Ecumenical & Interfaith
News Network - PCUSA

The 219th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) convened on July 3-10, 2010 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Its theme, "Rivers of Living Water," is depicted in a logo which reads, "Out of the believer's heart shall flow rivers of living water - John 7:38." See the Assembly web site for information. Use the PC-Biz software to locate the various items of business, as they were submitted and acted upon, first in an Assembly committee and then in plenary. The PC-Biz software is open to anyone as a user. See a list of the four sources of business to come before the Assembly.

 

Business of the Assembly on ecumenical and interfaith matters

Actions on items that came to the Assembly through General Assembly permanent and special committees and entities,   including referrals from past Assemblies

00-01, item K. Membership on the General Assembly's permanent Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations: Scott Anderson, Krystin Granberg, and Damayanthi Niles were reelected for second terms; Judy Angleberger, Gun Ho Lee, and Paul Rader were elected to first terms.

03-16. The Committee on Ecumenical Relations to include a mandate for interreligious relations:

By vote of the Assembly, Interreligious Relations is now included in the mandate of the permanent Committee on Ecumenical Relations in the Organization for Mission, IV.C.7. It is now titled the Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations. Note the use of "interreligious" rather than "interfaith" in this action.

07-01. A new Form of Government to be sent to the presbyteries for approval: The Stated Clerk will be sending to the presbyteries, for their approval or disapproval, a new Foundations of Presbyterian Polity and a new Form of Government to replace the present chapters I to XVIII in the Form of Government. These are pertinent to ecumenical and interfaith relations particularly as they define our understanding of our ecclesiology.

08-03. "Christians and Jews: People of God," not approved

08-04. "Toward an Understanding of Christian-Muslim Relations" paper commended for study and guidance: The Assembly approved this report and a series of actions that support further study by the General Assembly and the church. See the recommendations to the church and the full paper online. A continuing Office of Interfaith Relations was approved through this action, as well.

08-05. Invitation to Churches to Send Ecumenical Advisory Delegates to the 220th General Assembly (2012): Five churches from the U.S. and ten overseas churches are to be invited to send one advisory delegate of each's own choosing to the next General Assembly.

08-06. The Evangelical Presbyterian Church to be invited into dialogue: The Assembly approved a series of steps growing out of a study of PC(USA) relations with the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC). The EPC is invited into dialogue with the PC(USA) and into "a season of confession with us." The World Communion of Reformed Churches (formerly WARC), of which both the EPC and PC(USA) are members, is asked "to create guidelines offering basic protocols for interactions and behaviors between its member denominations."

08-07. Dialogue with Seventh-day Adventists—CER

08-08. Review of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches/Caribbean and North American Area Council of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches—CER

08-10. On Full Participation in Christian Churches Together

CER recommends that the PC(USA) become a full participant in Christian Churches Together (CCT) for four years, to be followed by a review, and offers concerns requiring efforts by CCT.

08-Info. General Assembly Committee on Ecumenical Relations Agency Summary

This summary provides an overview of the purpose, ministry, and accomplishments of CER since the last General Assembly in 2008.

11-04. Human Rights Update 2010—ACSWP

14-03. MRTI Report of Its Engagement with Corporations Involved in Israel, Gaza, East Jerusalem, and the West Bank

This report, recommended by the General Assembly Mission Council, calls corporations to confine their business activity to peaceful purposes and renounces Caterpillar, Inc. for its "profit-making from non-peaceful uses of a number of its products."

14-08. “Breaking Down the Walls”—From the Middle East Study Committee

A committee of nine persons from a broad spectrum of viewpoints was given a mandate from the 218th General Assembly to "prepare a comprehensive study, with recommendations, that is focused on Israel/Palestine within the complex context of the Middle East." See an article briefly outlining its contents. In the face of a published statement from a Jewish organization, the Simon Wiesenthal Center, General Assembly stated clerk Gradye Parsons has issued his own statement calling for "all people to continue to pray, and work, for the peace of Jerusalem."

16-11. Report of the General Assembly Special Committee on the Heidelberg Catechism

A broadly diverse special committee appointed by the moderator of the 218th General Assembly is recommending that it be allowed to continue to work in order to continue conversations with the Christian Reformed Church and the Reformed Church in America about a new joint translation of the Heidelberg Catechism. Their report highlights the ecumenical possibilities for theological collaboration among the churches.

