A Message from Mark
Of Fortresses and Faithful Work
Mark McCormick, General Presbyter
A mighty fortress is our God,
A bulwark never failing;
Our helper amidst the flood
Of mortal ills prevailing.
-Martin Luther (1529)
In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the Catholic Church in Rome endeavored to eradicate the influence of a movement it deemed heretical. The Cathar influence began in Bulgaria and moved west across Europe until it found fertile ground and firm footing in the south of France. After a twenty-year crusade (1205-1225), the Church had eradicated Catharism from the region, at the cost of a near genocide of the population. Among the many responses in the aftermath of this Albigensian Crusade, the Church initiated construction of cathedrals and churches across the region, including the Cathedral of St. Cecilia of Albi, which presents a striking fortress-like form. Regional leaders funded the construction of bastides. Bastides are fortress towns built on top of hills overlooking the sprawling valleys of the Tarn and the Lot Rivers. Standing upon the ramparts of the medieval fortresses, one is impressed not only by the beauty of the vistas, but also by the tactical impact of the placement. No one could sneak up on these towns again!
You might ask: What do medieval cathedrals and bastides have to do with 21st century Presbyterianism? Even though Reformed Christianity has had its own heresy trials (William Robertson Smith and Charles Augustus Briggs immediately come to mind), the response to these matters have been far more intellectual and far less deadly than earlier heresy trials led by the Church. Even in the trials of Smith and Briggs, the debates often recognized the importance of freedom of conscience when considering theological or interpretive positions. Our mutual forbearance for one another, codified in the Book of Order (F-3.0105), grounds even our disagreements in the recognition that people of good character and principles may differ in their considerations of truths and forms.
We do not have modern heresy controversies to manage this year at the General Assembly, but there will be Presbyterians who hold views and positions that will differ from the conclusions reached through voting at the biannual meeting this year. Even when we disagree, General Assembly is an opportunity for the Presbyterian Church (USA) to demonstrate once again how our polity includes respect for one another and submission to the sovereign will of God discerned through our constitutional processes.
At the Spring Meeting of PSL in May, we commissioned Rick Atkerson, Joe Genau, Darryl Love, and Adrienne Royster to attend and participate in the 227th General Assembly. Please remember Rick, Joe, Darryl, and Adrienne in your prayers in the coming weeks. They are (no doubt!) already studying the overtures to be considered, the authoritative interpretations to be determined, and the organizational changes to be learned and adapted to. In two weeks, the committee meetings will begin and the week after that the Assembly will gather in Milwaukee to start the in-person work! With an abiding faith in God’s guiding Grace, let us pray for all GA commissioners, that they will have wisdom and understanding as they prepare for deliberations, mutual forbearance for one another as they debate and discuss the issues this year, safe travel to and from Milwaukee, and security while there doing this important work of the Church.
Thanks be to God that we no longer need those fortresses but can rely upon the Mighty Fortress of God’s good guidance for our Commissioners to the 227th General Assembly.
Hopefully,
Mark