Confession of Belhar (September 1986): https://www.pcusa.org/site_media/media/uploads/theologyandworship/pdfs/belhar.pdf.
We believe:
that unity is, therefore, both a gift and an obligation for the church of Jesus Christ; that through the working of God’s Spirit it is a binding force, yet simultaneously a reality which must be earnestly pursued and sought: one which the people of God must continually be built up to attain.
Reflection (continued) by Ina Jones Hughes on the Purple Church, from the Presbyterian Outlook
https://pres-outlook.org/2013/12/purple-church/.
In October, over 100 church professionals from 23 states and the District of Columbia gathered at Montreat Conference Center in the mountains of Western North Carolina for a four-day conference as part of its Institute for Church Leadership. The theme was “The Church in Purple,” a metaphor intended to underscore the need for mutual understanding and respect among Christians who disagree on a variety of theological and social issues, worship styles and how to be the church in today’s world. A judgmental, win/lose approach in dealing with these differences leads to estrangement and brokenness. A “purple church” would be less interested in red/blue labels and more committed to modeling a royal priesthood of believers who aren’t all cut from the same cloth, but meld together in a community that intentionally chooses to live out Christ’s call in mutual respect, humility and compassion.
This conference took the form of dialogical conversations in which various pairs from different camps, theologically and practically, showed not only how such civility and respect is possible among people from different “sides,” but also how these traits model God’s kingdom rather than a culture of “us” against “them.” Without compromising his or her own viewpoints, each presenter told how their personal life as well as their ministry has been enriched by listening to, learning from and caring about their counterparts.
Pointing out that there are — at last count — 38,000 different Christian denominations across the globe, Thomas Daniel, pastor of Kairos Church in Atlanta — a self-defined “conservative” on many issues — put this question before the group during his dialogue with Pen Peery, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Charlotte N.C., considered progressive on the religious spectrum:
“What does that say about us? What is it that drives our need to further isolate ourselves from each other? … The biggest problem with church is not our differences, but how we view each other with suspicion because of those differences.” More and more congregations, Daniel said, are becoming a mixed bag of ethnicities and faith backgrounds. He asked, then answered, another important question: What really makes people join with a group? It has to do with hospitality, openness, joy. Both Daniel and Peery underlined the fact that unity is not the same thing as uniformity. Both agree that putting the emphasis on what liberal and conservative Christians have in common makes what they have in conflict less important.