WHAT'S COMING TO THE 219th GENERAL ASSEMBLY?

Minneapolis | July 3-10, 2010

For Presbyterians who care about how their faith intersects with the bigger world, this summer's General Assembly will provide a panorama of possibilities for discussion. Even assembly veterans seem stunned by the amount of work to get done when the 219th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) meets in Minneapolis July 3-10.

This assembly will bring 712 commissioners from 173 presbyteries, who will be divided randomly into committees to discuss everything from Afghanistan to wetlands. The docket includes both messy, controversial items (gay marriage, peace in the Middle East, immigration) and quieter ones close to the heart of congregational life, such as how small churches with limited resources can find pastoral leaders and how Presbyterians can most effectively do AIDS work around the world.

Here's a quick look at some of the business:

ISRAEL-PALESTINE. In recent years, relations between the PC(USA) and Jews have sometimes been stressful, and Middle East relations undoubtedly will be a hot issue again this year. The denomination’s Mission Responsibility Through Investment Committee is asking the assembly to denounce Caterpillar, Inc., for continuing to profit from “non-peaceful” use of its bulldozers and other equipment in Israel-Palestine.

The report of the a special Middle East study committee – with 30 recommendations, including one calling on the US government “to repent of its sinful behavior throughout the Middle East” – has already drawn some criticism from Jewish groups.

The assembly also will consider theological papers on Christians and Jews and Christian-Muslim relations.

FORM OF GOVERNMENT. For the second time in two years, the assembly will be asked to consider proposed revisions to the PC(USA)’s Form of Government, or FOG.

Those comprehensive changes are intended to streamline the FOG document and make it more responsive to local needs. The FOG task force says the proposed changes will help Presbyterians better meet the mission needs of the 21st century, moving from a more detailed regulatory approach to the flexibility needed in a diverse, multi-cultural environment. The task force could not change certain FOG elements, specifically, ordination standards.

The proposal, however, is complicated. In 2008 the assembly held off voting the FOG proposals up or down, saying the church needed more time to consider it – and forming a new committee (with many members of the old task force plus some new ones) to make additional revisions.

Whether the assembly is ready to vote now – whether the commissioners will read this complicated report and whether they agree with it – remains to be seen.

MIDDLE GOVERNING BODIES. The assembly also will be asked to consider a proposal from the Committee on the Office of the General Assembly to create a General Assembly Commission on Middle Governing Bodies. The idea is to create a 21-member commission that would consider the mission of presbyteries and synods in a changing environment, and to give that commission some power to act when the assembly is not in session.

GAY ORDINATION. Once again, the assembly will be asked to vote to remove the PC(USA)’s requirement that those being ordained practice fidelity if they are married or chastity if they are single. In 2008, the assembly did that – and for the third time, a majority of the presbyteries refused to change that constitutional standard.

MARRIAGE. The 2008 General Assembly created a Special Committee to Consider Issues of Christian Marriage and Civil Unions. It too was instructed not to change the “fidelity and chastity” language. The assembly will consider both a majority and a minority report from the committee that wrestled with such issues as the differences between Christian marriage and same-sex union ceremonies. In some states, same-sex marriages are legal, but the PC(USA)’s Book of Order defines Christian marriage as being between a man and a woman.

The committee’s majority report asks the assembly to develop resources consonant with the denomination’s constitution, but which could help congregations sort through questions such as what role clergy can play in same-sex ceremonies and whether church property can be used for them.

The minority report states that marriages “which are outside of God’s design for sexual expression cannot be encouraged or blessed.”

SOCIAL WITNESS. The Advisory Committee on Social Witness policy is submitting reports on gun violence, AIDS, the economic crisis and public education. And there’s sure to be discussion on other concerns in the public eye, including immigration, care for the environment and peacemaking.

The above information was published by The Presbyterian Outlook [http://www.pres-outlook.com/ ] and purchased by First Presbyterian Church, Wichita Falls, Texas.

PRESBYTERIAN PROCESS: HOW BUSINESS COMES BEFORE THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY The Presbyterian Church is made up of a system of governing bodies. The governing body nearest to home is the Session, which is charged with governing the life and mission of a particular church. The Sessions of several particular churches in a geographical region elect commissioners who, with the ministers of that region (including pastors), make up a Presbytery. Presbyteries send commissioners (elder and ministers in equal numbers) to Synods (consisting of several Presbyteries) and to General Assembly, the govering body that oversees the life and mission of the whole church.

Commissioners to the General Assembly will be asked to take action on matters of business which come primarily from three sources:

(1) Overtures from one or more of the 173 presbyteries in the denomination. Many of these overtures originate in local Sessions, but all of them will have been approved by at least one Presbytery. Any given Presbytery may have a Bills and Overtures Committee which will study proposed overtures to General Assembly and recommend what action the Presbytery should take. The Presbytery may or may not comply with the recommendation of its Bills and Overtures Committee.

(2) Recommendations from any Committees or Task Forces that a previous General Assembly has formed.

(3) Overtures submitted by individual commissioners to the General Assembly (a relatively rare occurrence).

All commissioners to the General Assembly are assigned to committees which study overtures and recommendations, listen to testimony, and take action to recommend how the General Assembly should vote on various issues. Some committees present both a Majority Report and a Minority Report, especially if the minority on any given issue is significant in number. Committees meet for about the first two or three days of the General Assembly's scheduled meeting time.

When the time allotted for committees to do their work has passed, the General Assembly will come together in plenary session. The commissioners elect a moderator (clergy or lay), and the newly elected moderator nominates a vice moderator, who is usually elected. The next two or three days (the remainder of the allotted time) is spent hearing committee reports and voting on proposed actions, many of which involve changes to the Constitution (the Book of Confessions and/or the Book of Order).

Any change in the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (USA) must be subsequently submitted to the 173 Presbyteries for their action. Any change in the Book of Order requires approval by a majority of the Presbyteries; any change in the Book of Confessions requires approval by two-thirds of the Presbyteries.

The General Assembly meets every two years. The 219th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) meets July 3-10, 2010, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

WHO WILL REPRESENT PALO DURO PRESBYTERY AT THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY?

Commissioners (and alternates) from Palo Duro Presbytery to the 219th General Assembly are:

Elder Commissioners:

Carol McClellan (Abilene/First Central)
3 Lake Point
Abilene, TX 79606
325/692-0518
carolcoda@aol.com

Gary Terrell (Lubbock/Westminster)
4304 97th Street
Lubbock, TX 79423
806/795-7404
gterrell@nts-online

Alternate Elder Commissioners:

Peggy Martin (Sweetwater/First)
1602 Bristol Dr.
Sweetwater, TX 79556
325/338-7656
pmartin@sweetwater.esc14.net

Wes Cochran
4801 1st Place
Lubbock, TX 79416-3149
806/742-3990
wesley.cochran@ttu.edu

Clergy Commissioners:

Randy Branson (Graham/First)
P. O. Box 870
Graham, TX 76450-0870
940/549-1008
rrbranson@fpcgraham.com

Don McDonald (Canyon/First)
904 19th St.
Canyon, TX 79015
806/655-7087
fpc-don@sbcglobal.net

Alternate Clergy Commissioner:

Jeff Conway (Amarillo/Lubbock)
2525 Wimberly Rd.
Amarillo, TX 79109
806/359-4781
jeffc@wpcama.org

Youth Advisory Delegate:

C. M. Fowler (Canyon/First)
1204 12th St.
Canyon, TX 79015
806/655-2390 (home)
806/223-7125 (cell)
mfowler@suddenlink.net