Resources For the 2008 GA On the Coalition's Website
August 30, 2007

The next General Assembly is closer than we may think. Issues and overtures are already a matter of urgency. Overtures responding to last year's authoritative interpretation of the PUP Report and a complete revision of the Book of Order's Form of Government are among the most pressing matters.

There is lots of work to be done that I want to encourage you to participate in prior to that meeting in San Jose, CA, June 21-28.

Overtures to GA

You will find the Coalition's General Assembly 2008 page on our website at http://www.presbycoalition.org/GA/GAmain.htm. This page provides information and resources to help you influence the outcome of the General Assembly by what you do now, right where you are.

For example, we have linked to the official General Assembly site where you will find the overtures that already have been adopted by presbyteries and will be business at the upcoming General Assembly. If you see one you like, your session can ask your presbytery to concur with it.

A team of renewalists has been meeting monthly since the close of the GA of 2006 to prepare for the next GA. A group has been drafting overtures for that Assembly. Visit our website, find an overture, and go to work getting it to GA. It's important to start that process immediately. New overtures and concurrences must be approved by your presbytery and both take time to work through the process. The first deadline for submission to the Office of the General Assembly is February 22. That deadline is for proposed amendments to the constitution.

Elections

In addition, there is ongoing discussion and work on elections, both for commissioners and for General Assembly offices and committees. Some of you will be commissioners and I would love to hear from you when you are elected. Others of you should be candidates for General Assembly standing committees, who will be elected at the upcoming GA. We'd love to help you with the process.

The New FOG

Next month the Form of Government (FOG) Task Force will release a draft of their rewrite of the first part of the Book of Order. The General Assembly directed them to release their report on September 1 ("6. The FOG Task Force will release the proposed revision of the Form of Government including advisory handbooks by September 1, 2007.")

I have attended most of the task force meetings as an observer. The link to their work is http://www.pcusa.org/formofgovernment/draftsa ndupdates.htm. The drafts have been changing with each meeting, so watch for the most recent version of their rewrite. It will have a September date. This proposed change to the constitution may be the most important business coming to the 2008 General Assembly. I'll be writing to you more about this.

Please join us in praying for the upcoming General Assembly. This is a good time to pray for the election of wise and godly commissioners and for the success of overtures that will help restore biblical faithfulness to our body.

Sincerely,

Terry Schlossberg
The Presbyterian Coalition

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