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Here's a "home page" guide
to our archived pages
from the 217th General Assembly,
which was held in Birmingham, AL, June 15 - 22, 2006
Click here for a listing of
some important pages on this site from the 2006 GA. |
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This website has been
created by a number of progressive organizations related to the Presbyterian
Church (USA), with two main purposes:
1. We want to share our concerns
and views with commissioners and others attending the Assembly, and with
anyone else who is watching from afar. While some of our groups
focus on one area of concern and others are more general in their focus,
we are all committed to the wholeness of our world, which we understand to
involve justice and peace and the well-being of all people; and we are
committed to the wholeness and health of our Church and its witness and
service in the world.
2. We want to get to know you
better and serve your concerns and needs in any way we can. So we
will invite you to share your views with us and with one another with any
email responses or questions. We'll invite your responses with links
here and there, and we'll try to post those that seem to contribute to our
conversations.
Just
send a note now, and tell us how we can be helpful!
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Witherspoon Board reaffirms unity of the church, laments divisive moves
[9-19-06] The Board of the Witherspoon Society, meeting from
September 13 through 16 at McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago, today
adopted a statement expressing dismay at the actions and statements by some
Presbyterians, congregations and presbyteries that seem to violated the
spirit of "harmony and covenanted partnership" that were fostered by the
Theological Task Force and experienced by many at the 217th
General Assembly in Birmingham.
The statement concludes: "We pledge to join with all
Presbyterians in carrying out the letter and the spirit of both the AI and
our broader Presbyterian tradition: to defend our Constitution against
anarchy and misinterpretation, to seek more thorough discernment, and to
assist candidates and committees as we all try to live our way into the new
opportunities brought to us by the Theological Task Force, the actions of
the 217th General Assembly, and the Reformed heritage upon which
the Presbyterian Church (USA) stands."
The full statement >> |
|
More on divestment:
"Our policy in the Middle East is why we are in this
war." [7-21-06]
Commenting on our recent postings about
the General Assembly’s action on divestment, Martha Schumacher of Austin,
Texas, sent this short, clear note:
Why do you think that Presbyterians do not understand
that the hatred the terrorists feel toward us is because of our blind
policy with respect to Israel... Our policy in the Middle East is why we
are in this war. So if our government does nothing, then the Church must.
More >>
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And
further comments on the
Assembly’s divestment action, from John Wimberly
[7-21-06]
The Rev. John
Wimberly wrote some days back, disputing the interpretations by the Rev.
Susan Andrews and the Rev.
Will McGarvey, who viewed the
GA action on divestment as basically reaffirming the action of two years
ago, along with an acknowledgement of the distress that has been felt by
many in the Jewish community, as well as a number of Presbyterians.
John Wimberly
writes again, insisting that the 2006 Assembly really did order a shift
in policy, away from divestment toward a positive "strategy of investment." |
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Another view of the GA action on divestment: the
policy was clarified, not changed [7-14-06]
We recently posted a note from
the Rev. Susan Andrews, interpreting the action of the 217thGeneral
Assembly on divestment as a reaffirmation of the action taken by the 216th
Assembly two years ago.
The Rev. John Wimberly
disagreed with this view, saying that the divestment policy approved in
2004 was replaced by the 2006 Assembly.
Now the Rev. Will McGarvey, of Community Presbyterian Church in
Pittsburg, CA, writes to dispute John Wimberly’s views on both the 2004 and
the 2006 actions. The Assembly committee dealing with the divestment issue,
he argues, recognized that they did not have the power to rescind the action
of two years ago, and so they opted to clarify it. By adding their
directions to MRTI,, he writes, "they reaffirmed the current policies and
also authorized MRTI to seek positive investment opportunities. In effect,
they gave the church new language with which to understand this same
historic process. While the language is different, the strategy is much the
same."
