LETTERS FROM
Reports from the 217th
General Assembly
From Peter Nord, Executive Presbyter, Presbytery of
June 17, 2006
Dear Friends,
The pace of activity within the
committees increased markedly today.
In the Peacemaking and International
Affairs Committee and on the divestment front, Jack Sharp joined a couple of
dozen overture advocates including the three previous moderators. After hearing these advocates and various
resource people, the committee went into a period of discernment with the hope
that a consensus might develop. As is
the case in many of the committee rooms, the house was divided rather closely
between those who wanted to maintain divestment and those who wished to modify
the effort but keep up the pressure on all the parties. Unfortunately, Jack had to leave for home
before decisions were made by the committee.
In the Committee on Church Orders the
twenty-some advocates who were seeking the removal of G-6.0106b joined together
in a common and rather powerful presentation on Friday evening. By Saturday afternoon, the committee had
voted 30-28 to disapprove the Heartland Overture which would have removed this
provision from the Book of Order. The Committee the night before had voted to
disapprove overtures which would have put greater restrictions on services for
same sex-couples.
And the Ecclesiology Committee, which
was by far the largest room with chairs for 500 and people standing along the
walls, was well into its second day debating the Peace, Unity, and Purity
Report. An overture to remove
recommendation #5 (which might be called the “scruples” provision) was made
late in the afternoon.
In the midst of all this, a
number of exec-types slipped out for a couple hours to see the
As evening approached some 17 Baltimoreans
gathered for dinner and shared what was happening in their worlds.
Charles Forces, who advocated for an end on
surcharges applied to ECO giving, found the overture being defeated – but not
until lengthy debate and a variety of amendments were offered. But in the end the committee voted to
disapprove.
Bill Galvin also returned to Peacemaking Committee
in time to see them approve
Other folk reported that efforts to change
the Presbyterian understanding regarding church property were not supported by
the committee. Efforts to speak far more
strongly against late term abortions as well as abortions that are not related
to preserving the health of the mother were also recommended to the
Assembly. The paper on the Trinity was
passed with minor amendments along with a minority report. A new hymnal (at least 8 years away) was also
permitted. A streamlined Chapter 14 in
the Book of Order was encouraged and
supported. Hours of debate were held on
the fate of the Montreat Historical Society.
While the committee wanted to compromise on Montreat, in the end it
accepted the GAC recommendation that it be closed.
While most of the committees had completed their
work by evening – some committees continued to be hard at it – Church Orders, General
Assembly Procedures, Peacemaking (which has spent an extraordinary amount of
time on Israel and Palestine), and Ecclesiology (which was engaged in debate on
PUP). As we approached the end of the
night, Peacemaking had a proposal it was working on that seemed to soften the
previous assembly actions and Ecclesiology had essentially supported the first
four recommendations. They had been
working for hours on the fifth recommendation.
A motion to remove recommendation five was voted down 38 to 24. A substitute motion was created and followed
by a motion to recess and sleep on the decision. This motion passed.
Upstairs in Peacemaking the perfecters of
the motion were closing in on their decision.
In the end a motion was approved which calls for the replacement of the
2004 motion which initiated phased selective divestment. The motion called upon us to make financial investments
that promote peaceful pursuits and asked MRTI to ensure that its engagement is
consistent with the following principles: reflect the fundamental principles of
justice and peace; reflect a commitment to positive outcomes; reflect awareness
of potential impact upon the future of stable and viable Israel and Palestine;
and to identify affirmative investment opportunities to Israel, Gaza, East
Jerusalem and the West Bank. It also
calls for the church to work through peaceful means with all affected communities
to end violence and terror as well as occupation, and to work towards the
creation of secure Palestinian and Israeli states. This motion also recognizes that the problem
with the security wall is its location and we support fair criticism of the
security wall in so far as it illegally encroaches into Palestinian territory
and recommend that the fence be relocated from land that was not part of
There had been hopes that the Ecclesiology
Committee which was working on the PUP report would be finished Saturday night
and that they would share communion as their final “piece of business.” They went home to discern – and to wait to
share the common cup until Sunday afternoon.
As you who read this on Sunday, I invite you to keep in your prayers
these commissioners and all who are here – that together we might share a
common cup when all has been said and done.
Blessings,
Peter
Fax: 410.433.2066 | office@baltimorepresbytery.org
Letters will be sent daily during the Assembly