#Belhar Confession

[minnesotafollower]

“The Benediction of Life Together” at Westminster Presbyterian Church 

On September 10, 2023, Rev. Tim Hart-Andersen. Senior Pastor at Minneapolis Westminster Presbyterian Church, delivered the sermon, “The Benediction of Life Together,” which was the first of his last seven sermons before his retirement at the end of October. Scripture Psalm 1: 1-3: “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the…

[biblebloodhound]

John 17:20-26 – The Need for and Importance of Unity

Why is unity so important to Jesus?

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me, and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete…

[blessedarethebinarybreakers]

Hey :D I'm a queer Presbyterian (Presbyterian Church in Ireland) and I like researching other Protestant denominations because it helps me feel closer to God. I like my denomination, but part of me wishes there were more sort of set stuff that can be learned (like prayers). For whatever reason engaging in set stuff like that and learning them also helps me feel closer to God, but apart from the Creed and the catechism there's not a lot in Presbyterianism. Anglicans have a Book of Common Prayer that is more along the lines of what I'm looking for but I'm not looking to convert to being Anglican, and I feel guilty about wanting to engage with their prayer book because of it. Is it bad to engage with parts of other denominations if you're not planning to convert?

Hi there! So cool to hear from a fellow Presbyterian from “across the pond”!

Exploring and borrowing from other denominations is not bad at all -- we are all one in the Body of Christ. In fact, it’s really great to recognize the wisdom within a variety of traditions, not only your own. 

One of my favorite things about my seminary was the variety of Christian backgrounds present in the students and teachers -- we had Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, a few humanists & agnostics, a couple Catholics...and we all got to learn from each other, and worship with one another by incorporating different elements from our various traditions into one service. 

If you aren’t familiar with the concept of Ecumenism, you might be interested to look into it; it’s the effort to unite Christians of different denominations to grow in Christ and serve the world together. Getting to know one another’s traditions can be part of that.

Along with the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, I’d also recommend looking into (Catholic monk) Thomas Merton’s A Book of Hours; or queer-specific devotionals like this one and this one. 

You also might find you enjoy the tactile, embodied elements of praying with a rosary -- if the Catholic version is a little too, idk, Mary-centered for you, the Lutherans have a version that’s more Jesus-centered; either way, you use the beads and repeated prayers to enter a meditative state that engages your whole being. 

Also, if you haven’t read through the Presbyterian Book of Confessions, that might be stuff you enjoy! I recommend a copy with footnotes and stuff explaining the context behind each Confession. (Check out Belhar and the Brief Statement of Faith, they’re two of my faves!)

[bookkats]

Do You Reject Evil

Do You Reject Evil

One of our baptismal Question is Do you reject Evil? Min the Belhar Confession there is a rejection piece that condemns wrongdoing–and I find myself, over and over again, condemning the bad things that have happened. So here’s me practicing my rejection and denounciation of evil! I condemn senseless murder. All of it. I condemn that African-Americans are unduly targeted, I condemn that trans…

[saiditallbefore]

We believe • that God has revealed himself as the one who wishes to bring about justice and true peace among people; • that God, in a world full of injustice and enmity, is in a special way the God of the destitute, the poor and the wronged • that God calls the church to follow him in this; for God brings justice to the oppressed and gives bread to the hungry; • that God frees the prisoner and restores sight to the blind; • that God supports the downtrodden, protects the stranger, helps orphans and widows and blocks the path of the ungodly; • that for God pure and undefiled religion is to visit the orphans and the widows in their suffering; • that God wishes to teach the church to do what is good and to seek the right; • that the church must therefore stand by people in any form of suffering and need, which implies, among other things, that the church must witness against and strive against any form of injustice, so that justice may roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream; • that the church as the possession of God must stand where the Lord stands, namely against injustice and with the wronged; that in following Christ the church must witness against all the powerful and privileged who selfishly seek their own interests and thus control and harm others. Therefore, we reject any ideology • which would legitimate forms of injustice and any doctrine which is unwilling to resist such an ideology in the name of the gospel.

Part 4 of the Belhar Confession

[aliteralmess]

Hope you can join us February 3rd, 7:30pm at the Regas Building Gathering Place for our next PubTalk! 

--

A few thoughts to consider, from The Belhar Confession, on why this topic is not only relevant but vital:

“We believe that unity is, therefore, both a gift and an obligation for the church of Jesus Christ...

