Part
I: Report
The
following is a report of the outcomes of the General Assembly on a
number of items considered to be of importance to renewal organizations
in the PC(USA), or items that seemed especially newsworthy due to
widespread interest among Presbyterians.
This
General Assembly dealt with a record number of items of business.
We have not tried to include it all. Consult the PC(USA) website and
the electronic record of the proceedings on Les for outcomes not listed
here.
00.
Plenary
All business is dealt with in plenary by means of consent agendas,
reports from GA committees, or items brought directly to the floor.
Elections is a primary item of business that comes directly to the
floor. This year there were floor nominations for GANC, General Assembly-Permanent
Judicial Commission (GA-PJC), Advisory Committee on the Constitution
(ACC), and Advocacy Committee on Women’s Concerns (ACWC). Two
floor candidates for ACWC were elected.
• Minister-commissioner Joan Gray was elected Moderator of the
217th G.A.
• Linda Valentine was confirmed as new executive director of
the General Assembly Council (GAC)
01.
Business Referral
02. Bills & Overtures
03.
GA Procedures
Business included Montreat, per capita, and open meeting policy. The
assembly:
•
Approved the committee’s recommendation by voting overwhelmingly
to uphold the voluntary nature of per capita and reject an authoritative
interpretation that would permit presbyteries to require payment by
local congregations
• Set Pittsburgh as location for 2012 General Assembly (2008
GA is in San Jose, CA; 2010 is in Minneapolis)
• Rejected granting oversight to the Friends of Montreat Historical
Society and directed Montreat Conference Center, Columbia Seminary
and the Friends of Montreat “to work together to develop creative
programs and resources” at both Montreat and the seminary.
• Adopted requirements of all organizations, exempting PCUSA
and “conciliar bodies,” to provide certain information
in order to obtain exhibit space at General Assemblies.
• Referred Commissioner Resolution 03-23 on Open Meetings to
the Office of the General Assembly, asking for their recommendation
to be brought back in 2008.
04.
Church Orders
Business related to marriage and Book of Order G-6.0106b. The assembly:
• Disapproved the Heartland overture and the concurrences
by other presbyteries to remove G-6.0106b and the 1978/79 authoritative
interpretation (“fidelity and chastity”) from the Book
of Order by a vote of 405/92/4
• Directed the Stated Clerk to send a pastoral letter to each
congregation explaining the role of an authoritative interpretation
of the Constitution, a copy of the policy and recommendations from
the 1978 authoritative interpretation along with a study guide prepared
by the Office of Theology and Worship commending the 1978 authoritative
interpretation to our churches. Electronic communication will be used
as a cost-saving measure.
• Disapproved three overtures pertaining to marriage and ministries
to those in sexual conflict.
05.
Polity
Rewritten Chapter 14 of FOG; task force to rewrite all of FOG; property.
The assembly:
• Disapproved Item 05-07 that would have stated that “All
property held by or for a particular church no matter how title is
held or by whom, is the sole property of that church, except that
the amount of any financial assistance provided by the Presbyterian
Church (U.S.A.) to that church to purchase, improve, or repair that
property, is a lien on that property for the benefit of the Presbyterian
Church (U.S.A.).” (G-8.0201)
• Approved proposed amended Chapter 14 of the Form of Government
(FOG); requires ratification by a majority of our 173 presbyteries
in the next year for approval by the presbyteries.
• Approved creation of a task force to produce a complete rewrite
of the Form of Government and present that rewrite to the GA of 2008
• Approved proposed amendments A-1&2 and B-1-3; disapproved
proposed amendments 4-6
(Consult Les for the wording of the proposed amendments)
06.
Ecclesiology
Outcomes of the Peace, Unity, and Purity Report. The assembly:
• Quickly adopted Recommendations 1-3 and 4 as amended
(the vote was 459/41/7) by the committee. The wording of 4 is as follows:
“The
Task Force on Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Church recommends
that the 217th General Assembly (2006) direct the Committee on the
Office of the General Assembly, and urge those who plan and moderate
meetings of other governing bodies, to explore the use of alternative
forms of discernment [and][preliminary to] decision-making
[as a complement to parliamentary procedure], especially
in dealing with potentially divisive issues.”
The assembly
disapproved Item 06-11 from Detroit calling for consensus decision-making.
• Rejected a minority report to delete Recommendation 5 by a
vote of 287/234/0. It then defeated a motion to refer Recommendations
5&6 to the lower governing bodies for their discernment and comment
and approved the following by a vote of 298/221/1:
“The
Task Force on Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Church recommends
that the 217th General Assembly (2006) approve the following authoritative
interpretation of section G-6.0108 of the Book of Order:
a.
The Book of Confessions and the Form of Government
of the Book of Order set forth the scriptural and constitutional
standards for ordination and installation.
b.
