Overtures and Resolution

Transcription

1 Overtures and Resolution Called to community by God, discipled by Jesus Christ, enlivened by the Holy Spirit, Baltimore Presbytery encourages, challenges and equips our congregations to thrive spiritually and be apostles for reconciliation. The Stated Clerk recommends: 14. THAT the process for debating and voting on the concurrences be as follows: a) The first speech in favor of concurring with the overture and the first speech against the concurrence each be limited to two minutes b) That subsequent statements or speeches be limited to one minute each. c) As we will be voting to concur with existing overtures, no amendments may be made to the overture. We may add additional rationales, but that is not a requirement. d) Note that any postponement of a vote effectively eliminates the possibility to vote on the concurrence or the overture, since the deadline for all overtures is May 4, 2016, before our next Gathering on May 14. The Committee on Representation recommends: 15. THAT the Presbytery concur with the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta overture, Ovt 26, On Adding the Category Multi-Racial to the Listing of Racial Classifications in the Annual Report from Congregations. The complete overture is on page 2 of this document. The Commission on Reconciliation recommends: 16. THAT the Presbytery approve the overture on Racism beginning on page THAT the Presbytery approve the resolution: THAT the Commission on Reconciliation asks the Presbytery of Baltimore to direct the Committee on Local Arrangements to make racial atonement and reconciliation its central theme and focus for the 224th General Assembly to be held in Baltimore in The resolution and its rationale begin on page THAT the Presbytery concur with Giddings-Lovejoy Presbytery on their overture on Reconciliation and a New Civil Rights Movement, following their affirmative vote on the matter. The complete overture is printed on pages 7 and 8. NOTE FROM THE STATED CLERK: The originating presbytery for the preceding concurrence had not yet voted at the time this goes to press. Giddings-Lovejoy voted on February 6. If they fail to approve their overture, we will withdraw our concurrence. If they modify the overture, we will print the modified overture in an addendum. 19. THAT the Presbytery approve the overture on an Apology to Native Americans, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians, printed beginning on page 9. 1

2 Ovt 026 On Adding the Category Multi-Racial to the Listing of Racial Classifications in the Annual Report from Congregations From the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta. The Presbytery of Greater Atlanta overtures the 222 nd General Assembly (2016) to do the following: 1. Add the category "multi-racial" to its listing of racial classifications in its Annual Report that congregations use to report their annual statistics to the General Assembly each year." 2. Proclaim that We recognize that each person has the right to define their racial classification in the way that best fits their sense of self. The United States is becoming an increasingly diverse community, with many individuals having heritages from diverse races and cultures. Asking people to choose a racial category that they believe does not encompass their full, rich and unique background dishonors their unique heritage. Asking people with a diverse racial background to choose other as a racial category can convey a sense of diminished worth and value for their personhood/humanity. 3. Call on our churches to use language in their membership forms, annual reports, services, meetings and community work that expresses its appreciation for the rich and complex diversity of all humanity. 4. Uphold that all people, regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, class; or any other category that the world may place on them, are first and foremost children of God, all members of God s family, and all to be treated with equal respect, care and love. 2

3 Overture to the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. The Presbytery of Baltimore overtures the 222 nd General Assembly to continue its efforts to dismantle racism within our denomination and the larger society by doing the following: Recommendation 1: Direct the Office of the Stated Clerk and the Presbyterian Mission Agency, through its Executive Director, to present to the General Assembly in 2018 a detailed 6-year plan containing explicit procedures for renewed implementation of every strategy detailed in the churchwide strategies (as listed under the Points of Engagement and specifically directed towards the General Assembly, Synods, Presbyteries, and Congregations) in Facing Racism: A Vision of the Beloved Community, which was approved by the 211th General Assembly (1999). Recommendation 2: Establish and convene a Racism Truth and Reconciliation Commission of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. that is charged with conducting a churchwide listening campaign to hear the voices of peoples long silenced regarding the state of institutional racism and oppression within our church. This commission shall report the result of its listening campaign to the General Assembly meeting in Baltimore in The report shall include a statement of findings and recommendations to be voted upon by the General Assembly. Approved actions shall begin implementation within the following year. The commission shall consist of 20 persons (10 Ruling Elders and 10 Teaching Elders); 15 of these persons shall identify as people of color. In addition, every effort should be made to achieve geographic representation from every Synod. The commission shall be appointed by the Moderator and shall be constituted no later than December 31, It shall be chaired by a former Moderator or Vice-Moderator of the General Assembly who will serve as a member of the Commission. The commission shall be resourced and funded through the Office of the Stated Clerk. The Commission shall meet twice annually beginning in 2017, and shall conduct the work of the listening campaigns on a regional basis. The commission shall determine strategies to carry out its work and present these strategies in a report to the General Assembly in 2018 for their approval. Rationale Section In recent years, the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. has adopted resolutions and initiated programs as a faithful effort to address racial injustices in the United States of America. In 1999, the General Assembly received the report Facing Racism: In Search of the Beloved Community in which the church acknowledged that dismantling racism is a long term struggle i. The rising calls for racial justice from our African-American brothers and sisters is evidence that despite the efforts of the past 15 years to do so, we have far to go to realize that Beloved Community to which both God is calling us and our hearts long. The 221 st General Assembly (2014) called for a national consultation to develop a vision for racial ethnic ministries. Since that Assembly, we have witnessed numerous acts of violence and heightened racial tensions 3

