Things continue to move forward towards the 218th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). There has been little “news” but enough changes since my last update that I think it is time for another one.
First some “fluff” items:
The General Assembly web site has changed it’s “look and feel” so it is now unique in the PC(USA) domain. It no longer fits the standard design you see on most other pages but has its own style with the navigation bar across the top, a wider area for content, and a gray “motif” with less contrast than the main pages. I don’t see a change in the content though. One thing that is gone is the prominent link to the Committee on Local Arrangements (COLA) and the COLA web site still has a style based on the PC(USA) main page.
The second item is that my son finally got registered on-line for the assembly. The process was slow and threw back server errors a couple of times, but worked in the end.
Finally, there is now a detailed schedule of events posted for the GA, 26 pages worth, listing not just the business sessions and worship, but all the special meals you can buy tickets for and the speakers or awards at those meals. My son looked at that and asked “but what would I be interested in?” I pointed him to a couple that are up his alley. I’ll return to a couple of interesting items on the schedule at the end of this post.
Over the last couple of weeks the number of overtures has only grown slightly, but the number of recommendations listed on PC-biz has started explode.
For the overtures, there are six new ones, bringing the total to 86. Of these, there is one more about the FOG report (Overture 81) from the Presbytery of Western North Carolina to receive the report, have officers and Governing Bodies study it, get back to the Stated Clerk by Jan. 1, 2010, and refer the business to the 219th GA in 2010. Overture 86 is fairly routine business to establish Truckee Lutheran Presbyterian Church as a union church in Truckee, Nevada. There is also a social witness overture, 82, from Twin Cities Area Presbytery, challenging the denomination to work for shalom in the world. The overture singles out no specific geographic area or particular conflict, but does oppose the doctrine of preemptive war as well as torture while supporting the promotion of human rights.
The other three overtures are more unique, have some nuance, and have interesting implications for Presbyterian politics.
The first is Overture 83, “On Equal Rights for Families of Same-Gender Partners” from New Brunswick Presbytery. This overture touches both sides of the PC(USA)’s seemingly paradoxical stand on same-sex relationships. As the rational of the overture points out, the PC(USA) has a history of social witness promotion of the civil rights of same-sex couples. At the same time the denomination has been embroiled in the controversy over the ban on the ordination of active homosexuals and on same-sex unions. Some, on both sides, see these opposite stands as contradictory while many in the center do understand the differing social and polity stands to be perfectly compatible with our Reformed theology. This overture is interesting because it touches both parts and blurs the difference. Point 1 is pretty clear on renewing the commitment to civil rights. But Point 2 asks for a special committee to report to the next GA on the relationship between our two positions. Specifically it asks for a report on:
a.The history of the laws governing marriage and civil union, including current policy debates.
b. How the theology and practice of marriage have developed in the Reformed and broader Christian tradition.
c. The relationship between civil marriage and Christian marriage.
d. The effects of current laws on same-gender partners and their children.
e. The place of covenanted same-gender partnerships in the Christian community.
The final point in the overture is to support congregations as they “extend pastoral care to same-gender couples and their families.”
Overture 84 is a request from the Flint River Presbytery to change the standing rules so that amending the standing rules or suspending the standing rules only requires a majority vote rather than a super-majority of 2/3. We will see how far this gets because one of our subordinate standards (just kidding!) is Robert’s Rules of Order which has a 2/3 vote to suspend the rules. All that the overture rational says is that the current 2/3 imposes an “unrealistic constraint.” I have seen the GA amend and suspend the rules several times so it can be done for good reason. Somebody who wants to look for “conspiracy theories” might find something in this change. I’ll have to reread the minutes from the last GA to see what business was related to a failed suspension of the standing rules.
Finally, overture 85 proposes a change in the investment restrictions on General Assembly Council (GAC) allowing them to invest with organizations other than the Presbyterian Foundation. The rational is that the GAC is the only PC(USA) entity required to use the Foundation exclusively and it points out that the Board of Pensions has done better elsewhere. This overture was brought by the Synod of the Southwest.
As I mentioned above, the number of recommendations to the Assembly is growing, currently up to 26 beginning with the Report of the Form of Government Task Force as Recommendation 1. In this post I’m not going to do a item-by-item analysis of the recommendations. Some are routine approvals of a new seminary president (7), seminary trustees (6), Historical Society and Mountain Retreat Association Board members (20 and 26). Some are the official wording or the items from the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy that I discussed in February. Many of the remaining are recommendations from the General Assembly Council. Let me highlight a couple:
Recommendation 19 is unique, so far, in that it is the only recommendation with proposed changes to the Book of Order. This is unusual to come from an agency, but this is the result of the referral to the GAC of an overture to the 217th GA in 2006 to create a non-geographic Korean language sy
nod. Following a consultation in December 2006 the GAC is recommending that a non-geographic synod not be authorized, but is suggesting changes to the Book of Order that would allow a church in a synod without a non-geographic language presbytery be able to join a non-geographic presbytery in another synod. This does have interesting polity implications since Overture 10 is asking for a general flexibility in presbytery and synod membership.
Another document suggested for change is the Open Meeting Policy in recommendation 18. This is more of a change for clarification saying that observers may not only attend, but have copies of the documents, and that cases under the Rules of Discipline also fall under the category of closed meetings.
There have been some new items among groups affiliated with the PC(USA) related to GA. On the schedule I mentioned earlier, you will find that on any given day you can have a briefing by Presbyterians for Renewal at lunch time.
Also at every lunch break will be “Something Happening for Love Justice and Jesus” by That All May Freely Serve (TAMFS). The description is:
Come out to celebrate the ALL of the Church’s future. Music? Art? Theater? Something Else? Watch for signs, check www.tamfs.org for where to gather for these daily events.
This appears to be linked to their advocacy at GA this year titled “New Church (R)evolution!” Their web site describes it as:
Young adults and seminarians – our New Church (R)evolution team – will
claim their birthright as members of a just and inclusive church.
Through positive, life-giving action, the New Church (R)evolution will be the church we seek, as we invite the PCUSA to have the courage to join us in living into freedom and justice! [emphasis in the original]
With the mention of “young adults,” and the descriptions on the associated brochure, the target audience is clearly the same as has been the concern in the various discussions of Web 2.0 and the future of the church. As the brochure says in one box, “Studies consistently show that people under 35 have heard the gospel message and support the inclusion of all believers, LGBTQ or otherwise. So while some people continue to use tactics to ensure exclusion, the next generation has already decided for the full equality of all people.”
Clearly TAMFS has a strategy for connecting with the younger generation in ways familiar to that culture. It will be interesting to see if it does connect, if there are enough younger generation present to connect with, and if any conservative/evangelical leaning groups will have a similar presence.
This will be interesting so stay tuned for GA.