In this E-pistle
A Life Remembered
You’ve Got To Wonder Why - The PCUSA and 9/11 conspiriacy theories

We received the news this week of Bobbie Kinney’s death. Bobbie died on July 7 and a memorial service was held at the First Presbyterian Church of Casper, Wyoming on July 15. The service bulletin and a obituary have been posted in the Gathering Room. Bobbie served with her husband Frank as co-associate pastor at Park from 1995 to 1998. She had been battling cancer for several years.

Frank and Bobbie’s tenure at Park was relatively brief. I worked with them for just the last five months of their time here. There is no need to deny the fact that Frank and Bobbie’s three years at Park were difficult in many ways. The circumstances related to pastoral transitions are rarely easy, and Frank and Bobbie served only during times of change – the final year or so of one pastorate, 18 months of interim and then the beginning months of a new pastorate. In addition to that, there were particulars about the Kinneys’ relationship with Park and our congregation’s response to Frank and Bobbie that complicated matters all the more. Enough said.

But it must also be said that God used Bobbie (and Frank) in good and faithful ways here at Park and we have ample cause for thanksgiving as we remember her life. Bobbie had a passion for caring deeply about God’s people. She inaugurated the Stephen Ministry program, and though we were not able to sustain it following her departure, it still bears fruit among those Bobbie trained and mentored for compassionate care-giving.

Throughout her ordained ministry, Bobbie had a heart for the renewal of Christ’s church based on commitment to Biblical authority and openness to the work of the Holy Spirit. I am personally thankful for Bobbie’s ministry as I believe it helped opened doors to just such a renewal here at Park.

Bobbie’s obituary mentions the three great loves of her life: the Lord Jesus Christ, the family with which God blessed her (Frank and daughters Beth and Sara), and the church of Jesus Christ. Bobbie lived out those loves in her personal commitment to Christ, as a mother and wife, and in the long years of her ministry. Love of Christ, family, and church is a rich legacy for any person to leave as Bobbie clearly has.

Thank God for the life of Bobbie Kinney. (Frank’s address is 1540 Nottingham Dr. Caper, WY 82609)

An unfortunate news story about our PCUSA publishing house has been reprinted in several places this week. Here’s the original headline: Official Presbyterian Publisher Issues 9/11 Conspiracy Book: Process theologian David Ray Griffin is among the most prominent proponents of theory that Bush administration, not Al Qaeda, was behind attacks. Read all about it. The official response seems unpersuasive (click here). Certainly, you’ve got to wonder why.

I am not uncritical about the war on terror and I am convinced that blind patriotism and Christian discipleship do not go well together. But that our denomination’s publishing house would find it within its mission to indulge such wild speculation and conspiracy theory is hard to fathom. And to insist that among other things the book will “inspire faithful living” is a stretch to say the least.

Our war-torn, terror-stricken, unjust, people-oppressing, insensitive world needs the caring and compassionate Gospel of peace brought by the Lord Jesus Christ. It needs a church radically committed to carrying that Gospel to the ends of the earth by word and by deed. We must feed the hungry, work to liberate the captive and proclaim the Good News at the cost of self. As I said this past Sunday, God always calls us to danger, risk-taking and self-denial. The Christian faith is not for those content to live in comfort and who are most interested in self-protection. I believe that there are times when our denominational leaders, among others, will make us very uncomfortable in declaring the uncompromising demands of the gospel.

The Presbyterian Publishing Corporation and Westminster/John Knox are tools the church has been given for its task of bearing witness to the Risen Christ. The stewardship of those gifts is the responsibility of every Presbyterian from the pew of the local church to the elected leaders in Louisville. At this point, it seems to me that we are failing to be good stewards of the gifts God has given. Our session has begun a process of learning more as it leads us to an appropriate response.

More than ever, the world needs a faithful church. Pray that Park Presbyterian Church is a part of that faithful church in all we say and do.

See you Sunday.