LETTERS FROM BIRMINGHAM

 

  Reports from the 217th General Assembly

  From Peter Nord, Executive Presbyter, Presbytery of Baltimore

 

    June 16, 2006

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Friends,

 

The second day of the Assembly is to different than the first – the crowds are gone, few people line up to register, the people seem to have disappeared – but in fact they are very busy at work.  The committees throughout the day alternate between public hearings when anyone can offer testimony on business before the committee and the committee’s own deliberations and votes on each of the some 160 Overtures.

 

The morning began very early with the GA Breakfast – which I shared with Commissioners Catherine Blacka and Ron Hankins.  The speaker was Odessa Woolfolk, the founding president of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute.  This speaker spoke of how Birmingham had changed and the need for reconciliation in the world.  For Odessa, reconciliation requires an acknowledgement of problems caused, an apology for past actions, and a desire to move forward together.  She challenged us to move away from our comfortable circles of friends and reach out to people who are different than we are.  And she challenged us to continue to be players in the public discourse about the issues of the day.  It is hard to hear such people and their stories of faithfulness in days past without being moved to greater faithfulness in this day and age.

 

We also learned that the next National Pastor’s Sabbath will be June 28 – July 2, 2007 at Snowbird.  This event exceeded all expectations last year.  Some ten of our pastors attended and came back filled with gratitude and joy for their Sabbath time.  I encourage you who are pastors to think about attending next year.  One word of caution – there is only room for some 800 pastors and be assured it will be sold out.  Registration will be opened on December 4.

 

As noon approached, I was able to sit in on the committee hearing our overture requesting the transfer of Glen Burnie Korean Presbyterian Church from the Atlantic Korean-American Presbytery to Baltimore.  Anita Hendrix, our advocate for the overture, spoke in support and garnered a unanimous concurrence on the part of the committee.

 

A second of our overtures was heard by the General Assembly Procedures Bill on which Commissioner Mary Gaut sits.  This was the overture on per capita.  As you may recall, this overture asked the GA to resolve the inconsistency of Book of Order 9.0404d’s application.  GA and synods may require presbyteries to pay per capita, but presbyteries may not require the same of sessions.  The Advisory Committee on the Constitution had supported our overture which suggested that presbyteries should have this power.  I was the advocate for this overture.  It was interesting to me that Cliff Kirkpatrick and several of the Associate Stated Clerks stepped in and listened to the debate and it was also interesting that no other EP’s attended.  I was prepared to speak for some four or so minutes; but, in the end I stood before the committee for more than half an hour.  Commissioners shared their concern that churches should be able to spend their money in other ways, that these payments would bankrupt small churches; but, mostly the concern voiced was that sessions should be autonomous.  When I was finished, a commissioner from another presbytery in our Synod stood and moved that that the committee recommend the overture be rejected.  After another thirty minutes of debate, the committee voted 38:8 with 6 abstentions to reject the overture.  It was now 10:10 PM and it seemed like a good time to head back to our rooms.

 

Saturday will be the second and last day of committee hearings – and surely there will be more to report.

 

Blessings,

 

Peter

 

The Presbytery of Baltimore | 5400 Loch Raven Blvd.

Baltimore, MD 21239 | 1.800.511.0087 | 410.433.2012

Fax: 410.433.2066 | office@baltimorepresbytery.org

Letters will be sent daily during the Assembly