4 across our country in places like Ferguson, New York, Baltimore, Charleston, and Chicago that have awakened again the need to confront the systemic racism that continues to divide us both as a church and as a nation. This renewed awareness is evidenced by the many presbyteries and churches who have engaged in anti-racism trainings and discussions since the 221 st General Assembly. As we make this overture, we recognize that we have not done enough to address racism in our own community. Therefore, we are in the early phases of developing concrete steps to address the issues of racism, injustice and poverty. Rationale Regarding Recommendation 1: To be agents of change in dismantling racism in our society, we must acknowledge that it exists within the church. In so doing we recognize our own history of racism both internally as an organization (at all levels of the church) and as institutional members of society. Presbyterian Church U.S.A. policy currently requires anti-racism training of national staff and has urged the training of Mid-Council Committees on Ministry and Committees on Preparation for Ministry in the areas of cultural competency, antiracism and antisexism. Furthermore, the Presbyterian Mission Agency has collected data on the extent to which Mid-Councils are providing such trainings, and is to report this data to the 222 nd General Assembly. Technological advances have expanded the potential for developing and sharing of resources (multi-media and print) to encourage and equip congregations, Mid-Councils and their members in order to deepen their understanding of institutional racism and develop strategies to end it. Less attention has been given to the development and dissemination of training resources for teaching cultural competency and antiracism with our children and youth. Resources identified on the PCUSA website fail to adequately identify resources designed for congregational use with children and youth of various age groups. Rationale Regarding Recommendation 2: Despite the efforts to change public policies and put an end to segregation, we continue to live in divided neighborhoods with divergent experiences. We have failed to fully comprehend the ways that racism persists today both inside of and outside of our church. As an institution founded and dominated by white Christians, we need to create opportunities to listen to those who suffer from racist policies and practices. Racism persists even as we become more ethnically and culturally diverse as a nation, extending racist policies to new groups of people of color. We are aware that racial injustice is experienced differently in different regions of the U.S. and between rural and urban areas. Therefore, we need a regional approach in order to hear from all corners of our country and the variety of circumstances. Efforts have already begun to identify a more regional approach to building cultural competency and the ways we can work to end racism which would benefit from a broader and deeper listening campaign. As our brothers and sisters in South Africa have taught us, unity is both a gift and an obligation for the church of Jesus Christ. ii In order for such reconciliation to occur, however, we must be willing to hear and tell the truth of our sins, trusting that God s life-giving Word and Spirit has conquered the powers of sin and death, and 4

5 therefore also of irreconciliation and hatred, bitterness and enmity, that God s life-giving Word and Spirit will enable the church to live in a new obedience which can open new possibilities of life for society and the world. iii On February 11, 2016, the Presbytery of Baltimore passed a resolution to direct the Committee on Local Arrangements for the 224th General Assembly in 2020 (Baltimore) to make racial atonement and reconciliation its central theme and focus. 5

