PITTSBURGH, July 4 – Two confessions – a retranslation of the one and the incorporation of the other – will be sent to the presbyteries for ratification, after being approved by the 220th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). The commissioners also endorsed a plan to encourage denomination-wide study of the whole Book of Confessions in advance of a grand celebration in 2016.
The study proposal was offered by the Presbytery of the Cascades in Oregon, where they have taken time to use different parts of confessions during their meetings. As teaching elder Bruce Cameron proposed using a Sesame Street expression, “This portion of the meeting is brought to you by the Westminster Confession.”
A new translation of the Heidelberg Catechism will be sent to the presbyteries for ratification. This is the next step in the process outlined in G-6.03 in the Book of Order to amend the Book of Confessions. Particular attention was paid to Q 87, to which the words “homosexual perversion” had been added during the 1960’s. The new translation would remove those words since they do not appear in the original German. The use of masculine pronouns was also questioned, and the original German was also the answer. The assembly approved the new translation unanimously.
The GA also voted to send the Belhar Confession to the presbyteries for ratification. Belhar was written in South Africa amid the struggle against Apartheid, grounding the church’s efforts for justice within a church unity that is rooted in Trinitarian faith. The approval of Belhar echoes a vote of the 2010 General Assembly. When that GA sent it to the presbyteries, 65 percent of presbyteries voted their support, falling just short of the two-thirds majority required for ratification of a confession.
When the recommendation of the Belhar Confession was presented, a minority report was also proposed to send a pastoral letter to congregations instead. “If there is anything that is studied less that the Book of Confessions, it is a pastoral letter,” said Tim Simpson from San Augustine Presbytery. The minority report was defeated.
Former Stated Clerk Cliff Kirkpatrick was invited to talk about Belhar’s impact in the ecumenical community worldwide. The committee’s recommendation was passed 395-264-6.
