All three special committees were formed out of actions of the 218th General Assembly (2008), which met last summer in San Jose, Calif. They are:
Civil Union and Christian Marriage
Last summer’s General Assembly directed the moderator to “appoint a special committee, representing the broad diversity and theological balance of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), to study the following … including any policy recommendations growing out of the study:
• the history of the laws governing marriage and civil union, including current policy debates;
• how the theology and practice of marriage have developed in the Reformed and broader Christian tradition;
• the relationship between civil union and Christian marriage;
• the effects of current laws on same-gender partners and their children;
• the place of covenanted same-gender partnerships in the Christian community.
The special committee is to make its report to the 219th General Assembly (2010) next summer in Minneapolis.
Named to the special committee are ministers Clayton F. Allard (Grace Presbytery), Emily J. Anderson (East Tennessee Presbytery), Margaret Aymer Oget (Greater Atlanta Presbytery), Steve Hancock (Arkansas Presbytery), Tracie Mayes Stewart (SalemPresbytery), James Szeyller (Charlotte Presbytery), and William Teng (National Capital Presbytery); and elders Luis Antonio De La Rosa (Pacific Presbytery), Katina Miner (San Francisco Presbytery), Stephen L. Salyards (San Gabriel Presbytery), and Lisa Cooper Van Riper (Foothills Presbytery). Emily W. Miller (Shenandoah Presbytery) and Derrick Weston (Pittsburgh Presbytery) will also serve as members.
Szeyller will serve as chairperson of the group.
Staffing the committee will be David Gambrell, associate for worship, Theology Worship and Education (General Assembly Council), and Vernon Broyles, volunteer in mission, Office of the General Assembly.
Heidelberg Catechism
The Special Committee on Correcting Translation Problems of the Heidelberg Catechism will consider proposed changes to the catechism made by last year’s assembly. According to the assembly action, the proposed changes revolve around correcting “translation problems in five responses of the Heidelberg Catechism as found in The Book of Confessions and to add the original Scripture texts of the German Heidelberg Catechism.”
The Book of Order (G-18.0200) calls for a special committee of no less than fifteen individuals to be formed when a General Assembly proposes any changes to part of the PC(USA) Constitution. The Heidelberg Catechism is in The Book of Confessions, part of the Constitution.
The special committee will consider the proposed changes to the catechism; consult with Newark Presbytery, which sent the original overture to last year’s assembly; and report back to the 219th General Assembly (2010) in Minneapolis.
Minister members of the special committee chosen by Reyes-Chow are the Heidi Husted Armstrong (Olympia Presbytery), Warner M. Bailey (Grace Presbytery), Shelly Barrick Parsons (West Virginia Presbytery), James R. Edwards (Inland Northwest Presbytery), Christopher Elwood (Mid-Kentucky Presbytery), Gary Neal Hansen (John Knox Presbytery), Neal D. Presa (Elizabeth Presbytery), Lorna A. Shoemaker (Redwoods Presbytery), David L. Stubbs (Lake Michigan Presbytery), and Floretta L. Watkins (Charlotte Presbytery)
Elders chosen for the panel are Dawn DeVries (James Presbytery), Sylvia Dooling (Plains and Peaks Presbytery), Susan N. Haskell (Sheppards and Lapsley Presbytery), Patrick Hunt (San Francisco Presbytery), and David Mulford (South Louisiana Presbytery).
Presa will chair the committee. Charles Wiley, coordinator in Theology Worship and Education (General Assembly Council), and Tom Hay, director of operations for the Office of the General Assembly, will staff the group.
The committee will begin its work at the end of March.
Israel Palestine
The 218th General Assembly (2008) also asked the moderators of the 218th, 217th, and 216th General Assemblies (2008), (2006), and (2004) to “select a nine-member committee from a broad spectrum of viewpoints from PC(USA) members to prepare a comprehensive study, with recommendations, that is focused on Israel/Palestine within the complex context of the Middle East.
The Assembly said the study “should include an evaluation of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s mission and relationships, including an assessment of the future for the Christian presence and witness in the Middle East; an overview of the complex interactions among religions, cultures, and peoples that characterize the region; an analysis of U.S. policies that impact the area; and steps to be taken with our partners in the Middle East and the United States to foster justice, improve interfaith relations, and nurture the building of peace toward a secure and viable future for all.”
This Special Committee to Prepare a Comprehensive Study Focused on Israel Palestine is also to report back to the 219th General Assembly (2010).
Rick Ufford-Chase, moderator of the 216th General Assembly (2004), and Joan Gray, moderator of the 217th General Assembly (2006), joined Reyes-Chow in naming the special committee’s members.
Minister members are Susan R. Andrews (Hudson River Presbytery), John Huffman (Los Ranchos Presbytery), Rebecca Reyes (New Hope Presbytery), Marthame Sanders (Greater Atlanta Presbytery), Ronald L. Shive (Salem Presbytery), and John W. Wimberly Jr. (National Capital Presbytery).
Elders serving on the panel are Frederic W. Bush (Los Ranchos Presbytery), Nahida H. Gordon (Muskingum Valley Presbytery), and Lucy Janjigian (Palisades Presbytery).
Staffing the committee will be Christian Iosso, coordinator of the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy; Victor Makari, coordinator for the Middle East, Asia Minor and the Jinishian Memorial Program for the General Assembly Council; Doug Dicks, a PC(USA) mission co-worker in Israel Palestine; and Kerry Clements, director of Communication, Development, and Technology for the Office of the General Assembly.