6 Resolution to the Presbytery of Baltimore at its Stated Meeting on February 11, 2016 from the Commission on Reconciliation Motion: The Commission on Reconciliation asks the Presbytery of Baltimore to direct the Committee on Local Arrangements to make racial atonement and reconciliation its central theme and focus for the 224th General Assembly to be held in Baltimore in Rationale Despite efforts in our denomination and Presbytery to become a more intentionally inclusive community as the church of Jesus Christ, we have fallen short of achieving the reconciliation we desire. We acknowledge that racism is a sin and that ending racism is a spiritual matter. Changing policies and procedures is not enough. We need to change our hearts. Therefore, any attempt on our part to dismantle racism within and among us must be addressed in a way that opens our hearts and souls to God s spirit of reconciliation. We can learn from the experience of brothers and sisters around the world who have found time and again that reconciliation does not occur without first acknowledging the truth of the harms that have been committed. We can not heal our brokenness until we see what has been broken and confess our role. Furthermore, if the way be clear, the Presbytery of Baltimore will overture the 221st General Assembly which is taking place this year in Portland, OR,to establish and convene a Racism Truth and Reconciliation Commission of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. that is charged with conducting a churchwide listening campaign to hear the voices of peoples long silenced regarding the state of institutional racism and oppression within our church. If approved by the General Assembly, the Commission would bring its final report to the 224th General Assembly in Baltimore. As hosts of the 224th General Assembly, we have a unique opportunity to help shape the Church at Work through the conversations and events that are organized in and around the official business meeting. Examples of these include: bible study, workshops, local site visits and worship. In adopting the theme of atonement and reconciliation we can offer our Presbyterian brothers and sisters a gathering that is sensitive and open to the possibility of reaching a new level of understanding and moving closer to the unity that God so desires for us. 6

7 Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy Proposed Overture on Reconciliation and a New Civil Rights Movement (Proposed to Presbytery by the Justice and Compassion Ministry Team on February 6, 2016.) Recommendation In the aftermath of the death of Michael Brown, Jr. on August 9, 2014, in Ferguson, Missouri, and the community unrest that followed, the Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy, named for slain abolitionist the Rev. Elijah P. Lovejoy, calls for radical reconciliation and an active engagement in a new Civil Rights Movement. This should begin with both deep self-examination and bold action within the PC(USA) and our nation addressing the structural racism all around us. Since the justice system in the United States is not now serving and protecting each of us equitably, God calls us in this moment to respond beyond our collective comfort to demand urgent reforms of police policies and judicial practices. The period of reflection and action should begin with, but not be limited to, the following Calls to Action issued by the Ferguson Commission. We urge the PC(USA) to act with others to demand: Rationale 1) that the U.S. Congress enact Protecting Communities and Police Act proposed by Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill; 2) that local and state jurisdictions: revise use of force policies and training, appoint special prosecutors in police use of force cases, update use of force policies related to fleeing suspects, improve police training to include social interaction, implicit bias, and cultural responsiveness, create, develop and strengthen meaningful civilian review of police departments; 3) that local and state courts: eliminate incarceration for minor offenses, establish alternative sentencing options, treat nonviolent offenses as civil violations, create community justice centers. At this moment in time, we are being called anew to a ministry of radical reconciliation. The Confession of 1967 in the PC(USA) Book of Confessions, written in a previous time of racial turmoil in our country, made reconciliation its main theme and calls us to urgent action for justice in each time and place. (Confession of 1967, 9.43) The Ferguson Commission s Calls to Action were informed by the need for reconciliation based on equality. The Chairs of the Commission, the Rev. Starsky Wilson of the United Church of Christ and Rich McClure, drew on wisdom of South African Reformed theologian the Rev. Allen Boesak who recognized that reconciliation can only happen when two parties stand on equal footing. The Confession of Belhar, approved for constitutional standing by the presbyteries, emerged out of the struggle against apartheid in South Africa, proclaims: We believe that the church as the possession of God must stand where the Lord stands, namely against injustice and with the wronged; that in following Christ the church must witness against all the powerful and privileged who selfishly seek their own interests and thus control and harm others. (Confession of Belhar, Section 4) The call to reconciliation and justice is now urgently before our church and nation. We begin by recognizing the equality of all people, honestly dealing with white privilege and systematic racism, and putting right the sins of our past and present. 7

8 Confessional statements which compel us to action: We believe that God has revealed himself as the one who wishes to bring about justice and true peace among people; that God, in a world full of injustice and enmity, is in a special way the God of the destitute, the poor and the wronged that God calls the church to follow him in this; for God brings justice to the oppressed and gives bread to the hungry; that God frees the prisoner and restores sight to the blind; that the church as the possession of God must stand where the Lord stands, namely against injustice and with the wronged; that in following Christ the church must witness against all the powerful and privileged who selfishly seek their own interests and thus control and harm others [Confession of Belhar, 4 th section] Part II 4. Reconciliation in Society 9.43 In each time and place, there are particular problems and crises through which God calls the church to act. The church, guided by the Spirit, humbled by its own complicity and instructed by all attainable knowledge, seeks to discern the will of God and learn how to obey in these concrete situations. The following are particularly urgent at the present time a. God has created the peoples of the earth to be one universal family. In his reconciling love, God overcomes the barriers between sisters and brothers and breaks down every form of discrimination based on racial or ethnic difference, real or imaginary. The church is called to bring all people to receive and uphold one another as persons in all relationships of life: in employment, housing, education, leisure, marriage, family, church, and the exercise of political rights. Therefore, the church labors for the abolition of all racial discrimination and ministers to those injured by it. Congregations, individuals, or groups of Christians who exclude, dominate, or patronize others, however subtly, resist the Spirit of God and bring contempt on the faith which they profess. Inclusive Language Confession of