The full note from McGarvey
>> |
|
Voices of Sophia shares GA 2006 Ruminations
[7-14-06]
Edie Gause,
PCUSA minister, teacher, and writer, who is currently serving as the
Transitional Synod Executive in the Synod of Southern California and Hawaii,
offers her poetic "ruminations" on the recent General Assembly -- filtered
through the the presentation by Rita Nakashima Brock to the Voices of Sophia
breakfast gathering.
She begins:
Sometimes Wisdom sashayed;
ofttimes She peeked out!
Scruples! Resurrected bit of protest; matter of mindfulness
Taken from the days of colonial fathers
One can say, ‘To
this I cannot assent,
This is my way,
Can you accept my way as part of our way?’
Peeking bits of wisdom; personal insights into Truth
Invitation for today’s
mothers of thought
To speak of Sophia inspired ideas
Contained in vast debates.
More >> |
|
Voices of Sophia will hold a gathering
at Ghost Ranch, Santa Fe, NM,
October 26-29
This will be a time for reconnection, refreshment,
reflection and renewal. Leaders will include
the Rev. Dr. Anne McKee, campus pastor at
Maryville College; Tennessee; Ms. Mary Elva Smith, Associate Director for
Women's Programs, PC(USA); the Rev. Judy Wrought, Interim Pastor, former
staff person for Women's Programs, PC(USA); Ms. Rachael Whaley, sophomore at
Maryville College, intern with the Office of General Assembly summer 2006.
The Rev. Meg Rift and The Rev. Cindy Cushman will lead us in our worship
together. [7-14-06]
More >> |
| Divestment:
reaffirmed, or replaced?
A Washington pastor, John Wimberly, disputes Susan Andrews'
interpretation of the General Assembly action on divestment
[7-6-06]
He begins:
With all due respect to my colleague and friend Susan Andrews, the 2006
GA did far more than "reaffirm,"
"renew"
and "refocus"
our efforts as peacemakers in the
Middle East. It REPLACED the divestment strategy of the 2004 GA with an
investment strategy from the 2006 GA. The word "replace"
means what it means. Divestment, as
articulated by the 2004 GA, is no longer in place. In the 2006 resolution,
there is a direct quote from the 2004 GA action regarding divestment
which, voted the 2006 GA, is "replaced"
by a new strategy of investment.
The rest of his note >>
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Witherspoon's report on the 217th
General Assembly [6-30-06]
Doug King and Gene TeSelle offer a summary
report and commentary on the recent General Assembly. It begins:
The 217th General Assembly was a "down the
middle" Assembly. It elected a Moderator who seemed moderate and
open-minded. It approved the report of the Theological Task Force (TTF) on
the Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Church (for short, "PUP Report"),
which most regard as offering more leeway for the ordination of gay and
lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) church members. But it resolutely
refused to consider amending the Book of Order to delete the prohibition
in G-6.0106b.
This may be a typical "approach/avoidance"
pattern. The closer you come to doing something new, the more you
hesitate. Then it seems more comfortable to make one change at a time,
putting other issues on hold for the time being.
The full report >>
We'd appreciate your comments, additions
and corrections.
Just
send a note, to be shared here! |
Moderator and
Stated Clerk issue pastoral letter
on General Assembly
'God's spirit was with us,' Gray, Kirkpatrick say
[6-28-06] |
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GA action on
divestment is a reaffirmation, not a repudiation
Former Moderator Susan Andrews interprets the GA action on
divestment for a Jewish audience – without making it into a mere apology.
She says that "the statement passed by this year’s Assembly refocuses,
rephrases, and reinterprets the actions we made in 2004. But it does not
repudiate those actions." [6-28-06] |
| Powered by
More than Hot Air The General Assembly used lots of
energy in the Convention Center and the Assembly hotels. But working with
the Presbyterian Hunger, Peacemaking and Environmental Justice programs and
Presbyterians for Restoring Creation, this meeting was also powered by the
purchase of renewable energy certificates (RECs). The GA purchased enough
RECs to "offset" the 168 tons of carbon dioxide being produced by the
Convention Center and our hotels. This investment in renewable energy will
help to build a wind farm on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation in South Dakota
and the Dovan family dairy farm’s methane project in Pennsylvania.
