Discerning to stay
  After seeking to understand God's wishes, congregation opts to remain in the PC(USA).

When the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) decided to allow those in same-sex relationships to serve in ordained roles, many in the congregation of Calvin Presbyterian Church in Shoreline, Washington, wondered whether it was time to leave the denomination. In response, pastor Neil Trainer posed this question: "What does Christ Jesus, the Good Shepherd, want of us as a congregation?" "That is the only proper question," Trainer says. "What we wanted was irrelevant."
  The presbytery had not developed a discernment process and offered to partner with the session to create one.
  "We felt most churches were doing discernment poorly," says Trainer. "And we wanted to raise the bar. Our question was, What does the Lord of the church require of us? When we knew that, we would know what to do." The discernment process took a year and a half, with the session pursuing one track of study and the congregation pursuing a separate track. Trainer preached a 16-sermon series on discernment. The first section defined discernment, the second focused on key issues, and the last focused on engaging the congregation. "We adopted our core values of transparency, humility, and grace. We were open about every stage of the process. We didn't hold secret meetings. We entered the process believing that we could be wrong. And we made a commitment to believe the best about others," says Trainer.
  The session believed that in times of disaffection it is easy to focus solely on the negatives. They made a point of naming the positives about the PC(USA) as well. "We didn't want to make it a referendum on human sexuality," says Trainer.
  After the sermon series, the congregation gathered in listening groups. "In some cases, it was a venting session," Trainer says. "But, at their best, group members went deep to listen to how God might be speaking through each other, even if they didn't agree with each other."
  Next, the session had retreats for prayer and conversation. "We wanted to frame it in a way that was not just a binary yes or no. We needed to leave room for relationships," says Trainer.
  The session eventually decided that the Lord was calling them to reaffirm their covenant with the PC(USA) and to establish a covenant relationship with the Fellowship Community (see "New paths for Presbyterians" on p. 33). The congregation concurred with this decision.
  "As GA came around this time," Trainer says, "many didn't agree with the actions on marriage. . . . But we have already made the decision, and the Lord has spoken to us. We can acknowledge and respond but not react."
  The congregation is also focusing on what it means to be in a covenant with the Fellowship Community. "We're excited to be a part of moving into the future," says Trainer.

By Erin Cox-Holmes, Presbyterians Today, December 2014 (Scroll down or search for this article)