June 16, 2006
by Eva Stimson

BIRMINGHAM – Preaching at the first worship service of the 217th General Assembly, outgoing moderator Rick Ufford-Chase challenged Presbyterians to overcome fear with faith. He led a packed hall of worshipers in repeating together a refrain taken from his Scripture text, Mark 9:14-29: "I believe. Help my unbelief."

A highlight of the service was the commissioning of nearly 200 mission personnel and volunteers serving throughout the United States and around the world. Included in this number were persons who have begun serving since the 216th General Assembly (2004) and persons who will begin service this year and next. The number includes 14 long-term, overseas mission personnel.

Commissioners also recognized global partners in mission serving in the United States and eight mission personnel who are retiring after 20 or more years of service. Marian McClure, director of the Worldwide Ministries Division of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), said the retiring workers "together represent 251 years of active mission service."

In his sermon, Ufford-Chase described the dramatic transformation of a tiny Presbyterian congregation he had visited in southern Taiwan. Surrounded by an overwhelmingly Buddhist society (Taiwan is only 3 percent Christian), the timid church members had hidden their building behind a 6-foot wall.

But their new pastor encouraged them to tear down the wall and replace the sanctuary's heavy wooden front door with glass office doors. They moved a tree that was blocking the door and placed a pink neon cross on top of the steeple. They built a tree house to attract children and a climbing wall to draw teenagers, then began reaching out to the community.

The example set by this Taiwanese congregation "offers wisdom for our church today," Ufford-Chase said. "The only answer to fear is to take down the walls."

The lives of many Christians today are characterized by fear, he continued. Fear that our children will not get into the best colleges, and fear that our churches are dying.

"We're afraid someone might drive a bigger SUV than we do and run us over," he said.

"Fear is the ultimate expression of a lack of faith. What if we were a little less worried about institutional management and were willing to allow God's Spirit to break out in the church in sometimes messy ways?"

Ufford-Chase challenged listeners to believe and act on God's promises. "If we intend to be part of the movement of God's Spirit that is sweeping across the world," he said, "the time to act is now."

Presbyterian News Service