It was a VERY short night! However, I tried to stay awake and semi-alert by drinking coffee today. The first item for the morning was a debate on recommendations from the Committee on Middle East Peacemaking. The GA has already voted to denounce Caterpillar, Inc. for selling machines used to destroy Palestinian homes and buildings by the Israeli government for the development of settlements in areas beyond the 1967 “green line” boundaries (545 for, 114 against, 9 abstaining). [Sorry for that VERY long and convoluted sentence!] We did not approve a recommendation for divestiture from Caterpillar, Inc. by any of the GA agencies that invest monies.
This report had been the topic of one of the webinars prior to the GA and was also one of those “hot-button” issues that was creating quite a “buzz” at the beginning of the week. The scuttlebutt at GA was that the committee was terribly divided. So, there were loads of questions in our minds as this overture came up. The chair of the committee reported that there had been a miracle: after long, hard work that included gathering information from a number of additional resources and crafting a number of amendments, the committee was able to reach a unanimous decision to recommend the report. There was still some debate, but the report was approved 558 to 119, with 7 abstaining. Then it was lunch time.

But I didn’t get lunch. I am on the “Dissents and Protests” sub-committee of the Bills and Overtures Committee. If a commissioner wants to go on record as objecting to some action taken by GA, he or she can fill out a “Dissent” form. If a commissioner believes that an action taken was improper (we did something “wrong” by Robert’s Rules or against the Book of Order), he or she can file a “Protest” form. These must all be turned in before the end of GA. So, I got the job today of entering the names, presbyteries, and the overtures involved for all the “Dissent” and “Protest” forms that had been turned in thus far. I didn’t mind not eating lunch—I’ve been to too many luncheons and dinners this week and, despite all of the walking I’m doing, I’m eating too much!

This afternoon we began with the report from the Committee on the Board of Pensions, Foundation, and Publishing. One overture from this committee that took the most time and engendered the most debate asked the Board of Pensions to extend benefits to same-gender spouses and domestic partners of church employees. After almost an hour of debate, the overture was approved 366 to 287, with 9 abstaining. Another overture that generated considerable discussion was a motion that said “The 219th General Assembly (2010) urges the Board of Pensions to develop a plan to ensure that funds from any Relief of Conscience churches do not go to fund abortions through any avenue.” A substitute motion came from the floor that would require the Board of Pensions to discontinue any abortions except to preserve the life of the mother. After much debate, the main motion was approved. For those who do not know what “Relief of Conscience” churches are, they are ones who do not want any of the monies they send in for benefits used for abortion. Monies these churches submit are put into an adoption fund.

Then the General Assembly Committee on General Assembly Procedures gave their report. They urged disapproval of an overture to reduce the number of commissioners and the frequency of General Assembly meetings, the disapproval of another overture reducing the participation of Young Adult Advisory Delegates YADDs), and the disapproval of an overture which requested that nominees/candidates for GA committees be asked to self-identify concerning their theological stance (evangelical, liberal, moderate, conservative, etc.). These recommendations were all upheld by the commissioners.

By now we had reached mid-afternoon, and the YAADs led us in an “energizer”—a song with movement. Having been awakened and energized, we were ready to hear the report from the Committee on Church Polity. The only contentious issue dealt whether the GAPJC (General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission) can make “authoritative interpretations” different from what the General Assembly sitting in plenary. This may sound like emphasizing minutiae, but the topic is central to Presbyterians' understanding of discernment and of how decisions are made. As I said in an earlier post, Presbyterians believe that a group of individuals is better able to know the mind of God than the individual. This does not mean that the group is always correct, but rather that it is more likely to be able to discern God’s will. Our system places the plenary sessions of the General Assembly (held every 2 years) as the main locus for decisions and “authoritative interpretations.” These interpretations are usually relatively broad and overarching ones. Between these times, the members of the GAPJC are delegated to apply these interpretations in specific cases. As we all know, specific cases sometimes fall between the cracks, and so the applications of the GAPJC may (and note I said “may”) seem to be slightly different from interpretations taken by the GA plenaries. The various speakers who spoke understood this, but the place at which they disagreed was how much trust to place in the smaller GAPJC. The action taken was to trust those appointed.

After supper, the Committee on Peacemaking and International Issues presented their report. The commissioners ratified the committee’s recommendations (1) to oppose further military operations by the U.S. in Afghanistan, (2) to seek to restore sustainable agriculture in Haiti, (3) to expand the PC(USA) peacemaking program, (4) to assist with a process for negotiation of a peace accord in Colombia, and (5) to work on behalf of religious minorities throughout the world, as well as other items for which Presbyterians have been or want to work for peace.

Then the Committee on Mission Coordination presented its work. While there was a number of questions regarding the overtures of this committee, the tone of the discussion period consistently indicated that the GA commissioners were strongly committed to expanding and invigorating PC(USA) mission work. One example of the type of expansion/invigorating work that was brought to us was the reestablishment of the Office of Collegiate Ministries to prepare and possibly implement a strategy for mission in higher education. There was also an extended discussion on how we can encourage our congregations to raise more money for mission work.

Just before 10 pm, the last committee—Assembly Committee on Health Issues—began to present its report. The first overture, as amended, recommended that we become an HIV/AIDS/Hepatitis B/Hepatitis C competent church, which included urging testing and the development of a study guide. The second overture concerned opposing violence against pregnant women (one speaker noted that murder is the major cause of death for these women). This overture was also approved. The committee recommended and the commissioners approved an overture that declared “we stand with all women against the injustice of any forced or coerced abortions and the injustice of any forced or coerced decisions to carry a pregnancy to term.” We approved an overture to urge full access to HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment services in correctional facilities. Finally, we urged that future editions of resource materials on the subject of reproductive options include, in addition to factual/medical material would include appropriate scriptural references. This was the last overture we had to deal with—and we finished by just after 10:30 pm!

Tomorrow “all” we have to do is approve the budget and have a closing worship. I’ll try to write up something that is less “factual” and more a reaction/reflection tomorrow. But let me say now that I have learned a lot and am glad to have had the opportunity to be a commissioner to GA.