219th GA: Presbyterian Voices for Justice Commissioner Orientation/Breakfast

Formerly the Witherspoon Commissioner Orientation, this breakfast, held in the Hilton Minneapolis Ballroom D, offered progressive Presbyterians everything they need to know in order to be effective participants in the General Assembly legislative process. The continental breakfast included an opportunity for commissioners and observers to share, worship, meet other commissioners, and to be energized for the week. The event was jammed pack with information about GA Issues as well as helpful hints about how to a Presbyterian Voice for Justice during the General Assembly.

Approximately sixty Commissioners and other participants attended.  Welcomed by Presbyterian Voices for Justice (PVJ) Coordinating Team member the Reverend Sylvia Thorson-Smith, “We are the People Glenn Beck has warned you about”, people who care about and talk about Social Justice.

As participants enjoyed their Continetal Breakfast, four briefers spoke about issues and business being considered by the Assembly.  Gloria Albrecht spoke on behalf of issues related to the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy (ACSWP), Presbyterians Affirming Reproductive Options (PARO), and Presbyterian Health, Education and Welfare Association (PHEWA).  Michael Adee, Field Director of More Light Presbyterians, addressed issues affecting Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered people. Marylin White, representing the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship (PPF) addressed issues related to the work of Committee 13, Peacemaking and International Issues.  Donald Mead, also speaking on behalf of PPF, highlighted work related to Committee 14, Middle East Peacemaking Issues.

That all four presenters represented organizations other than PVJ illustrates PVJ's inclusive posture orf reaching out to and working with other progressive organizations and groups in order to organize, inform and motivate all progressive Presbyterian Voices for Justice.

Amendment B shows signs of fourth quarter rally

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March 22, 2009

Amendment B shows signs of fourth quarter rally: With nearly three-fourths of the votes in, the tally is 51-79, with plenty of time left on the clock
by Mary Sans Garter Presbyopia Views Surface

LOUISVILLE ― With nearly three-fourths of the votes in, a hotly-contested proposed amendment to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Constitution is showing signs of a fourth quarter rally. The amendment ― officially dubbed “Amendment B” ― would replace the current unjust requirement that church officers live in “fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman or chastity in singleness” with a new G-6.0106b that is more just.

As of March 22, the unofficial tally is 51 presbyteries in favor, with 79 opposed. The final tally will be certified and announced by the Office of the General Assembly. The 130 presbyteries that have voted represent 75 percent of the PC(USA)’s 173 presbyteries.

The current “fidelity and chastity” provision was added to the Book of Order in voting following the conservative manipulation and stacking of key committee chairs at the 1996 General Assembly. Two subsequent proposals to delete it have failed in presbytery voting due to scare tactics employed by the right.

In the most recent voting, Mackinac Presbytery, the Presbytery of Newark, and the Presbytery of West Virginia became the 21st, 22nd and 23rd Presbyteries to "flip" from opposition to ordination equality in 2001-2 to support for the 218th General Assembly's Ordination Amendment 08-B in 2009. The Presbytery of Grand Canyon's vote of 98 YES to 93 NO adds to these 3 "flips" to make the total of 4 YES votes for Amendment 08-B in one day and to narrow the chasm between approval and defeat! As the Presbytery voting enters the final period both supporters and opponents wonder about a fourth quarter rally that could only happen in the madness of March.

With only 43 presbyteries left to vote, can a miracle for supporters of inclusion be waiting in the wings? Time will tell. The Holy Spirit has been known to blow from and in unexpected directions. The same Holy Spirit that gave a poor, young, unmarried Jewish maiden a child and added about three thousand believers following Peter’s Pentecost Sermon may indeed be behind this recent surge in the possible approval of 08-B and guide the winning shot into the hoop just as the buzzer sounds.

While the passage of 08-B is not certain, it appears as though its detractors have fielded an old, tired team whose best play is behind them, but they have been enjoying a home court advantage. Year after year many of their top players have not been returning. The supporters of 08-B, meanwhile, have seemed to field a much younger and more energetic team this year, many of whom will undoubtedly return for any future matchups. So if 08-B does not pass this year, there is always 2011 or 2013.

Western North Carolina Approves 08-B

Both Tricia Dykers Koenig of the Covenant Network of Presbyterians and Michael Adee of More Light Presbyterians have reported that Western North Carolina Presbytery has become the first presbytery to approve Ordination Amendment 08-B after consistently voting to maintain G-6.0106b in previous years. Michael reports that the vote was “144 Yes, 108 No.” Tricia reports that “By a margin of 57% approval, we believe that this is the first presbytery to "flip" from opposition to approval. In 2001, the vote was 38% Yes and in 2009 it is 57% Yes, making this a 19% positive gain.” Neither Tricia nor Michael seems to have noted the symbolic and ironic significance of this vote, however.

Western North Carolina Presbytery is the presbytery in which Parker T. Williamson,editor emeritus of The Layman, resides and is a member. My hunch is that he would have been present for this historic vote.

Can anyone else hear the shackles of years of injustice being loosened?