“...that this unity must become visible so that the world may believe that separation, enmity and hatred between people and groups is sin which Christ has already conquered, and accordingly that anything which threatens this unity may have no place in the church and must be resisted...

“Therefore, we reject any doctrine which absolutizes...the sinful separation of people that...hinders or breaks the visible and active unity of the church, or even leads to the establishment of a separate church formation...

“[we also reject any doctrine]...which explicitly or implicitly maintains that descent or any other human or social factor should be a consideration in determining membership of the church.

“We believe that the church as the possession of God must stand where the Lord stands, namely against injustice and with the wronged; that in following Christ the church must witness against all the powerful and privileged who selfishly seek their own interests and thus control and harm others.”

-From the Belhar Confession, born out of the struggle against apartheid in South Africa.  First drafted in 1982 by the Dutch Reformed Mission Church it was formally adopted in 1986.  The Prologue notes that “It addresses three key issues of concern to all churches: unity of the church and unity among all people, reconciliation within church and society, and God’s justice.”  

[blackflagtheology]

Belhar Confession (with inclusive language)

The Presbyterian Church General Assembly 222 accepted the Belhar Confession into their Book of Confessions. As a Presbyterian, I am very proud of this. 1. We believe in the triune God, Creator, Redeemer, and Holy Spirit, who gathers, protects, and cares for the church through Word and Spirit. This, God has done since the beginning of the world and will do to the end. 2. We believe in one holy, universal Christian church, the communion of saints called from the entire human family. We believe that Christ's work of reconciliation is made manifest in the church as the community of believers who have been reconciled with God and with one another (Eph. 2:11-22); that unity is, therefore, both a gift and an obligation for the church of Jesus Christ; that through the working of God's Spirit it is a binding force, yet simultaneously a reality which must be earnestly pursued and sought: one which the people of God must continually be built up to attain (Eph. 4:1-16); that this unity must become visible so that the world may believe that separation, enmity and hatred between people and groups is sin which Christ has already conquered, and accordingly that anything which threatens this unity may have no place in the church and must be resisted (John 17:20-23); that this unity of the people of God must be manifested and be active in a variety of ways: in that we love one another; that we experience, practice and pursue community with one another; that we are obligated to give ourselves willingly and joyfully to be of benefit and blessing to one another; that we share one faith, have one calling, are of one soul and one mind; have one God and Father, are filled with one Spirit, are baptized with one baptism, eat of one bread and drink of one cup, confess one name, are obedient to one Lord, work for one cause, and share one hope; together come to know the height and the breadth and the depth of the love of Christ; together are built up to the stature of Christ, to the new humanity; together know and bear one another's burdens, thereby fulfilling the law of Christ that we need one another and upbuild one another, admonishing and comforting one another; that we suffer with one another for the sake of righteousness; pray together; together serve God in this world; and together fight against all which may threaten or hinder this unity (Phil. 2:1-5; 1 Cor. 12:4-31; John 13:1-17; 1 Cor. 1:10-13; Eph. 4:1-6; Eph. 3:14-20; 1 Cor. 10:16-17; 1 Cor. 11:17-34; Gal. 6:2; 2 Cor. 1:3-4); that this unity can be established only in freedom and not under constraint; that the variety of spiritual gifts, opportunities, backgrounds, convictions, as well as the various languages and cultures, are by virtue of the reconciliation in Christ, opportunities for mutual service and enrichment within the one visible people of God (Rom. 12:3-8; 1 Cor. 12:1-11; Eph. 4:7-13; Gal. 3:27-28; James 2:1-13); that true faith in Jesus Christ is the only condition for membership of this church. Therefore, we reject any doctrine which absolutizes either natural diversity or the sinful separation of people in such a way that this absolutization hinders or breaks the visible and active unity of the church, or even leads to the establishment of a separate church formation; which professes that this spiritual unity is truly being maintained in the bond of peace while believers of the same confession are in effect alienated from one another for the sake of diversity and in despair of reconciliation; which denies that a refusal earnestly to pursue this visible unity as a priceless gift is sin; which explicitly or implicitly maintains that descent or any other human or social factor should be a consideration in determining membership of the church. 3. We believe that God has entrusted the church with the message of reconciliation in and through Jesus Christ, that the church is called to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world, that the church is called blessed because it is a peacemaker, that the church is witness both by word and by deed to the new heaven and the new earth in which righteousness dwells (2 Cor. 5:17-21; Matt. 5:13-16; Matt. 5:9; 2 Peter 3:13; Rev. 21-22). that God's lifegiving Word and Spirit has conquered the powers of sin and death, and therefore also of irreconciliation and hatred, bitterness and enmity, that God's lifegiving Word and Spirit will enable the church to live in a new obedience which can open new possibilities of life for society and the world (Eph. 4:17–6:23, Rom. 6; Col. 1:9-14; Col. 2:13-19; Col. 3:1–4:6); that the credibility of this message is seriously affected and its beneficial work obstructed when it is proclaimed in a land which professes to be Christian, but in which the enforced separation of people on a racial basis promotes and perpetuates alienation, hatred and enmity; that any teaching which attempts to legitimate such forced separation by appeal to the gospel, and is not prepared to venture on the road of obedience and reconciliation, but rather, out of prejudice, fear, selfishness and unbelief, denies in advance the reconciling power of the gospel, must be considered ideology and false doctrine. Therefore, we reject any doctrine which, in such a situation, sanctions in the name of the gospel or of the will of God the forced separation of people on the grounds of race and color and thereby in advance obstructs and weakens the ministry and experience of reconciliation in Christ. 4. We believe that God has revealed Godself as the one who wishes to bring about justice and true peace among people; that God, in a world full of injustice and enmity, is in a special way the God of the destitute, the poor and the wronged; that God calls the church to follow God in this, for God brings justice to the oppressed and gives bread to the hungry; that God frees the prisoner and restores sight to the blind; that God supports the downtrodden, protects the stranger, helps orphans and widows and blocks the path of the ungodly; that for God pure and undefiled religion is to visit the orphans and the widows in their suffering; that God wishes to teach the church to do what is good and to seek the right (Deut. 32:4; Luke 2:14; John 14:27; Eph. 2:14; Isa. 1:16-17; James 1:27; James 5:1-6; Luke 1:46-55; Luke 6:20-26; Luke 7:22; Luke 16:19-31; Ps. 146; Luke 4:16-19; Rom. 6:13-18; Amos 5); that the church must therefore stand by people in any form of suffering and need, which implies, among other things, that the church must witness against and strive against any form of injustice, so that justice may roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream; that the church as the possession of God must stand where the Lord stands, namely against injustice and with the wronged; that in following Christ the church must witness against all the powerful and privileged who selfishly seek their own interests and thus control and harm others. Therefore, we reject any ideology which would legitimate forms of injustice and any doctrine which is unwilling to resist such an ideology in the name of the gospel. 5. We believe that, in obedience to Jesus Christ, its only head, the church is called to confess and to do all these things, even though the authorities and human laws might forbid them and punishment and suffering be the consequence (Eph. 4:15-16; Acts 5:29-33; 1 Peter 2:18-25; 1 Peter 3:15-18). Jesus is Lord. To the one and only God, Creator, Redeemer, and Holy Spirit, be the honor and the glory for ever and ever.