9 Overture to the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. The Presbytery of Baltimore overtures the 222 nd General Assembly to offer an apology to Native Americans, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians iv. Recommendations: Recommendation 1: That the PC(USA) and its members apologize to United States citizens of Native American ancestry, both those within and beyond our denomination. We offer this apology especially to those who were part of stolen generations during the Indian-assimilation movement, namely former students of Indian Boarding Schools, their families, and their communities v. That the PC(USA) adopt and issue the following words of apology: We apologize for the pain and suffering that our church's involvement in the Indian Boarding School system has caused. We are aware of some of the damage that this cruel and ill-conceived system of assimilation has perpetrated on United States citizens of Native American ancestry. For this we are truly and most humbly sorry. To those individuals who were physically, sexually, and emotionally abused as students of the Indian Boarding Schools in which the PCUSA vi was involved, we offer you our most sincere apology. You did nothing wrong; you were and are the victims of evil acts that cannot under any circumstances be justified or excused. We know that many within our church will still not understand why each of us must bear the scar, the blame for this horrendous period in U.S. history. But the truth is, we are the bearers of many blessings from our ancestors, and therefore, we must also bear their burdens. Our burdens include dishonoring the depths of the struggles of Native American people and the richness of your gifts. Therefore, we confess to you that when our Presbyterian 9

10 ancestors journeyed to this land within the last few centuries, you shared your Sacred Vision with us, to our Presbyterian ancestors, and to our country s leaders; essentially none of us heard you. In our zeal to tell you of the good news of Jesus Christ, our hearts and minds were closed to the value of your spirituality. We did not understand the full extent of the Gospel of Christ! We should have affirmed the commonality between your spirituality and our understanding that God s sovereignty extends with length from East to West, with breadth from North to South, with depth throughout the Earth, and with height throughout the Sky and Heavens. Even worse, we arrogantly thought that Western European culture and cultural expressions were necessary parts of the Gospel of Christ. We imposed our civilization as a condition for your accepting the Gospel. We tried to make you be like us and, in so doing, we helped to diminish the Sacred Vision that made you who you are. Thus, we demonstrated that we did not fully understand the Gospel we were trying to preach. We know that apology is only a first step in the larger hope of repentance and reconciliation. We seek the guidance of relationships with your people within and beyond our church as we seek to identify and act on restorative practices and policies at the relational, communal, and national level. We are in the midst of a long and painful journey as we reflect on the cries that we did not or would not hear, and how we have behaved as a church. As we travel this difficult road of repentance, reconciliation, and healing, we commit ourselves to work toward ensuring that we will never again use our power as a church to hurt others with our attitudes of racial and spiritual superiority. We seek God's forgiveness, healing grace, and guidance as we take steps toward building mutually respectful, compassionate, and loving relationships with Native American peoples. In addition to God s forgiveness, we ask you to forgive us and to walk together with us in the Spirit of Christ and partner with us as equals as we participate in God s redemption of the world so that our peoples may be blessed and God's creation healed. 10

