request and set-up a panel to help inform us on local issues. The panel represented a marvelous model for respectful disagreement. Although the three panelists took issue with each other's understanding of race relations in Trinidad – with two members arguing that these relationships are primarily harmonious, especially since many families are racially mixed,  and the third member arguing that since the Presbyterian Church is primarily East Indian and, in Trinidad, partly due to Presbyterian schools, East Indians are the people of privilege, the perspective of the church here is not realistic regarding racial resentment and conflict. It was clear that the participants have a deep, abiding respect for one another despite their differences. A remaining issue was how to level the playing field in dialogue so that the denominations of privilege with the largest number of voting delegates do not overpower others who come in smaller numbers. It was suggested that, if we speak from our suffering rather than our privilege, then all our contributions will be of equal value. To also increase intercultural dialogue at future meetings, we are recommending longer terms for delegates and more community building, especially in smaller intercultural groups. The youth made an exciting contribution to encourage communication between meetings by setting up on-line dialogues for sharing and giving feedback as theology is in the process of being developed.

As the largest denomination and largest financial contributor, PCUSA is in an interesting position. At these meetings, we are the dominant denomination from the dominant nation which places us in a position of privilege, yet most of us have spent our lives feeling marginalized within our own nation and often within our own denomination. This leaves us feeling vulnerable and uncertain how to speak from a position of privilege which we associate with negative power. We tend to want to deny our privilege, though this is clearly how we are viewed by others. Perhaps PC(USA) delegates need to dialogue around issues of power and dominance among ourselves if we are to claim who we are and bring that position honestly to the table. That is what the so exciting about CANAAC – the possibility of having honest dialogue which builds on both the strengths and vulnerabilities of member nations. It is only a potential but it is a potential that rarely exists elsewhere in the world.

December 2001, Nov 2001, October 2001,  September 2001, July/August 2001, June 2001,  May 2001,  April 2001, March 2001, 
February 2001, January 2001 

December 2000, November 2000,October 2000, September 2000, July/August 2000, May/June 2000,April 2000, March 2000, February 2000