Day 6: Split Down the Middle

The Presbyterian Church is deeply divided, and events of Day 6 of the Assembly bear that out.  A series of provocative and controversial proposals were addressed in this first full day of plenary deliberation:

• In the morning, the Assembly received the report of the Mid Councils Committee, for which I was the ACC resource person.  There were some parliamentary maneuvers offered, resulting in a change to one of the principal recommendations. Rather than form a commission to reduce the number of synods, the Assembly referred the entire report to a task force for recommendations about synods and "the composition and organization of the Mid Councils in ways that reinvigorate their capacity to support missional congregations, and advance the ecclesial nature and character of those presbyteries within the unity of the church." The recommendation really doesn't make sense as written, and has the effect of perpetuating the Mid Councils Report and the discussion of presbyteries (as a response to the recommendations on synods) even though the Assembly rejected its recommendations about presbyteries.  Perhaps most disturbing is the requirement that it be made up of only insiders-- members of the Committee on the General Assembly, members of the Mid Councils Commission, and Assembly Commissioners, presumably from the Mid Councils Committee. A lot of agendas there, but not a lot of new perspectives.  The final form of the task force won't be known until Friday, when the Assembly takes up an amendment from our own Sue Spencer to combine three of the four task forces or commissions approved by the Assembly into one. Despite this last minute resuscitation, the commission that worked two years on developing a new vision for the church was crushed by having none of their centerpiece recommendations adopted.
• The afternoon was filled with the report of the Church Polity committee, and focused on fine points of our polity.  Two overtures from our presbytery -- dealing with business at congregational meetings and representation of the session on the congregational nominating committee -- were defeated (with the exception of one provision).  But the real battle was a discussion on administrative leave for pastors accused of sexual misconduct with another adult. The overture, from Baltimore Presbytery, would seek to amend the Book of Order to allow the presbytery to place a pastor on administrative leave, pending an investigation, upon a written allegation of sexual misconduct against anyone, not merely minors. While some of the "teeth" of the overture were extracted, ultimately, the intent of the overture was adopted. Also in the Polity report was the seemingly innocuous bit about the "compliance report" from the Presbytery of Redwoods.  As predicted, it generated floor discussion, which was rather inartfully handled by the Office of the General Assembly.  I have received private assurances, however, that a process of administrative review will be conducted regarding the publicized refusal of the presbytery to carry out discipline against a minister as ordered by its own judicial commission and upheld by the General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission. We will be hearing more about this one.
• Even the usually placid report on the Board of Pensions, Foundation, and Presbyterian Publishing House was the focus of controversy around a commissioner's resolution to require the Stated Clerk to solicit communication with other denominations -- including the Evangelical Presbyterian Church and the new ECO splinter denomination -- to share in our Pension and Benefits program.  Unbelievably, this passed by a 339-331 margin (with 8 abstentions).  This is one of the most absurd action items I can ever remember in the history of my involvement in the PCUSA.  I am praying for reconsideration tomorrow.
• But the big brawl on Thursday was the battle over the recommendation to divest stock holdings from three U.S. Corporations lending material aid to the Israeli military occupation of Palestine.  The recommendation, from the GA Mission Council's Mission Responsibility through Investment Committee, was the result of a process of "corporate engagement" that began in 2004.  The proposal was lobbied heavily by groups both inside and outside the church.  In the end, it was defeated by the narrowest of margins, 333-331 with two abstentions. A substitute motion encouraging "peaceful investment" in the region was adopted.  

It was a long day... commissioners labored from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.  There is much much more to do tomorrow, including same-sex marriage overtures scheduled for sometime in the afternoon.

No "crying YAADs" yet... but I'm betting we'll see one tomorrow, most likely during the same-sex marriage debate.

Day 5: Fireworks

It wouldn’t be the Fourth of July without fireworks, and the fireworks started early at the General Assembly Wednesday.  Commissioners were greeted with an unexpected item of business:  the resignation of Vice Moderator Tara Spuhler McCabe, only two days after her election.  She explained that this decision was her own, based on her pastoral concern for the church.  As I reported in an earlier blog, her confirmation as Vice Moderator was fraught with challenges to the standing rules, and to her personally, since she admitted to having officiated a same-sex wedding in violation of Presbyterian polity.  In her resignation speech she indicated that there were multiple individuals and groups who were threatening to block the assembly’s ability to conduct business through various parliamentary mechanisms if she continued as Vice Moderator.

