Pittsburgh Presbytery s Commissioners to the 217 th General Assembly, Birmingham, Alabama June 14-21, Theological Issues and Institutions

Transcription

1 Page 1 Pittsburgh Presbytery s Commissioners to the 217 th General Assembly, Birmingham, Alabama June 14-21, 2006 Pittsburgh Presbytery s Commissioners to the 217 th General Assembly, and the GA Committee on which each served, are shown as follows: Rev. Carol Divens Roth Ecclesiology Rev. DeNeice Welch Mission Coordination Rev. Catherine Gillis Health Issues Rev. James Evans Peacemaking Rev. Walter Pietschmann III Church Growth Christian Education Elder Tom Bice Theological Issues and Institutions Elder Audrey Murrell Social Justice Elder Nancy Gulliford Reviews of Permanent Committees Elder Ann Baldrige Bills and Overtures Elder Robert Gagnon Church Orders Ms. Bethany Carlise, Youth Advisory Delegate GA Procedures Each of Pittsburgh s Commissioners were extremely involved in General Assembly matters, and actively participated in the business of the Church. Robert Gagnon, in addition to his work with Church Orders, was Pittsburgh s Overture Advocate who presented our overture to the Assembly. Carol Divens Roth s Ecclesiology Committee struggled with the PUP report. Tom Bice s Theological Issues Committee dealt with the Trinity report, as well as the concept of a new hymnal. Jim Evans Peacemaking Committee handled the business of the Israel divestiture. Cathy Gillis Health Committee, among other matters, reviewed concerns about funding late term abortions. Audrey Murrell s Social Justice Committee spent a great deal of time on immigration issues. Ann Baldrige s Bills and Overtures Committee kept track of the business of the entire General Assembly, and kept the body on schedule. Walt Pietschmann s Church Growth Committee delved into the ordination of Christian Educators.

2 Page 2 Nancy Gulliford and the Reviews of Permanent Committees examined the structure of the Church. DeNeice Welch s Mission Coordination work included on-going issues of mission funding. Beth Carlise s GA Procedures Committee not only reviewed in detail Montreat as a location of the Historical Society, but also was instrumental in recommending that General Assembly be held here in Pittsburgh in Each and all of these representatives are to be congratulated for their dedication to the work of the one Presbyterian Church (USA). They all worked hard, and well, as Pittsburgh s Commissioners. Brief written reactions, comments and introspective observations follow from many of our Commissioners. jwl Rev. Walter Pietschmann III Church Growth and Christian Education The most difficult issue for my committee concerned the ordination of Christian Educators. There was much discussion about it, and many heartfelt "speeches" were made, but (I think) it left all of us empty for a real response with a burning question about the nature of ordination and what it really means. Because of that we sent it on to be studied with the Task Force that is reviewing that very subject. A secondary issue was on the Sexuality Curriculum, but the youth advisory delegates came up with "appropriate" language rather quickly in our debate, which we seemed to all agree on. Personally, I wish we had spent more time on some real issues on Church Growth, but there weren't many overtures considering this seriously. Rev. James Evans Peacemaking When I received the call to be a Commissioner, ten days prior to the convening of General Assembly, I was overwhelmed. I learned that I was going to be serving on the Peacemaking and International Issues Committee, which alone had 45 overtures to consider. Most of the overtures, dealt with the fallout that occurred following the 216 th General Assembly which met two years ago in Richmond, Virginia. At that GA, a resolution was adopted calling for the investment arm of our denomination to initiate a process of phased selective divestment in multinational corporations operating in Israel. This resolution came at a time when Israel was starting to build its security barrier and many Palestinians were being forced from their homes. This resolution also created a great uproar both within our denomination and within the larger American Jewish community with whom our denomination has had a good relationship. Many saw this resolution as anti-israel and pro-palestinian. So, the overtures that came to

