But Hay is keeping careful track of the flood of business coming to the 219th General Assembly, and he has this to say: “It’s raining overtures in Minneapolis.” Before the deadline banged into place and shut things off, presbyteries and synods had sent 124 overtures for consideration.
Those overtures cover a lot of territory – from U.S. involvement in the war in Afghanistan to the role of commissioned lay pastors in the church. Further, they represent passions in a particular area, which may or may not be shared by the broader church. But they can also give hints — particularly when a group of overtures clusters around a particular topic — of where some of the energy for conversation at the assembly might go.
Here’s a sense of the lay of the land, as Hay described it during the General Assembly Leadership Briefing in June.
Homosexuality. One of the biggest groups of overtures has to do with ordination standards, with the ever-contentious question of whether the PC(USA) should ordain sexually-active gays and lesbians.
More than 15 overtures are coming to the assembly having to do, in some way, with the denomination’s requirement that those being ordained practice fidelity if married or chastity if single.
Some of those overtures want to put back into effect some authoritative interpretations regarding homosexual practice that date to the 1970s and which the 2008 assembly declared, through a new authoritative interpretation, to no longer be in force. An overture from San Diego Presbytery wants to restore language from those 1970s statements that “unrepentant homosexual practice does not accord with the requirements for ordination … . ”
Other overtures want to make another run at removing the “fidelity and chastity” standard, which the 2008 assembly voted to do, but was rejected by a majority of the 173 presbyteries.
And one asks the PC(USA) to take a break from this particular conflict, asking for a “season of rest,” a hiatus from considering any changes to the ordination standards.
The assembly itself. Another set of overtures examines the General Assembly and how it conducts its business – reflecting perhaps a sense, Hay said, that some presbyteries and congregations have begun to do their work in different ways, emphasizing discernment and community building, and that some Presbyterians think the assembly should consider changes too.
An overture from Giddings-Lovejoy Presbytery asks for a study committee from the Committee on the Office of the General Assembly to consider “the whole of the General Assembly meeting in its form and function,” including the number of commissioners and issues of financial stewardship; alternate forms of discernment; the environmental impact; the way moderators are elected; and the role of advisory delegates.
The Committee on the Office of the General Assembly, known as COGA, supports that overture, which technically would expand a review it’s already been instructed to do of biennial assemblies after 2010.
Other overtures also ask the assembly to consider making changes – some of them expressing concern that the assembly rushes through too much work too quickly. It says the rush leaves commissioners exhausted and not able to give the attention to significant matters.
An overture from Santa Barbara Presbytery says priority should be given in setting the docket to the most controversial items, so they don’t get left for late at night or late in the week. Flint River Presbytery sent an overture saying all committee business should be voted on before the dinner break, because “time after time, commissioners have been required to debate and vote on highly controversial issues late into the evening. They are exhausted, unable to fully focus,” while “hours of prime time” during the daytime sessions are given to less-critical matters.
An overture from San Diego Presbytery asks that the Book of Order be changed so the General Assembly would not be asked to “decide controversies” at all.
Some overtures call for limiting the amount advisory delegates can speak or vote. One says that special committees and commissions “should be appointed only in very rare and exceptional circumstances, and another says the number of commissioners should be reduced as a matter of fiscal stewardship.
Middle governing bodies. Another concern popping up in a variety of places concerns the future of presbyteries and synods, many of which are financially stressed and considering new approaches to the work they do.
In a proposal that’s quietly gathering attention, COGA is proposing that the 2010 General Assembly authorize the creation of a General Assembly Commission on Middle Governing Bodies.
That 21-member commission would consider the mission and function of middle governing bodies, and would develop models to show how presbyteries and synods can operate well in a changing context. It also would have some power to make decisions between the every-other-year assemblies – possibly reducing the amount of work the assembly itself has to deal with.
One assembly committee has been created specifically to consider middle governing body issues. That also would include an overture from New Hope Presbytery to eliminate synods by the end of 2012, and one from the Synod of the Southwest asking for a special committee to examine the role of presbyteries and synods.
There also is a proposal from Santa Barbara Presbytery to create a non-geographic synod, into which congregations could transfer if they had “a particular theological and missional identity” – a place where congregations opposing gay ordination could gather together, for example, and not allow those ordinations. The Advisory Committee on the Constitution recommends disapproval of that overture, stating that “in short, it proposes to establish a second denomination within the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).”
Big issues. The assembly is considering reports on a number of big issues –including a proposed revision of the denomination’s Form of Government; same-sex unions and Christian marriage; and a long and controversial report on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which Hay said is likely to draw significant media interest from outside the PC(USA).
Overtures also are in the mix in all of those areas – with some, for example, wanting to change the definition of Christian marriage in the PC(USA)’s constitution to say “two persons” or a “couple,” rather than being between one man and one woman. But another overture wants the assembly to state that any sexual union outside of marriage, including same-sex unions, is outside the will of God.
The overtures also reflect strong opinions about what should happen in the Middle East – and sharply differing views. An overture from San Francisco Presbytery, for example, is encouraging the General Assembly to use the word “apartheid” in describing the actions of the Israeli government. San Joaquin Presbytery, on the other hand, wants the PC(USA) to refrain from making policy statements or taking positions that seem to favor either side in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Several presbyteries want the PC(USA) to divest of any holdings in Caterpillar, Inc., which sells bulldozers and other equipment that critics say are used to support the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.
An overture from Newark Presbytery, supporting divestment, states: “We have no illusions that this recommended action will actually sway Caterpillar, Inc. to engage in better and more just business practices, although we always pray for this eventuality. What it will do, however, is keep us consistent with the following affirmation: We are the Church of Jesus Christ. When the powers of the world decide that they will conduct business as usual, and that business is contrary to the teachings of Christ and the will of God for humanity, then it is time for the church to end its complicity in this sinful behavior.”
Much more. Other overtures – and the commissioners’ resolutions that will be filed once the assembly opens for business – bring up concerns on everything from abortion to international relations to the environment.
Some concern the involvement of the U.S. military in the fighting in Afghanistan – with overtures calling for withdrawal and a tally of the casualties. Some want the PC(USA) to work for peace in Colombia, in the Sudan, to discern whether God is calling the church to nonviolence.
The Presbytery of South Louisiana – hard-hit by the Gulf Coast oil spill – sent an overture asking that the PC(USA)’s Mission Responsibility Through Investment Committee examine the role of corporations and institutions in the destruction of coastal wetlands, and report back to the assembly in 2012.