[minnesotafollower]

The Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)    

I am a member and non-ruling elder of Westminster Presbyterian Church (Minneapolis), which is a member of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) denomination. The latter’s Constitution consists of the following two parts. Part I: The Book of Confessions This Book contains the following confessions: The Nicene Creed (A.D. 381) The Apostles’ Creed (A.D. 180) The Scots Confession (1560) The Heidelberg…

[minnesotafollower]

“Who Is Jesus for Us Today?”  

This was the title of the sermon on September 9, 2018, by Rev. Timothy Hart-Andersen, Senior Pastor, Minneapolis’ Westminster Presbyterian Church. (A photograph of the church with its new addition is below.)

Biblical Texts for the Day

 Psalm 8 (NRSV):

“O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory above the heavens. Out of the mouths of babes and…

[bookkats]

Reject evil

when of our baptismal questions is do you denounce/reject Evil? i always joke this is the easy one, who isn’t against evil?  But as the news of violence and hatred pile up. I wonder why it’s so hard to act against evil? Min the Belhar Confession there is a rejection piece that condemns wrongdoing–and I find myself, over and over again, condemning the bad things that have happened. So here’s me…

[bookkats]

Martha's Confession (Belhar & Luke 10:38-42)

Martha’s Confession (Belhar & Luke 10:38-42)

Prayer of Confession (unison) God, forgive us. We are all too ready to separate ourselves from others. We live in comparison. Separating ourselves to be better, harder working or more in need. We like to be the insiders, the ones who deserve things. Let us therefore reject any teaching which legitimize separation from those we consider to be less worthy. Lead us on the path of obedience and…