[6-28-06]
The rest of
the story >> |
| A more
inclusive church? GA offered a mixed picture
A new observer reviews the Assembly through the lenses of
an inclusive-church activist, and finds a mixed picture, with more to be
done – especially dealing with the issue of power
[6-28-06]
Sonnie Swenson wrote these comments
soon after the Assembly. She introduces herself thus: "I attended GA as one
under the umbrella of (but still brand new to) TAMFS. In addition to that
affiliation, I have been involved with MLP nationally and locally,
individually and congregationally, for years and years; and with CovNet as a
local chapter leader (of a chapter that has chastised the national CovNet
leadership for not being strong enough). I have also been active in the
inclusive church movement through the Lazarus Project in Southern
California. I consider my own best work to be at the grassroots level, and
the bigger and wider the scope gets, the more painful it all gets for me."
Her
observations on the Assembly >> |
|
"Letters from a Birmingham Assembly" highlights MLP
Dinner
Michael Adee gave the keynote talk at the More Light Presbyterians
Celebration Dinner on June 15, the opening evening of the 217th
General Assembly. He told his own story and many others about living
into the questions of life, and into answers, as he learned to affirm
his own identity as God’s gift.
Adee's talk >> [6-28-06] |
| More on the
approval of the Peace, Unity and Purity report
News conference offers
reflections on the passage of Recommendation 5 of TTF report
Controversial measure does not change standards; places
responsibility for discernment on presbyteries and sessions
[posted here 6-22-06]
Presbyterian News Service reports on a news conference in
which Moderator Joan Gray expressed satisfaction at the way commissioners
and advisory delegates handled Tuesday's voting on Recommendation 5, the
most controversial of the recommendations of the Theological Task Force on
Peace, Unity and Purity of the Church report. Recommendations 5 through 7
were approved by a 57 percent to 43 percent margin.
Joining the moderator at the press conference was the Rev.
Clifton Kirkpatrick, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly; the Rev. Blair
Monie, moderator of the GA Committee on Ecclesiology, which dealt with the
report; the Rev. Catherine Kotfiela, vice moderator of the committee; and
three members of the Theological Task Force: the Rev. Mark Achtemeier, elder
Barbara Wheeler, and the Rev. John Wilkinson.
Visitors
offer their thoughts -- and you're invited to join in. |
| GA
overwhelmingly approves Israel/Palestine recommendation
[6-22-06] The 217th General Assembly overwhelmingly
approved the recommendation of the Peacemaking and International Issues
committee regarding Middle East issues.
By a vote of 483 in favor, 28 opposed and 1 abstention
today, the Assembly set as church policy that "financial investments of the
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), as they pertain to Israel, Gaza, East
Jerusalem, and the West Bank, be invested in only peaceful pursuits." The
recommendation was an alternate resolution to an overture that sought to
repeal and rescind the actions of the 2004 General Assembly relating to
"phased selective divestment in multinational corporations operating in
Israel."
The
full story >>
Visitors are
commenting on the divestment action. See what's being said, and
add your own thoughts. |
Assembly
apologizes for divestment action
[Doug King, 6-22-06]This
afternoon (Wednesday, June 21) the Assembly received the report from the
Committee on Peacemaking and International Issues, with the issue of
divestment as the star attraction.
Details
>>
Jewish organizations respond to the divestment action
Clearly a variety of Jewish groups have been
watching the Assembly with great interest. You may be interested to glimpse
their "take" on the action of this afternoon’s session.
Details >>
For a general report on the debate and the
Assembly's action,
see the
Presbyterian News Service report >> |
| Assembly
approves all work from Church Polity committee, with some changes
Most discussion given to approving study for
Korean-language synod [6-22-06]
One controversial proposal, to allow ministers and
congregations more choice in presbytery and membership, was rejected.
