People will be coming to San Jose from east and west, from north and south – and also from right and left and center. It might be helpful to approach the Assembly with some awareness of the concerns and proposals that our fellow Presbyterians will be bringing from the conservative side of the denomination.

As one way to acquaint ourselves with their views, we can pay some attention to what they are saying to and for one another on some of their main websites. This is by no means an exhaustive analysis, but simply offers brief notes on what you’ll find if you visit some of their sites, with links to some particular items you may find especially helpful.

The groups are listed in alphabetical order.

Their most recent post is the report on the GAPJC rulings which essentially dismissed the actions of the 217^th GA. As resources for dealing with this they provide links to their Call to Action, Theological Declaration, and Supporting Documents.

Robert Gagnon, author of The Bible and Homosexual Practice: Texts and Hermeneutics, offers an essay with the catchy title, “Three Clear Indicators in the Book of Order Regarding Ordination Essentials: A Plea for Theological Sanity and Constitutional Honesty.”

He also provides “Ten Reasons Why the Achtemeier Overture Is Extremist and Invalid.” (I don’t recall ever seeing an overture discussed before under the name of one of its authors. That overture is otherwise known as an overture from John Knox Presbytery.)


The Presbyterian Coalition offers extensive commentary on the proposed Form of Government, from people such as Sylvia Dooling, of Voices of Orthodox Women, Terry Schlossberg, retiring as the Executive Director of the Coalition, Bob Davis, pastor of Chula Visa Presbyterian Church and former candidate for the position of Stated Clerk, and Jim Berkley, of Presbyterian Action (part of the Institute on Religion and Democracy).

The Coalition is encouraging the submission of overtures on a variety of topics, all listed (with drafts already provided) >>

They list “Overtures Already Approved,” along with Draft Overtures on which no action is so far noted, as well as “Overtures From 2006 That Are Still Needed.” Most of these deal with the Form of Government report, the Authoritative Interpretation approved by the 2006 GA, regarding freedom of conscience, and ordination standards. But attention is also given to marriage, “Pastoral Counsel for Sexual Sin,” abortion and so on. Each of these overtures is given with a link to the full text. You may find it helpful to look at those of particular interest to you.

While it’s a little late to be used in preparing for the 2008 GA, there is also a helpful guide to “Writing Overtures and Seeing them Through the GA.” (Just scroll down past all the overture titles.)

Presbyterians for Renewal is represented on the Web by a site called GA2008 (which might easily be taken as the official website of the Assembly, unless you look carefully and pay attention). It covers a wide range of issues and concerns.

The home page promises to cover “all the ‘business’ coming to the 218th General Assembly,” along with “commentary from all perspectives,” and interactive polls allowing visitors to express their opinions on various issues.

The coverage of major issues is presented under these titles: Ordination Standards, Form of Government Task Force, Social Witness Issues, G.A. Moderator Campaigns [mostly Web posts from the four candidates], Stated Clerk Election, and General or Other Topics.

The Presbyterian Lay Committee, publisher of the Presbyterian Layman, does not seem to post very much material devoted specifically to the coming Assembly, other than their normal reports and commentaries on issues of particular concern to them, such as church property matters, sexuality and ordination, same-sex marriage, declining funding for PC(USA) program and mission, and so on.
 

We encourage you to share your comments on any of these websites, and the arguments that are made in them for or against various proposed actions. And we also welcome your suggestions of other websites (or blogs) that we should add to this list.

Just send a note, to be posted here.

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.

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!