In his letter, Abu-Akel says “the time, energy and money that we would spend on a special meeting need to be spent in mission in the name of Christ. Spending our resources on a called meeting seems to me to be out of place, given the current global situation and the possibility that our country may begin a war with Iraq in a very short time.”
Abu-Akel released the letter at the close of the Covenant Network’s national meeting in Minneapolis — he addressed that advocacy group, praying for peace, as he did for the Presbyterian Coalition when that evangelical group met in Orlando in October. Those groups have been locked in struggle for years now over the question of whether the PC(USA) should ordain gays and lesbians who are not celibate.
It is around that question — and a series of cases in which individuals or sessions have said they cannot comply with a section of the PC(USA) Constitution requiring those being ordained to practice fidelity if they are married or chastity if they are singe — that some Presbyterians, outraged at the prospect of defiance of the Constitution, have declared what they’re terming a “constitutional crisis” and are attempting to call the Assembly back into session to address it.
Exactly what the Assembly would be asked to do if it did come back is not clear. It would undoubtedly be expensive. And Clifton Kirkpatrick, the PC(USA)’s stated clerk, wrote a letter recently disputing the idea that the denomination is in some kind of constitutional crisis — cases alleging defiance are working their way through the denomination’s disciplinary and judicial system, he has said, adding that he has confidence in the process but that it will take time.
Abu-Akel points out that the commissioners have been asked to sign a petition calling for a special meeting of the Assembly — an unprecedented effort that is being spearheaded by Alex Metherell, an elder from California. In order to call the Assembly back into session, Metherell needs to get the signatures of 50 commissioners — 25 elders and 25 commissioners, from among more than 550 — and he is said to be within about a half-dozen of what he needs.
Abu-Akel wrote to the commissioners that one of the letters they’d been sent “may give you the impression that I support a called Assembly. I am not in favor of such a meeting. I want to thank my brothers in Christ, Laird Stuart and Jerry Tankersley (who ran against Abu-Akel for moderator), for their joint letter that discouraged support of a called meeting. In addition, the Committee on the Office of the General Assembly has offered to you wise counsel in stating reasons why a special meeting would not be helpful in the life of the church.”
Abu-Akel then listed his reasons for opposing the called Assembly. “The reason for the special meeting given in the petition requires an interpretation of the Constitution,” he stated. The Book of Order requires a 120-day notice prior to the meeting, and “this means that I would not be able to call a special Assembly until late March at the earliest — right before the 215th General Assembly convenes in May” in Denver. “Even if we had a special meeting, we could not intervene in the judicial system, which is one of the reasons being given for calling the meeting,” he wrote.
(Some proponents of a special session have questioned Abu-Akel’s statement about a 120-day timeline, saying that only 60 days is required by the Book of Order. Gradye Parsons of the Stated Clerk’s office told The Outlook that 120 days is correct, however, because of the need for a constitutional interpretation.) Abu-Akel reminded the commissioners that when they met in Columbus, Ohio, in June, the Assembly’s theme was “Ambassadors for Christ.” At that meeting, “we made many decisions that contributed to the peace, unity and purity of the church. We are called to continue as ambassadors now — praying for our church and focusing on unity and mission.”