The full
story from Presbyterian News Service >> |
| TAMFS luncheon
honors Janie Spahr [6-22-06]
BIRMINGHAM, June 20 -- Jane Adams Spahr, the
minister-director of That All May Freely Serve, told with great energy and
humor a series of anecdotes and memories spanning her career as an advocate
for gay and lesbian ordination. The title of her talk was "Sharing of Our
Sacred Stories -- Why We Do This Work of Love and Justice."
The report from Presbyterian News Service
>> |
|
Commissioners tackle four overtures related to abortion
GA affirms lives of unborn babies
[6-22-06]
BIRMINGHAM, June 21 -- By better than a 3-to-1 margin,
General Assembly commissioners on Wednesday night approved an overture from
the Health Issues committee on late-term pregnancies that affirms the lives
of viable unborn babies.
The report from
Presbyterian News Service >> |
$150,000,000 gift may not be there
[Doug King, 6-21-06]According to an
article in this morning’s Denver Post, Colorado business man Stanley
W. Anderson, whose record gift to the PC(USA) was greeted with great
enthusiasm by the Assembly just a few days ago, is in deep financial
trouble.
He has failed to pay his homeowners' association fees,
dental bills and mortgage payments, and he owes hundreds of thousands of
dollars to jilted creditors he persuaded to help keep his business afloat,
according to public records.
Anderson said Tuesday that he is working to pay off his
debts and is confident he will be able to deliver on his pledge. An official
with the 2.3 million member denomination in Louisville, Ky., also expressed
confidence in Anderson, a member of Central Presbyterian Church in Denver
and active in the local and national church.
At the beginning of the Wednesday morning business
session, GAC Executive Director John Detterick announced this development to
the Assembly. He quoted Mr. Anderson as reassuring him that "I would
not make a promise to my church that I am not able to fulfill."
Detterick affirmed his own confidence that "by November there will be money
in the account," as Anderson had promised.
Detterick closed by saying "I pray that we will continue
to accept Stan's promise with gratitude and grace."
The
news story from the Denver Post >>
A report from Presbyterian News Service >> |
| Colombia
resolution amended, some action items referred for study
From the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship, 6-21-06
The resolution that PPF wrote and got entered as a
Commissioner Resolution was amended on the floor of GA. A minority report
was offered and defeated, but then the same opponents recommended the
referral to ACSWP for study item 5 that called for a variety of things to
transform U.S. policy from military to non-violent aid. The objection was
that the commissioners did not know enough about the situation to act on
such a far reaching proposal. See the amended resolution at
http://les-pcusa.org/Item.aspx?IID=502&
While we regret the referral, we celebrate that GA took
action to commend the work PPF and others are doing with the churches in
Colombia and that GA actually went on record with commendations for
non-violent work of the Colombian church and for the many entities in the GA
that work for peace and justice.
See the PPF
website >> |
|
PUP passes
[from Doug King, 4:28 pm CTS on June 20, 2006]
The Assembly listened to some 2 and a half hours of debate
this afternoon on the report of Committee 6, on Ecclesiology, with its
recommendation that the report of the Theological Task Force on the Peace,
Unity and Purity of the Church.
A minority report from the committee called for the
acceptance of the first 4 sections of the report – the theological
background, and the rejection of recommendations 5 (offering a new
"Authoritative Interpretation"), 6 (calling for a moratorium on further
actions on the issue of ordination until the next Assembly), and 7. That was
defeated after lengthy debate by a vote of 283 to 234.
That was followed by a motion to refer recommendations 5
and 6 to the presbyteries before final action. The plea was that the process
of discernment valued so highly by the task force be allowed to be followed
in the presbyteries as well.
Finally at about 4:18 PM, the committee’s recommendation
to approve the Task Force report was approved by the full Assembly, by a
vote of 298 to 221.
The commissioners are now standing, holding hands in small
groups, praying. And now one commissioner is encouraging commissioners
to register their dissent.
