Ken Sumner spoke from the heart as he gave more background to the reasons behind the proposed changes to the Preamble.

Ken said, “As a body of people in the church we need one story. At the present we have two stories, yours and ours, both different. We as the body of Christ need one story to tell, one song to sing, preferably the same song, the same tune and preferably to sing it in tune together. A new song!

“We want the Preamble to be the fresh start we all need. We don’t want to keep remembering, we don’t want to keep bringing our horrible history in front of you. But until the truth is told, we cannot forget, and we struggle to forgive.”

Ken Sumner thanked the church for wrestling with the issues surrounding the Preamble. He said “I trust that the Holy Spirit will travel with you, and me, as we look at this further.” He said he was available to any congregation or group who wished him to come and help them explore the Preamble in the lead up to the next Synod meeting.

You can read more about the proposed changes here.  

The Congress Report including the text of the Preamble can be downloaded here.

Above Story from: E_update Thursday October 29, Saturday 31 October, 2009

Below: Adelaide Congress  members in their table group at the October 2009 meeting of the Presbytery and Synod.