17-SelfStudy. General Assembly Committee on Ecumenical Relations Self-Study

See information on committees and task forces preparing materials for coming Assemblies that grow out of previous General Assembly decisions.

Items yet to come through General Assembly permanent and special committees

Belhar Confession inclusion in PC(USA) confessional documents

A special committee authorized by the 218th General Assembly has announced it is recommending to the 219th General Assembly that the Belhar Confession be added to the PC(USA) Book of Confessions. A PC(USA) study guide on the confession says "Belhar's great strength is its Christological foundation for the unity of the church. . . . To give heed to the scriptural basis of the church's unity would be salutory for our life together." The ecumenical committee of the Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRC), which has also introduced it, has argued that Belhar fills a gap; historic Reformed confessions say little about "unity, reconciliation, and justice" and "racism and other forms of exclusion are universal." The PC(USA) is in relationship with the CRC through the World Alliance of Reformed Churches. A PC(USA) Formula of Agreement partner church, the Reformed Church in America, has already adopted the confession. See its By Word and Spirit: Scriptural Foundations of the Belhar Confession as well as other study and worship materials. The Belhar Confession is available in translation into Spanish, Korean, and Chinese.

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Ecumenical and interfaith items coming through overtures

07-03. On Adding a New G-3.0303, “Relations with Other Presbytery and Ecumenical Partners” to the Proposed Form of Government. From Huntingdon Presbytery.

08-01. On Referring the Covenant to Adopt the Lund Principle, and its Codicil, to the Committee on Ecumenical Relations. From the Synod of the Northeast.

08-02. On Removing the Confusing and Theologically Incompatible Call for Presbyterians to Engage Other Faiths. From Presbytery of Yukon.

08-09. On Referring "Christians and Jews: People of God" and "Understanding Christian-Muslim Relations." From San Francisco Presbytery.

09-01: On Strengthening the Peacemaking Program. From Pittsburgh Presbytery. In its Rationale, notes that "religions of the world are now widely recognized to be major influences in wars, peacemaking, and international decision making" and that "the rise of Muslim influence and militancy was not considered as a factor in the 1980 [PC(USA) Peacemaking] policy."

11-02. On Endorsing "The Charter of Compassion." From National Capital Presbytery.

13.05: On Protecting Christians in the Muslim World. From Eastern Virginia Presbytery.

14-01. On Divestment from Caterpillar, Inc. From Newark Presbytery.

14-02. On Divestment from Caterpillar, Inc. From San Francisco Presbytery.

14-04. On Recognition that Israel's Laws, Policies and Practices Constitute Apartheid Against the Palestinian People. From San Francisco Presbytery.

14-05. On Commending "A Moment of Truth: A Word of Faith and Hope from the Heart of Palestinian Suffering" as an Advocacy Tool. From San Francisco Presbytery.

14-06. On Middle East Peacemaking. From San Joaquin Presbytery.

14-09. On Seeking Compliance to U.S. Government Policy in the Use of Military Aid by All Parties in the Middle East. From Chicago Presbytery.

14-10. Toward Peace and Reconciliation in the Middle East. From Baltimore Presbytery.

15-02. On Establishing the United Church of the San Juans in Ridgway, Colorado as a Union Church. From Western Colorado Presbytery.

16-01: On Commending Confessions that Uphold the Oneness of All Believers, and Discontinuing Efforts to Include the Belhar Confession in the Book of Confessions. From Sacramento Presbytery.

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Leadership of the Assembly

Moderator Cynthia Bolbach

“I feel called to stand for Moderator to help our church – proud inheritor of the Reformed tradition – discern how best to proclaim the timeless Gospel message to a 21st century world that is multi-cultural and religiously pluralistic,” Bolbach said in a press release when she was a candidate for the office. The only elder in a large field of candidates, Bolbach was elected by the Assembly on the fourth ballot.

Vice-Moderator Landon Whitsett
Bolbach's running mate, minister commissioner Landon Whitsett, was installed as the Assembly's vice-moderator. He is concerned about the intersection of faith and culture, as a contribution on his blog (on June 16, 2010) indicates.

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On this web site:

218th General Assembly: archived page from the 2008 Assembly

217th General Assembly: archived page from the 2006 Assembly

Vision Statements: General Assembly policy on ecumenical relations

Interfaith Principles: General Assembly-adopted principles for interfaith relations

On the PC(USA) web site:

 Finding Your Way in Presbyterian Policy and Teaching on Interfaith Relations: a brief description

219th General Assembly: official web pages with orientation, business of the Assembly