{"id":1182,"date":"2006-06-25T05:09:00","date_gmt":"2006-06-25T12:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.gajunkie.com\/?p=1182"},"modified":"2006-06-25T05:09:00","modified_gmt":"2006-06-25T12:09:00","slug":"my-handout-summary-of-actions-from-the-pcusa-217th-ga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.gajunkie.com\/?p=1182","title":{"rendered":"My handout summary of Actions from the PC(USA) 217th GA"},"content":{"rendered":"

The General Assembly<\/b>
\nReceived and commended to the church
\nfor study the paper, “The Trinity: God’s Love Overflowing.”
\nThe vote was 282 to 212. The commissioners chose not to \u201capprove\u201d
\nthe study. While only a study paper that carries only the
\nendorsement of this GA and no formal doctrinal weight, it does
\nsuggest some more creative language for the Trinity:<\/p>\n

\n

\tIn
\npraising the triune God we use biblical language, both classic<\/i><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n
\n

Father,
\nSon, and Holy Ghost,<\/i><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

\tand
\nsurprising<\/i><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n
\n

\t\tMother,
\nChild, and Womb.<\/i><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

\tWe
\nmay use words that speaks of the inner relations of the Godhead<\/i><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n
\n

\t\tLover,
\nBeloved, Love,<\/i><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

\tand
\nthose that speak of the loving activity of the Three among us<\/i><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n
\n

\t\tCreator,
\nSavior, Sanctifier,<\/i><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

\t\tRock,
\nRedeemer, Friend,<\/i><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

\t\tKing
\nof Glory, Prince of Peace, Spirit of Love.<\/i><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The
\nreport was amended to clearly state that non-traditional language may
\nnot be used in baptism.<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

<\/a>
\nBecause of difficulties translating the Latin to the English a
\nfootnote will be added to the Book of Order: \u201cAn alternative
\ntranslation of the Latin phrase, ecclesia reformata semper
\nreformanda,<\/i> given above is, \u2018The church reformed, always to be
\nreformed\u2019 according to the Word of God, and the leading of the Holy
\nSpirit.\u201d<\/b> Also, the 8 year process has been approved to produce
\na new hymnal and a new e-hymnal.<\/p>\n

\tReferred to the Office of Theology and
\nWorship two overtures regarding the establishment of an ordained
\noffice for Christian educators for inclusion in an ongoing study on
\nthe “relationship between Baptism and the ministry of all church
\nmembers both ordained and not ordained.”<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/a>
\nThe GA, acting on a presbytery overture, voted to \u201cAffirm
\nthe current mandate of the Office of Interfaith Relations to promote
\nthe common effort of Christians, Muslims, and Jews to work together
\nfor peace, justice, and righteousness .\u201d Additional points in the
\noverture to affirm that the three faiths worship the same God and
\nthat we have <\/span><\/span>a
\ncommon Abrahamic heritage were removed.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\tAlmost
\nall of the committee member nominees from the Nominating Committee
\nwere approved. While several were challenged, only two challengers,
\nboth for places on the Advocacy Committee on Women’s Concerns, were
\nsuccessful.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\tCommissioners<\/span><\/span>
\nmade history by confirming elder Linda Bryant Valentine as the new
\nexecutive director of the General Assembly Council, the first woman
\nto serve in that position.<\/p>\n

\tThe General Assembly adjusted its
\ncontroversial position on investment in Israel. By a vote of 483 to
\n28 the Assembly set as church policy that “financial investments
\nof the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), as they pertain to Israel, Gaza,
\nEast Jerusalem, and the West Bank, be invested in only peaceful
\npursuits.” The recommendation was an alternate resolution to an
\noverture that sought to repeal and rescind the actions of the last GA
\nrelating to “phased selective divestment in multinational
\ncorporations operating in Israel.” Responding to the hurt and
\nmisunderstanding caused by the action of the previous GA the assembly
\nalso adopted a statement saying “We are grieved by the pain that
\nthis has caused, accept responsibility for the flaws in our process,
\nand ask for a new season of mutual understanding and dialogue,”.<\/p>\n

\tThe Assembly made the way clear for a
\nstudy to determine the feasibility of a establishing a
\nKorean-language synod only after several commissioners voiced deep
\nconcern about separating Presbyterians by any ethnic or language.
\nThe recommendation includes a consideration to “reflect on new
\nand innovative ways that the PC(USA)
\ncan empower and work in partnership with all racial ethnic
\ncongregations.”<\/p>\n

\tThe Assembly approved the following
\nBook of Order amendments to be voted on by the presbyteries:
\nOfficers of synods my be enrolled as members of synod; COM is to be
\nin correspondence with CLP’s; A new chapter 14 of the Form of
\nGovernment and a task force to review the rest of it. The following
\nchanges from overtures were turned down: Authoritative
\nInterpretations must be affirmed by presbyteries; church property
\nbelongs to the church; to allow CLP’s to be given emeritus status;
\nthe pastoral call processes may begin upon announcement of a pastor
\nleaving, not at the point of departure; to allow churches to choose
\ntheir presbyteries of membership.<\/p>\n

\tBy better than a 3-to-1 margin,
\nGeneral Assembly commissioners approved an overture from the Health
\nIssues committee on late-term pregnancies that affirms the lives of
\nviable unborn babies. As the committee recommended, the Assembly
\nturned down an overture from Beaver Butler Presbytery that would have
\nceased funding for any group that advocates either for or against
\nabortion. The assembly also endorsed the
\nuse of medical marijuana as a social justice issue.<\/p>\n

\tThe assembly voted to disapprove
\nBaltimore Presbytery’s overture, which asked for an authoritative
\ninterpretation to make mandatory per-capita payments from
\ncongregations to presbyteries, synods and the General Assembly.\n<\/p>\n

\nThe report of the Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity, and Purity
\nof the Church was approved with only minor adjustments to the
\nauthoritative interpretation. A minority report to remove the
\nauthoritative interpretation was defeated 234-281. Following this a
\ncommittee recommendation to leave the ordination standards in the
\nBook of Order was overwhelmingly approved. It was also approved to
\nsend out a pastoral letter and study material to the churches about
\nthis action.<\/p>\n

\tThe GA portion of per capita was
\nraised $0.22 to $5.79 for 2007, and 2008.<\/p>\n

\tAt the beginning of the GA it was
\nannounced a gift to the church of $150 million by Denver elder
\nStanley W. Anderson for church revitalization. Towards the end of
\nthe Assembly news reports had revealed that Mr. Anderson had
\nsignificant financial and legal issues and may not be able to follow
\nthrough on the donation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The General Assembly Received and commended to the church for study the paper, “The Trinity: God’s Love Overflowing.” The vote was 282 to 212. The commissioners chose not to \u201capprove\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1182","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary"],"yoast_head":"\nMy handout summary of Actions from the PC(USA) 217th GA - The GA Junkie<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.gajunkie.com\/?p=1182\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"My handout summary of Actions from the PC(USA) 217th GA - The GA Junkie\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The General Assembly Received and commended to the church for study the paper, “The Trinity: God’s Love Overflowing.” The vote was 282 to 212. 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