The Standing Rules of the General Assembly do not address the resignation of a confirmed Vice Moderator, but Robert’s Rules of Order provide that when a person appointed or elected to office resigns, the same power to appoint or elect applies to the appointment or election of the successor.  So Moderator Presa proceeded to nominate a new Vice Moderator, who was elected (according to the Standing Rules) at the next business session.  To show how divisive the Vice Moderator's confirmation has become, a motion to allow 20 minutes to discuss the actions of Rev. McCabe after she had resigned failed by a single vote.

The selection of Trinidad raised concern among some progressive commissioners who had voted for Presa on the promise of a "partnership" between left and right.  It was assumed that he would select a new Vice Moderator more in the mold of McCabe -- at least one who was not a male Teaching Elder.

The floor business on day one of plenary meetings is typically benign, arranged to let the Assembly settle in to the practice of deliberation.  One of the most controversial items was a substitute motion to allow presbyteries to limit their payments to higher councils to 18% of their operating budgets, which was ultimately defeated. (It would have saved our presbytery close to $60,000 annually, but would bankrupt higher councils.)

Another important matter was the consideration of a new translation of the 1563 Heidelberg Catechism.  The matter was first brought to the 218th General Assembly in San Jose in 2008, which initiated the process for amending the Confessions.  Approval was given in 2010 to participate in a joint translation process with two other Reformed denominations.  Their final product was presented at this assembly and was approved to be sent to the presbyteries for their consideration.  Approval by 2/3 of the presbyteries and by the next Assembly is necessary for adoption.  In a related matter, the Assembly approved forming a new "Committee of Fifteen" to make recommendation to the 2014 Assembly regarding incorporating the Belhar Confession into our Book of Confessions.  Belhar was approved by the Assembly in 2010 but fell eight shy of obtaining the requisite number of presbytery approvals.

The day ended early to allow commissioners and others to enjoy the fireworks show over the Three Rivers confluence.

GA Day 4: Decision and Division

The 220th General Assembly rounded the turn and headed into the home stretch as committees wrapped up their work Tuesday with a number of surprising recommendations for consideration by the full Assembly over the next three and a half days.

The biggest news was a narrow endorsement of an overture from Hudson River Valley Presbytery seeking to amend the Book of Order provisions on marriage by substituting "two people" where it currently says "a man and a a woman."  Most observers expected the committee to "punt" the issue of marriage to the next assembly, given the very volatile conditions in the denomination.  Instead, they headed right into the middle of the fray with colors flying.

Almost as surprising was the near total rejection of the work of the Mid Councils Commission after two years of work and unprecedented input from the whole denomination.  The centerpieces of the report: recommendations to "re-purpose" synods into "multi-presbytery mission partnerships" and to launch a "season of experimentation" with "missional affinity presbyteries" and "porous presbyteries" were apparently too radical for the Assembly committee, which opted for a more traditional process of consolidating synods, and scuttled presbytery changes altogether.

The Mid Council committee saw two moments of unusual candor in its consideration of some of the other overtures assigned to it.  In one, an overture advocate from Mississippi asked the committee to vote against his own presbytery's amendment, saying the work the committee had done was superior.  In another, an overture advocate from Santa Barbara admitted that getting out of the property trust clause was one reason his presbytery was seeking to let congregations decide between conflicting polities in union presbyteries, even though the published rationale made no mention of property, but sought "missional flexibility" and "streamlined process".  His presbytery has just voted to seek to become a union presbytery with the new splinter denomination ECO, which mandates congregational control of property.