Heartland defeated
Moments after the Assembly approved the Task Force's
proposed authoritative interpretation — of G-6.0108 of the Book of Order —
the Assembly voted to disapprove more than 20 proposals also pending before
the Assembly to delete G-6.0106b of the church's Book of Order. It
seemed clear that many commissioners felt they had gone as far as they could
comfortably go, and by a vote of 405 to 92 they refused to support that more
concrete step toward justice and inclusion for lgbt Presbyterians.
<< The report
from Presbyterian News Service >> |
|
Read statements on the passage of the PUP report:
|
|
Presbyterian News Service reports on the GA's
approval of the Peace, Unity and Purity report >> |
| GA acts on
ecumenical and interfaith relations Assembly refers
proposals to curb U.S. support for Colombian government, military
[6-20-06]
On Monday, June 19, the General Assembly acted on a number of
recommendations from the Committee on Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations .
The actions included support for human rights work of the
Presbyterian Church in Colombia , but a number of specific requests for more
overt action directed at the U.S. government's support of the Colombian
government and military were referred to the Advisory Committee on Social
Witness Policy and the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program for study. This was
done in spite of a plea from PCC Executive Secretary David Illigge Quiroz,
who said "The church in Colombia can't wait for more study."
The Assembly made the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) a
provisional member of Christian Churches Together (CCT), a new ecumenical
organization more broadly based than the National Council of Churches and
the National Association of Evangelicals.
Other issues considered included globalization, and
relations among the three "Abrahamic traditions" of Judaism, Christianity,
and Islam.
The full
article >> |
| GA acts on
Trinity paper
Assembly votes to 'receive' and commend to the church
[6-20-06]
BIRMINGHAM, June 19 -- The 217th General Assembly of the Presbyterian
Church (U.S.A.) approved a recommendation today to receive and commend to
the church for study the paper, "The Trinity: God's Love Overflowing." The
vote was 282 to 212, with 7 abstentions.
The original recommendation from the General Assembly Council called for
the Assembly to approve the paper. An amendment during the debate changed
the word to "receive" when some commissioners expressed concern that the
word approve meant endorsement. While a majority of the commissioners were
uncertain about endorsing it, they were ready to commend it to congregations
for study.
The
rest of the story >> |
The Witherspoon Luncheon
Eugenia Gamble speaks of "embodying love"
[6-20-06]
The Witherspoon Society’s Award Luncheon, held on Sunday,
June 18, drew about 170 people – some drifting in a bit late as they
returned from worship services at churches around the Birmingham area.
The keynote speaker for the luncheon, the Rev. Eugenia
Gamble, told the story of a congregation she called "extraordinary" – First
Presbyterian Church of Birmingham. This congregation, she said, has been
showing deep compassion to its community by providing hospitality and a safe
place to the people in its downtown neighborhood, just a few blocks from the
Convention Center where the General Assembly is meeting this week.
The rest of her talk, and more >>
|
|
A quick guide to some of the helpful
items on this site |
Some important pages:
|
The work of Assembly committees:
|
Analysis and opinions on issues:
|
News and views from each of the groups
sponsoring this web site:
|
|
A listing of all the items posted
here during June (with the most recent at the top of the pile)
For all items posted here during April
and May, 2006, click here |
|
For a quick listing of some
reports from Presbyterian News Service, and
perhaps other sources |
Covenant Network Commissioners' Dinner
[6-19-06]On Wednesday evening,
June 14, the eve of General Assembly, Susan Andrews, Moderator of the 215th
General Assembly, spoke to commissioners and friends at the Covenant Network
Commissioner's Dinner.
Her remarks
are posted here.
Covenant Network Board Member, Tim Hart-Andersen also addressed the
audience, speaking to Covenant Network's goals for not only this General
Assembly but also affirming Covenant Network's dedication to the full
inclusion of gay and lesbian Presbyterians. A report on the dinner and
Hart-Andersen's remarks
is
available here.