These Standards are determined by the whole church, after the
careful study of Scripture and theology, solely by the constitutional
process of approval by the General Assembly with the approval
of the presbyteries. These standards may be interpreted by the
General Assembly and its Permanent Judicial Commission.
c.
Ordaining and installing bodies, acting as corporate expressions
of the church, have the responsibility to determine their membership
by applying these standards to those elected to office. These
determinations include:
Whether
a candidate being examined for ordination and/or installation
as elder, deacon, or minister of Word and Sacrament has departed
from scriptural and constitutional standards for fitness for
office.
Whether
any departure constitutes a failure to adhere to the essentials
of Reformed faith and polity under G-6.0108 of the Book
of Order, thus barring the candidate from ordination and/or
installation.
d.
Whether [ the examination and ordination and installation decision
comply with the constitution of the PCUSA, and whether] the ordaining/installing
body has conducted its examination reasonably, responsibly, prayerfully,
and deliberately in deciding to ordain a candidate for church
office is subject to review by higher governing bodies.
e.
All parties should endeavor to outdo one another in honoring one
another’s decisions, according the presumption of wisdom
to ordaining/installing bodies in examining candidates and to
the General Assembly, with presbyteries’ approval, in setting
standards.
•
Answered items 2-6, 8-9, 12-21 with the action on 06-01 (above)
07.
Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations
Abrahamic heritage and business related to ecumenical matters; the
assembly:
• Adopted the following amended version of the overture from
the Presbytery of Newton by a vote of 466/29/6
“[1.
Affirm a common Abrahamic heritage among the three faiths—Christianity,
Islam, and Judaism—to accept the principle of unity and harmony
among them and to encourage all congregations to do the same.]
“[2.
Accept and proclaim that Muslims, Jews, and Christians worship the
same God—the God worshiped by Abraham, Sarah, Hagar, Moses,
Mary, Jesus, and Muhammad—and ask the one true God to bless
efforts in dialog, building bridges of harmony, and fighting violence
and terror.]
“[3.]
[Affirm the current mandate of the Office of Interfaith Relations
to] [P] [p]romote the common effort of Christians, Muslims, and
Jews to work together for peace, justice, and righteousness[,
which is an equal concern of each of the three faiths.]”
•
Agreed by consensus to invite the following bodies to send ecumenical
advisory delegates to the 2008 GA
Overseas: Communaute Presbyterieene au Congo, The Uniting Presbyterian
Church in Southern Africa, Church of Central Africa, Armenian Apostolic
Church in Iraq, Presbyterian Church of Chile, United Protestant
Church of Curacao, United Church of Christ in the Philippines, United
Church of Christ in Japan, Reformed Church of France.
North American: African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, Church
of God in Christ, International, Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America, International Council of Community Churches, Korean Presbyterian
Church in America.
08.
Mission Coordination
Budget; personnel and staff issues; changes in General Assembly Council
structure; changes to manuals of operations. The assembly acted to:
• Respond to an overture from Baltimore Presbytery that
sought to eliminate administrative fees from restricted giving with
the following wording
1.
instruct the General Assembly Council (GAC) to assist congregations
in communicating to their membership the reality of changed patterns
in unrestricted giving and the resulting cost implications of administering
restricted funds, and
2.
implore the GAC and the Mission Funding Task Force earnestly to
seek alternative ways of budgeting in order to deal with this changing
reality.
•
Approve a new structure for the General Assembly Council that reduces
its number and redesigns its organization.
• Approved a $97.6 million mission budget.
09.Social
Justice Issues
Approved items such as torture, medical use of marijuana, globalization
(as amended); consult Les
for specific items and outcomes)
10.
Health Issues
Abortion policy was the big issue in this committee. The assembly:
• Adopted by a vote of 381/117/6 a new statement on post-viability
pregnancies, amended to include wording from prior statements, as
follows:
The
church has a responsibility to provide public witness and to offer
guidance, counsel, and support to those who make or interpret laws
and public policies about abortion and problem pregnancies. Pastors
have a duty to counsel with and pray for those who face decisions
about problem pregnancies.
Congregations have a duty to pray for and support those who face
these choices, to offer support for women and families to help make
unwanted pregnancies less likely to occur, and to provide practical
support for those facing the birth of a child with medical anomalies,
birth after rape or incest, or those who face health, economic,
or other stresses.
The church also affirms the value of children and the importance
of nurturing, protecting, and advocating their well-being. The church,
therefore, appreciates the challenge each woman and family face
when issues of personal wellbeing arise in the later stages of a
pregnancy.
