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PHILOSOPHY
Hermon is a member of National Capital Presbytery, 122 churches in
southern Maryland, Washington, and northern Virginia. The
presbytery extends from Columbia in the north to dale City in the
south, from Severna Park in the east to Purcellville (beyond
Leesburg) in the west. It is a pluralistic presbytery in every way,
liberal, moderate and conservative; African churches,
African-American churches, Korean churches, a Taiwanese church, a
Chinese church; city, town, suburban, and rural churches. The
presbytery is part of the Mid-Atlantic Synod, which includes
Delaware, Maryland, D.C., Virginia, and North Carolina. Within the
synod there are innumerable institutions, Union Theological seminary
in Richmond, retreat properties, institutions to serve the needs of
children, youth, and families. Finally, the national body is the
General Assembly of the
Presbyterian
Church (USA). There are a number of Presbyterian denominations, of
which ours is the oldest and largest. The others were the result of
splinter groups that split off over various issues in the last 200+
years.
The
government of the church is that of a representative democracy, with
many checks and balances. Basic principles are that lay people share
leadership with the clergy. At its inception, the church reflected a
suspicion of what happens when the clergy alone run the church. This
representative democracy, be it ecclesiastical or civil, takes
seriously the concepts of sin and power. The founders had ample
experience of what happens when “power corrupts and absolute power
corrupts absolutely.” It is no accident that our civil government
and our church polity parallel each other. The American revolution,
on the floor of the British Parliament, was sometimes referred to as
the Presbyterian rebellion. The lay leadership is elected by the
congregation. The Session is composed of
Elders, who
serve three year terms. (The Greek word for elder is presbuteros,
the basis for the word Presbyterian.). The church, then, by title
and definition, is governed by elders. Leaders have terms of office
and prescribed areas of authority. One of the more visible examples
of lay leadership is the inauguration in the last month of lay
liturgists, eleven of them, who assist in worship each week.
The
theology of the denomination is in the Reformed tradition, which is
to say that John Calvin, the Frenchman who served in Geneva,
Switzerland, is the theological “father”. His ideas were carried to
Scotland, where the Presbyterian church blossomed.
Hermon Church is pluralistic in many ways. Nationalities represented
by members and friends are England, Norway, Sweden, Germany, Hawaii,
Guam, Argentina, Russia, Malawi, Nigeria, France, Korea, and New
Zealand/Australia. Did we miss anyone?
We
are theologically diverse, and this is seen as a strength; we are
enriched by our differences. The prevailing attitude is, “The way in
which you understand God to be leading you is quite different from
how I understand God to be leading me, but I respect your calling
and trust that you respect mine.” The best words that describe
Hermon are “inclusion” and “inclusive”. It is our goal for everyone
to feel at home and to grow spiritually.
A
group was touring a diamond factory in Haifa, Israel. They were told
that there is no such thing as a diamond chip in Israel. Every
diamond, however small, has 57 facets. We often think of Hermon that
way, a beautiful, radiant church, which despite its size is reflects
the light of God into our lives and into the community.
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