Covenant Network Luncheon
Cynthia Campbell, President of McCormick Seminary, served as the keynote
speaker at Friday's Covenant Network Luncheon. In her address, "Reformed,
Not 'What' We Are But 'How'," Campbell explores the tension of what it means
to be always open to the Holy Spirit.
Her
remarks are available here.
Covenant Network Co-Moderator Jon Walton spoke to the Task Force Report
and to the Ordination Overtures.
His
remarks are here. |
|
The Presbyterian Peace Fellowship reports on a number
of peace-related overtures that have been approved by committees and
recommended to the General Assembly.
Details >>
The PPF also reports on awards and an important fundraising
campaign that were announced at the Peace Breakfast on Saturday, June 17.
Details >> |
|
"Delete B" overture does not win Committee 4 recommendation
[6-19-06] The Presbyterian News Service report
begins:
Following a round of civil debate, the 217th General
Assembly Committee on Church Orders voted narrowly Saturday to recommend
leaving the "fidelity-chastity" ordination standard in the Presbyterian
Church (U.S.A.) constitution.
The committee's 30-28 vote recommended disapproval of an overture from
Heartland Presbytery that sought to delete G-6.0106b from the Book of
Order. The provision requires "fidelity within the covenant of marriage
between a man and a woman or chastity in singleness."
The rest of
the report >>
More Light Presbyterians has offered a report and
commentary on the defeat of the Heartland overture in Committee 4.
Their comments >> |
|
Trinity paper approved [6-19-06]
Around 11:00 on Monday morning, June 19, the Assembly
approved the study paper on
“The Trinity: God’s Love Overflowing,” which was produced
through "more
than five years of study, consultation, discussion, and prayer by a group of
pastors, elders, and theologians."
The debate on the
paper centered on charges from its critics that the report encourages
metaphorical thinking about God, instead of simply accepting "a sovereign
God who is able to name Himself," as was said by a theological advisory
delegate from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. |
|
We'll be back later this afternoon
(Monday, June 19) with more news. |
|
Watch the assembly via
live streaming video
All plenary sessions of the 217th General Assembly are
being broadcast via live video streaming. See the
docket or
assembly schedule to determine when live
video streaming will occur on each day of the assembly.
You can watch the streaming video
via Windows Media or
QuickTime. |
|
BULLETIN: At about 3:00
this afternoon Committee 4, on Church Orders, in effect rejected the
Heartland Overture and the concurring overtures that called for the removal
of G-6.0106b from the Presbyterian Book of Order, along with the related
Authoritative Interpretations.
The vote was on a motion to disapprove the overture, and
that motion was approved by a vote of 30 to 28.
Committee 6, which is dealing with the Theological Task
Force Report on the Peace, Unity and Purity of the Church, is still debating
-- currently dealing with a motion to strike Recommendation 5 (which would
give authority to sessions and presbyteries to discern the qualifications of
a candidate for ordination within their own understanding of the Book of
Order.
Well anyway, tonight's the Witherspoon Party. And
much can change between now and final actions on these matters.
[6-17-06]
Details
and comment from MLP >> |
|
Peace Fellowship names Rick Ufford-Chase as its first
full-time Executive Director [6-17-06]
The news release from PPF begins:
What do you do with a former moderator? Rick Ufford-Chase,
the first moderator of the Presbyterian Church (USA) to serve a 2 year term,
will return to his activist and spiritual home, the Presbyterian Peace
Fellowship. The 62 year old organization announced at its June 17 General
Assembly Peace Breakfast that Ufford-Chase will become the first full-time
Executive Director of PPF, starting August 1, 2006.
We'll add more of this announcement as soon as
possible. |
From Friday morning:
Open hearing on the Peace, Unity and Purity report
[6-17-06]Ecclesiology committee
hears conflicting views on PUP report
Presbyterian Outlook reports on the differing views expressed some 60
people in their testimony to Committee 6, on ecclesiology, on Friday
morning, June 16.
The report >>
NOTE: You have to register to access the full article on
the Outlook website, but it doesn’t cost anything, and doesn’t
really hurt too much.
