c. 2006 Religion News Service

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. _ For some Presbyterian churches, the phrase “Father, Son and Holy Spirit” may soon give way to alternatives such as “Compassionate mother, beloved child and lifegiving womb.”

The Presbyterian Church (USA) General Assembly on Monday (June 19) accepted a report that encourages _ but does not mandate _ using alternatives to traditional references to the Trinity.

“The language of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, rooted in Scripture and creed, remains an indispensable anchor for our efforts to speak faithfully of God,” said the theological report for the 2.3 million-member Presbyterian Church (USA).

“With this anchor in place, however, we are liberated to interpret, amplify and expand upon the ways of naming the three-in-one God familiar to most church members. We are freed to speak faithfully and amply of the mystery of the Trinity.”

The report, “The Trinity: God’s Love Overflowing,” will be made widely available as a study guide.

“They’ve allowed for the broadening of the language, without enforcing it in any way,” said the Rev. Tom Evans, top executive for the Presbytery of Sheppards and Lapsley, which is a regional body of churches here in north-central Alabama.

Some members of the committee that handled the statement said the church had taken a noncontroversial issue and created a controversy over gender-inclusive language. They offered a dissenting minority report, which was rejected by the General Assembly.

The minority report charged that the Trinity paper makes the biblical names of God equivalent to metaphors or analogies for God.

“The Trinity paper suffers from a confusion about the name of God,” said Jonathan Lovelady, a committee member who opposed the report. “It was a matter of great concern for the early church and it’s still a matter of concern.”

The theological report, five years in the making, explores and encourages such alternative formulations for the Trinity as:

_ “Rainbow of Promise, Ark of Salvation and Dove of Peace”

_ “Speaker, Word and Breath”

_ “Giver, Gift and Giving”

_ “Lover, Beloved and Love that binds together Lover and Beloved”

_ “Rock, Cornerstone and Temple”

In other action, delegates approved a report affirming a common Abrahamic heritage among Christianity, Islam and Judaism, encouraging the “common effort of Christians, Muslims and Jews to work together for peace, justice and righteousness.”

(Greg Garrison writes for The Birmingham News in Birmingham, Ala.)

KRE/PH END GARRISON