“In life and death, we belong to God.” Life is a gift
from God. We may not know exactly when human life begins, and have
but an imperfect understanding of God as the giver of life and of
our own human existence, yet we recognize that life is precious
to God, and we should preserve and protect it. We derive our understanding
of human life from Scripture and the Reformed Tradition in light
of science, human experience, and reason guided by the Holy Spirit.
Because we are made in the image of God, human beings are moral
agents, endowed by the Creator with the capacity to make choices.
Our Reformed Tradition recognizes that people do not always make
moral choices, and forgiveness is central to our faith. In the Reformed
Tradition, we affirm that God is the only Lord of conscience and
not the state or the church. As a community, the church challenges
the faithful to exercise their moral agency responsibly.
When an individual woman faces the decision whether to terminate
a pregnancy, the issue is intensely personal, and may manifest itself
in ways that do not reflect public rhetoric, or do not fit neatly
into medical, legal, or policy guidelines. Humans are empowered
by the spirit prayerfully to make significant moral choices, including
the choice to continue or end a pregnancy. Human choices should
not be made in a moral vacuum, but must be based on Scripture, faith,
and Christian ethics. For any choice, we are accountable to God;
however, even when we err, God offers to forgive us.
We affirm that the lives of viable unborn babies—those well-developed
enough to survive outside the womb if delivered—ought to be
preserved and cared for and not aborted. In cases where problems
of life or health of the mother arise in a pregnancy, the church
supports efforts to protect the life and health of both the mother
and the baby. When late-term pregnancies must be terminated, we
urge decisions intended to deliver the baby alive. We look to our
churches to provide pastoral and tangible support to women in problem
pregnancies and to surround these families with a community of care.
We affirm adoption as a provision for women who deliver children
they are not able to care for, and ask our churches to assist in
seeking loving, Christian, adoptive families.
This General Assembly holds this statement as its position on a
Christian response to problems that arise late in pregnancies. We
find it to be consistent with current General Assembly policy on
Problem Pregnancies and Abortion (1992), [and supersedes General
Assembly statements of 2002 and 2003] on late-term pregnancies and
abortion.
•
Received, rather than adopted, the Monitoring Report on abortion policies
from the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy, and further
amended the report both to delete reaffirmation of the abortion policies,
and “recognize that the policies concerning problem pregnancies
and abortion are not clearly understood by the public and media, and
in an effort to help clarify and interpret the current PC(USA) policies,
the 217th General Assembly (2006) calls upon its agencies to ensure
an even-handed and fair representation of its current policies].”
•
Granted the Office of Theology and Worship a two year delay in completing
work related to dialogue on end of life issues
11.
Peacemaking and International Issues
Divestment was a primary issue in this committee. The assembly:
• By a vote of 483/28/1 adopted the following on divestment
in response to 26 overtures:
After
careful consideration of the overtures brought before the Assembly
Committee on Peacemaking and International Issues of the 217th General
Assembly (2006), we offer the following recommendations.
1. We acknowledge that the actions of the 216th General Assembly
(2004) caused hurt and misunderstanding among many members of the
Jewish community and within our Presbyterian communion. We are grieved
by the pain that this has caused, accept responsibility for the
flaws in our process, and ask for a new season of mutual understanding
and dialogue.
To these ends, we replace the instructions expressed in Item 12-01
(Minutes, 2004 Part I, pp. 64–66) Recommendation 7, which
reads
“7.
Refers to Mission Responsibility Through Investment Committee
(MRTI) with instructions to initiate a process of phased selective
divestment in multinational corporations operating in Israel,
in accordance to General Assembly policy on social investing,
and to make appropriate recommendations to the General Assembly
Council for action.” with the following:
“7. To urge that financial investments of the Presbyterian
Church (U.S.A.), as they pertain to Israel, Gaza, East Jerusalem,
and the West Bank, be invested in only peaceful pursuits,
and affirm that the customary corporate engagement process of
the Committee on Mission Responsibility Through Investments of
our denomination is the proper vehicle for achieving this goal.”
2.
Direct Mission Responsibility Through Investment (MRTI) to ensure
that its strategies for engaging corporations with regard to Israeli
and Palestinian territories
a.
Reflect the application of fundamental principles of justice and
peace common to Christianity, Islam, and Judaism that are appropriate
to the practical realities of Israeli and Palestinian societies.
b. Reflect commitment to positive outcomes.
c. Reflect awareness of potential impact upon the stability, future
viability, and prosperity of both the Israeli and Palestinian
economies.
d. Identify affirmative investment opportunities as they pertain
to Israel, Gaza, East Jerusalem, and the West Bank.
3.
We call upon the church:
a.