A new way to be church
As Committee 6 – Ecclesiology – heard testimony from many witnesses on
Friday morning, some of the words began to sound pretty familiar after a
while. But one short statement struck me as different. Camille Cook, a
candidate for ordination in the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area, who is
working this summer at Central Presbyterian Church in St. Paul, said this:
My name is Camille Cook and I am a candidate for ordination in the Twin
Cities Presbytery. I speak in favor of the task force report.
Last night as I listened to the four moderator candidates speak, I
started a list of all of the negative and disheartening words I heard.
Conflict, dissent, unrest, tumult, tension, difference, division,
anxiety, decline, distance, season of depression, turbulence, lack of trust,
lack of faith, absent, pain, dying, hurting, distress, hopelessness,
despair.
As a recent seminary graduate and a young Presbyterian excited about
entering full-time ministry in the church, these are not the words I want to
be hearing. This is not the gospel I want to preach, this is not the church
I want to practice.
The task force report has the potential to shift the focus of our
denomination to new words of hope, peace, and community. We need a new way
to be the church and the task force report gives us such a possibility.
This report allows us to live together in community. This is the kind of
community the task force committee experienced after being together for four
and a half years.
We must honor their work, support their witness, and believe in their
unanimous vote. The committee came from differing backgrounds but they found
commonality in this report. The task force report gives the church a fresh
hope for unity and mutual forbearance.
The church I know and love and am excited to serve deserves this report
and not the laundry list I read before. Thank you. |
|
For older material, please see our archives:
Postings from June 1 through 16 >>
Posts
from April and May >>
A few of the most important items are still displayed below. |
Joan Gray elected as Moderator
[6-15-06, 11:20 pm CDT)
 |
|
Joan Gray after election
Photo by Dwight Blackstock |
After presentations from the
four candidates for moderator of the PC(USA), and an hour of their
responding to questions from commissioners and Youth Advisory Delegates, the
General Assembly has just elected the Rev. Joan Gray as its new Moderator.
She was elected on the third ballot, by a vote of 307 to
152 for the Rev. Deborah Block, 20 for the Rev. Tim Halverson, and 19 for
the Rev. Kerry Carson.
The first round of votes was remarkably close: Block
received 143, Gray 139, Halverson 113, and Carson 109.
More about Joan Grey: a
"polity wonk" who sees hope for the church in "a burning passion for God"
|
|
The General Assembly Committees [Updated 5-29-06]
We have now created a separate page for each of the GA
committees, with a list of its members, leadership, and proposed docket.
On each page you will also find any information or analysis we have posted
relating to the work of the committee -- or links to it on other pages.
Click here for the list of all
the committees, with a link to the page for each of them. We have
added information and analysis to those committee pages for which we have
material.
We welcome your comments, questions, or additional
information on any of the committees.
Just send a note,
to be shared here. Please mention which committee you're referring to, and identify
yourself. |
|
For all items listed here during April
and May, 2006, click here
For items posted from June 1 through 16,
click here.
A few of the most important items are still displayed above. |
| |
|
Do you want to
be notified whenever something new is added to this web site?
Just send a note, and we'll add you to our e-list for brief
notes when something new is posted here.
|
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This website has been created by a number of progressive
organizations related to the Presbyterian Church (USA), with two
main purposes: 1. We
want to share our concerns and views with commissioners and others
attending the Assembly, and with anyone else who is watching from
afar. While some of our groups focus on one area of concern
and others are more general in their focus, we are all committed to
the wholeness of our world, which we understand to involve justice
and peace and the well-being of all people; and we are committed to
the wholeness and health of our Church and its witness and service
in the world.
2. We want to get to know
you better and serve your concerns and needs in any way we can.
So we will invite you to share your views with us and with one
another with any email responses or questions. We'll invite
your responses with links here and there, and we'll try to post
those that seem to contribute to our conversations.
Just send a note now, and tell us how we can be helpful!
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