3 Page 3 the GA this year called for us to rescind the action of the previous GA, to offer a more balanced approach to how we addressed the problems of the Middle East, and to instruct the investment arm of our denomination to seek investments that promote peace in the Middle East. For, two and a half days, our committee met and prayed, and talked and prayed, and worshiped and talked some more. People from all over the world came to our committee to share their stories, to urge us to side with their particular side of the issue. One day, 44 people came and spoke to our committee; and, on that day, I realized that even though we are but one denomination, our words and actions can have worldwide impact and consequences. It was truly a humbling moment, reminding me that our words must be spoken with great care and our actions must be initiated with great humility. To make some headway on all the overtures that we had to consider, we spent some time simply talking with one another. We came to the realization that taken together, there were really only about four or five issues being addressed through all of these overtures. So, we selected a writing sub-committee to draft a resolution that would answer all of these overtures. The resolution was drafted and overwhelmingly adopted by our committee. We sent our resolution to the floor of the GA to be considered by all of the commissioners. After some discussion, the entire GA overwhelmingly adopted our resolution. What was truly remarkable about our committee and the work we did together was that not only were we talking about peacemaking; but, we were engaged in the process of peacemaking within the committee itself. We came together with divergent viewpoints; but, we recognized the need to work for peace. So, we worked for peace and I for one feel blessed to have been part of that moment in our denominations history. Nancy L. Gulliford Reviews of Permanent Committees The 217th General Assembly met June 15-22, 2006, in Birmingham, Alabama. The meeting coincided with the meetings of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America, leading to combined nightly worship services with our sister churches. The communion service on Sunday evening was especially moving. The Presbytery of Shepherds and Lapsley hosted and had worked to ensure that all went well. One never had to open a door or wonder which way to turn. There was always a volunteer close by to render assistance. This meeting had been announced as a paperless assembly. To that end, all of us from Pittsburgh reviewed all reports and recommendations before leaving for the meeting via the Internet. Assigned to a committee that reviewed the work of permanent committees of the General Assembly, I soon realized that the plan was not working well for that committee. As it turned out, the system didn t work very well for any of the

4 Page 4 committees. So we became the less paper assembly. That said, work around solutions were found and the 217th General Assembly proceeded to complete all its work. Our group was pleased that one of our number, the Rev. Carol Divens Roth, had been asked to stand for vice moderator with one of the candidates for moderator. However, another candidate garnered the votes to become the moderator, the Rev. Joan S. Gray. Due to the volume of business set before this General Assembly, many items were included in consent motions. But the items that seemed to be most important to the whole body of the Church were given careful attention. All commissioners appeared to have come prepared to listen carefully to all points of view and to vote for what they felt was best for the good of the Church at this time. A report referred to as the Trinity report is a good example. It was received with the addition of a few words--that the baptismal formula always include the words in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The General Assembly also addressed a request that a new hymnal committee be formed to cause a new denomination hymnal be prepared for corporate worship. When work on that request was finished, it included the addition of developing an e-hymnal in a much shorter period of time as a top priority. Dr. Audrey Murrell Social Justice Committee The Social Justice Committee worked on a diverse set of agenda items during the 217th General Assembly meetings. This included issues such as immigration, torture & human rights, workplace safety, globalization, and peace-making. Two specific issues that generated a great deal of discussion focused on immigration and workplace safety. One overture that was discussed concerning the GA's view on policies and treatment of those entering the U.S. via immigration. The issue of legal versus "illegal" immigration is prominent in today's headlines and this committee discussed the church's role as a voice for those who some feel are treated unfairly by the U.S. government's policy on immigration. Our discussion focused on the critical issue of what is the link between human rights and border policy in terms of the fair and just treatment of people who are seeking to enter the U.S. for work, refuge or a variety of other reason. With some modifications, this overture was approved by the committee and put on the agenda where there was additional debate and dialog by the member of the GA. The second issue concerned a request by a group of employees concerning unfair employee practices by the management of a meat-packing company. While it might seem to be a straight forward issue, this overture generated a great deal of debate. At the core of our discussion is the role of the GA in seeking justice for workers while being an advocate for peace and reconciliation. While there was much disagreement on whether the GA should be the arbiter in disputes between union and management, the final decision that was recommended to the GA (and approved) was to take steps to be both parties to the table for discussion and resolution.