In other "hot button" items of business: 

• The Middle East and Peacemaking Issues committee approved the recommendation to divest from three corporations aiding Israel's illegal military occupation and settlement of Palestinian lands.  The committee added a section stating that church holdings would still be invested in companies engaged in non-military pursuits in Israel, and a detailed comment on the rather limited impact of the divestment decision.
• The Mission Coordination Committee narrowly rejected plans from the General Assembly Mission Council to change the funding process of the four annual special offerings. Yesterday, they rejected the GAMCs 19% "administrative fee" on the Theological Education Fund in favor of a two year negotiation process with the seminaries.
• And, in the Biennial Assembly Review Committee, the two most controversial proposals were largely rejected, including creation of a new category of "young adult commissioner" and the requirement that all presbytery overtures obtain at least 18 concurrences representing 10% of all presbyteries to be considered by the Assembly.Instead, the committee is recommending amendments requiring only one concurrence.

Adding to the confusion and frustration of many commissioners were the many problems committees had navigating parliamentary procedure.The issues weren't in the process, but rather in the leadership, most notably the parliamentarians.The commissioners weren't much better, as they often seemed to be oblivious to the theology and polity of the Reformed tradition.In two different committees I heard commissioners dismiss the advice of the Advisory Committee on the Constitution as "just nine people's opinions" as if conformity to the Constitution was optional. Fortunately,the ACC's advice was honored in almost every case anyway.

Tomorrow, plenary gets underway at 2 p.m. and the Assembly starts to finalize its action on the hundreds of items of business before it.

GA Days 2-3: Getting Down to Business

Sunday night is the bridge between the "family reunion" part of the Assembly and the "business" part.  That's when committees meet for the first time to go over introductions and do group building.  Monday is a day full of committee work as the Assembly begins to process hundreds of items of business.

Judging by the galleries, the most interest at the Assembly are in the two committees whose work topped my list - Marriage Issues and Middle East Peacemaking.  One member of the Marriage Issues Committee described the committee as "deeply divided and concerned this may not be the time to do anything." The commissioners are feeling the pain and anxiety of the denomination, and have been told by some "The church will split and it will be your fault."  That's both unfair and untrue.  But it gives an insight into this Assembly.

The big controversy yesterday was the confirmation of the Vice Moderator.  Tara Spuhler McCabe had admitted to signing a same-sex marriage license in Washington D.C. about a month ago (she says she didn't perform the ceremony though), and many commissioners wanted to take time to examine her on the floor of the Assembly (the majority voted it down and she was approved with a 30% "no" vote).  Nevertheless the moderatorship of Neal D. Presa got off to a challenging start.  The lukewarm response to his candidacy was reflected in Committee 5 (which I am resourcing) which not only failed to acknowledge him when he entered the room, but failed to stand (as is protocol) and many didn't even clap.  It is sad to see some traditions fade away.

Shortly after the Vice Moderator to-do, Gradye Parsons was elected to a second four-year term as Stated Clerk, the least surprising development of the Assembly, as he was "standing" unopposed.

Some news of personal interest: Sunday morning I was pleased to worship at the church of Robyn Baker) Peterson, who years ago was a teenager in the church I pastored in Utah.  The congregation bore a striking resemblance to Family of Christ church in Greeley where my family worships.  Later that day, my friend Alyson Jonke was given the C. Fred Jenkins Award for Constitutional Service for a lifetime of dedication to the polity of the church.  She was presented the award by our Stated Clerk Lynn Smit, who is President of the Association of Stated Clerks.

The overtures from our Presbytery are meeting with a mixed response.  The Polity Committee largely rejected two of our amendments to clarify changes in the Form of Government.  One of our commissioners sits on that committee and reported that for a polity committee the group is surprisingly ignorant of (and possibly indifferent to) our polity.  Officially, they're not dead, but it will take a miracle the equal of the resurrection to revive them.  On a brighter note, our proposed Authoritative Interpretation regarding validating ministries was approved in committee.  And, as proof that our presbytery is even more polarized than the General Assembly, the controversial trade reform overture that was approved by a 38-30 vote at our May meeting was unanimously recommended by the Social Issues committee (with one abstention).  Kudos to Joanne Dobie for a tremendous job as our overture advocate!  The Assembly still must approve them to become official.

Finally, in the Mid Councils Committee, after a full day of listening to various resource people, advocates, and each other an informal survey of opinion in committee shows significant doubts about the Mid Councils Commission report.  We'll see what develops tomorrow.