To work through peaceful means with American and Israeli Jewish,
American and Palestinian Muslim, and Palestinian Christian communities
and their affiliated organizations for an end to all violence
and terror against Palestinian and Israeli civilians.
b. To work through peaceful means with American and Israeli Jewish,
American and Palestinian Muslim, and Palestinian Christian communities
and their affiliated organizations to end the occupation.
c. To work through peaceful means with American and Israeli Jewish,
American and Palestinian Muslim, and Palestinian Christian communities
and their affiliated organizations towards the creation of a socially,
economically, geographically, and politically viable and secure
Palestinian state, alongside an equally viable and secure Israeli
state, both of which have a right to exist.
d. To encourage and celebrate efforts by individual Presbyterians,
congregations, and judicatories of our church to communicate directly
and regularly with Jewish, Christian, and Muslim communities,
sponsor programs likely to improve relations among Christians,
Jews, and Muslims, and engage in peacemaking in the Middle East.
4.
The 217th General Assembly (2006) does not believe that the Presbyterian
Church (U.S.A.) should tell a sovereign nation whether it can protect
its borders or handle matters of national defense. The problem with
the security wall, in 2004 and presently, is its location. The 217th
General Assembly (2006) supports fair criticism of the security
wall insofar as it illegally encroaches into the Palestinian territory
and fails to follow the legally recognized borders of Israel since
1967 demarcated by the Green Line. To the extent that the security
barrier violates Palestinian land that was not part of Israel prior
to the 1967 war, the barrier should be dismantled and relocated.
5. Recognizing that the situation on the ground in the Israel-Palestine
area is rapidly changing, the General Assembly Council (GAC) is
directed to carefully monitor ongoing developments of the situation
in the Middle East and to examine the polices of the PC(USA) related
to the Middle East, in order to make a comprehensive report to the
218th General Assembly (2008).
6. Instructs the Stated Clerk to communicate Recommendations 1.
through 5. above to the United States’ president, vice president,
secretary of state, and members of Congress; to Israeli and Palestinian
leaders in the Middle East; to the membership of the Presbyterian
Church (U.S.A.); to leadership of Christian, Jewish, and Muslim
faith bodies and denominations in the United States and the Middle
East with whom we are in communication.
Comment: The Assembly received twenty-six overtures pertaining to
the Middle East. The recommendation is the result of the General
Assembly’s honest and sincere effort to address the issues
and concerns that appeared in the overtures in a comprehensive and
concise document.
12.
Church Growth and Christian Education
Items related to Christian Educators and Christian Education. The
assembly:
• Referred Item 12-01 on creating an office of Minister
of Christian Education and 12-02 on creating an office of Educating
Elder to the GAC’s Office of Theology and Worship
• Item 12-11 was approved, as amended (amendment in brackets):
“The
Presbytery of Shenango overtures the 217th General Assembly (2006)
to direct the General Assembly Council (Congregational Ministries
Division) and all other PC(USA) entities to use the biblical and
confessional teachings that sexual relationships belong only within
the bond of marriage of a man and a woman as the standard for the
development of any future materials or recommendations for materials
in print or in its website. [The curriculum should include information
on reproductive health to allow for an open discussion between teachers
and youth in light of our understanding of God’s plan for
sexuality.]”
13.
Theological Issues and Institutions
The Trinity paper, product of a work group in the Office of Theology
and Worship was a primary issue in this committee. The assembly:
• By a vote of 282/212/7 chose to “receive”
rather than to adopt the Trinity Report with the following additional
amendment: “add ‘with the exception of the baptismal
formula itself,’ in front of ‘we are free to supplement
this language with additional’ in lines 799-801.”
• Approved William J. Carl III as President of Pittsburgh Theological
Seminary.
14.
Review of G.A. Permanent Committees
This was a new G.A. committee to review Standing Committees.
• In relation to the Advisory Committee on the Constitution
(ACC), the assembly ended the requirement that the ACC must respond
to constitutional inquiry from any Presbyterian with the following
authoritative interpretation:
“The
Advisory Committee on the Constitution (ACC) provides advice directly
to the General Assembly based upon requests to the ACC, received
only from the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly. The ACC provides
[only] advice to the General Assembly regarding questions
of interpretation of the Book of Order. The ACC does not communicate
directly with those who request advice nor make provisions for hearings
on matters before it for consideration. The Advisory Committee may
consult with General Assembly entities through the Stated Clerk.”
•
In addition to review of the ACC, the assembly reviewed reports from
the G.A. Committee on Representation, the Advisory Committee on Litigation,
and the Advocacy Committee on Women’s Concerns (ACWC). The review
of ACWC pointed to the need to correct the theological imbalance of
that committee.
15.
Board of Pensions and Presbyterian Foundation
Items
related to the medical plan and pension benefits, and to matters
related to and review of the Presbyterian Foundation. Consult Les
for outcomes on these items
Part
II: Summary, Commentary, and Suggestions for Action
(click here)