5 Page 5 Rev. DeNeice Welch Mission Co-ordination Committee In the internal debate of whether or not to speak to the unity of the church and the passage of the Pup report, several things ran through my mind: a. I was struck by the amount of young people that spoke to the motion. While certainly deeply divided, I wondered if they had enough life experience to be able to adequately speak to such a potentially divisive issue. b. Obviously, people had geared up to speak with prepared statements and mini speeches and sermons all based on emotion and life experience experiential theology seemed to rule the day. However, there was a broad lack of scripture evidence and scholarly evidence and social commentary as to the effects that the ordination of homosexuals in our denomination would have on our global witness, c. There were no new opinions just a demand to be heard in the presence of the church. I was surprised at how little new information or shaping of thinking is being done. d. I was also surprised by my own anger at the lack of certain things: 1. Why is it that no African Americans spoke to this issue? We were certainly free to do so and were certainly not without opinion. What were the boundaries that keep us from entering the debate? 2. I wanted to have said before this body that I am offended by the comparison of those seeking the blessing of homosexual union to the struggle for Civil rights. While there are undeniable similarities, the fundamental and profound struggle is one of seeing us as human beings and not our sexual habits. Why did I not speak? 3. This is an issue of who gets to lead the church not who gets to come to church. This is an issue of leadership and not advocacy on whom we love. Rev. Catherine Gillis Health Issues My experience began as I was called to be an Alternate Commissioner, then to fill someone s place who could not attend. I missed the first meeting about learning to use LES, the new paperless way of the 217 th GA. I did attend one meeting at Shadyside PC and met most of the other Commissioners (Comm.) from Pittsburgh Presbytery. My lodging was in the very nice Sheraton Hotel, adjoining the BJCC (Birmingham Jefferson Convention Center), thus allowing us to stay in the A/C environment the whole time, practically. My roommate was Sophie Earhart from Redstone Presbytery, who also had been assigned to Committee 10, Health. Once registered, Thursday June 8, we picked

6 Page 6 up our laptops and with the help of young tekkies got online to the LES system inside the huge convention hall. Our Committee began its hearings, discussions and voting on Friday morning, continuing through Saturday afternoon. One of the more controversial overture, from Redstone On Late-Term Pregnancy did pass committee and also the plenary later on. This action supercedes the 02 and 03 statements on late term abortion. The assembly approved that babies able to live outside the womb ought not to be aborted. Also churches are challenged to provide ministry to women in crisis pregnancies and to promote adoption and to value the lives of both mother and baby. 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 fro 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. The next day one of the members of the committee tried to get the vote rescinded, but that failed. On Saturday the overture, 10-03, from Mississippi was defeated. This stated that life begins at conception: On standing clearly against the practice of abortion while extending the love of Christ to those who have suffered its practice. This overture was the result of a study on abortion, using the Bible and other resources. It declared that God alone is the author and giver of life and that the miracle of life begins at the moment of conception; that the church stands against abortion. Commissioners voted to commend this overture to presbyteries for its use of group discernment concerning abortion, and recommend that all presbyteries create task forces to replicate the process of prayer and study, that hearts and minds may be open to God s wisdom through Scripture, other resources and one another, and to direct the State Clerk of the GA to communicate this action to the presbyteries. Other action of this committee approved a guide for greater inclusion for persons with disabilities; rejected a Beaver-Butler overture that wanted to direct the GA offices to cease funding of any group who supports or advocates either for or against abortion and instead encourage the PCUSA congregations and members to voluntarily support organizations and ministries that best reflect convictions of those individuals and congregations. Wednesday June 21 was the longest day of the year; with too much business to do.