11 Finally, we pray that you will hear the sincerity of these words and that you will witness the living out of our apology in our actions in the future. Recommendation 2: That the Moderator of the PC(USA) share this Apology with the 95 PC(USA) Native- American congregations on behalf of the denomination. The means of sharing this Apology shall be coordinated with the Presbyterian Mission Agency s Native American Congregational Support Office and with the PC(USA) s Native American Consulting Committee (NACC). Recommendation 3: That the Office of the General Assembly share this Apology with Native-American tribal authorities in the United States. The means of sharing this Apology shall be coordinated with the Presbyterian Mission Agency s Native American Congregational Support Office and with the PC(USA) s Native American Consulting Committee (NACC). Recommendation 4: That the General Assembly commend this Apology to the entire PC(USA) in all its expressions for their use in the work of reconciliation among all peoples. Rationale For tens of thousands of years over 500 tribes of our Native American brothers and sisters lived on the land that is now the United States of America -- not as owners but as cohabitants respecting and caring for land as a sacred trust. This spiritual perspective of cohabitation was only a part of the full Sacred Vision, received by their Elders, of creation and of the mystery that surrounds us all. This Sacred Vision is rich and deep and is a treasure for them and could be for us. On the other hand, the Euro-American peoples of the United States arrived in North America with an unquenchable thirst for land, claiming the Doctrine of Discovery vii as justification for the brutal conquest of indigenous lands and the destruction of Native peoples. The ensuing colonization from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean eventually was further entrenched under the US policy known as manifest destiny. In the early 19 th century Congress passed the 1830 Indian Removal Act that legalized the theft of tribal lands east of the Mississippi River for replacement lands west of the Mississippi River. President Andrew Jackson facilitated this removal even after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the 1830 Indian Removal Act unconstitutional. In late 19th century the U.S. government called the resistance by Native Americans to the effort to acquire these lands as the Indian problem even while Native Americans were being settled on reservations. These reservations were overseen by U.S. Government officials. 11

12 The U.S. Government undertook expensive and destructive wars with Native Americans in order to gain lands. President Grant (4 Mar Mar 1877) chose another approach: to Christianize tribes as the best solution of the Indian problem. Grant stated his "Indian Peace Policy to Congress (5 Dec 1870) with a major ingredient being cultural assimilation. One feature of assimilation was the founding of Indian boarding schools, which started in 1879 with the Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania. The founder, Captain Richard Henry Pratt, believed that white ways were superior to Indian ways and popularized "kill the Indian and save the man." Native American children were taken forcefully to these schools sometimes thousands of miles away where students were punished for speaking their native language, having a cultural artifact such as an amulet or a beaded bracelet, practicing their culture such as praying to Mother Earth or to Father Sky, wearing native clothing, or growing and cutting their hair Indian-style. Punishment was physical, sexual, and emotional. During this time several Christian denominations had their missionaries living among Native Americans, proselytizing, and establishing churches. The "Indian Peace Policy, taking advantage of distributed missionaries, removed the oversight function of some Indian agencies from government officials and gave it to religious men nominated by their denominations. The states of Arizona, Idaho, New Mexico, and Utah each had some Indian agencies overseen by Presbyterian religious men. Presbyterians gave credence to U.S. Indian-assimilation laws and policies by directly supporting Indian Boarding Schools -- even becoming U.S. Government Indian Agents and serving as headmasters and staff. Episcopalians and Presbyterians encouraged removals, arbitrary divisions of Indian land, and separation of families; Sioux, Omaha, Ponca, and Makah children were literally kidnapped and placed in reservation or eastern boarding schools [Heller Jr., Robert H., American Protestantism and United States Indian Policy, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln and London. 1983, page 152. Note that Publication of this book was aided by grants from the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America and the Episcopal Diocese of North Dakota. ] Throughout this painful history our Native American brothers and sisters shared their Vision with us and stories of suffering due to our church's involvement in the operation of these Indian Boarding Schools and the removal of Native American children from their families, their communities, their language, and their culture. In addition, they shared the personal and historic pain that they still bear. Finally, they shared with us their strength and wisdom born of the life-giving dignity of their communities and traditions and their stories of survival. We acknowledge that we are poorer because we did not truly listen to them. The image of the Creator in us is twisted, blurred, and misshapen, and we all have fallen short of what God intends us to be. 12

13 The offering of an Apology is in keeping with earlier statements of the General Assembly of the PC(USA). Native American congregations within the PC(USA) continue to hold national and regional gatherings, such as the annual Camp Meetings and Missions Meetings which offer an opportunity for the sharing of this Apology. i Cover letter to the Facing Racism: In Search of the Beloved Community report signed by Cliff Kirkpatrick, former Stated Clerk of the General Assembly. ii The Confession of Belhar. Article 2 iii Third Article of the Confession of Belhar Approved unanimously by the Commission on Reconciliation at its regular meeting on January 27, iv In this statement the term Native American respectfully refers to all three of these indigenous groups. v PC(USA) realizes that there are some Native-American Presbyterians for whom boarding schools are not problematic. For some students, the boarding schools gave them skills that they used to lead successful lives. Our denomination rejoices for each of you. vi To include the institutional precursors to the PC(USA). vii The Doctrine of Discovery was issued in 1452 by the Pope for Catholic explorers and was subsequently included as a patent to John Cabot by the King of England for North American exploration. The Doctrine authorized and justified the destruction, killing, and appropriating of the lands of indigenous peoples and nations. 13