DETROIT—The General Assembly Committee on Church Polity and Ordered Ministry focused its work on items involving ordination requirements and the process of preparation for ministry; the role of presbyteries in ordaining commissioned ruling elders; and what rules to put in place to protect against sexual abuse by teaching elders.
The assembly defeated a few recommendations fairly quickly. These included a proposal to amend the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) constitution to say that teaching elders would be “obedient to” scriptural authority rather than “guided by” it, as the constitution currently states.
A number of the recommendations addressed the need for polity changes in order to allow space for presbyteries and congregations to collaborate with racial/ethnic and immigrant leaders. For instance, Overture 06-12 sought to eliminate the specific requirement of a three-fourths vote by a presbytery to waive requirements for ordination. The proposal was to replace that with language that would give the presbytery flexibility to discern whether there were “good and sufficient reasons for accommodations to a particular circumstance.”
Likewise, another recommendation came before the assembly as an overture to allow presbyteries to ordain elders to serve as commissioned ruling elders. The comments provided by the various advisory councils were not in favor, and the committee moved to disapprove that recommendation.
The assembly also had difficulty deciding what to do with several proposed changes in policy stemming from a difficult case involving a former PC(USA) minister who renounced the denomination’s jurisdiction after being accused of sexual abuse by four young men who had been involved in congregations where the minister had served. Two of the presbyteries where the former minister had served had proposed to this assembly policy changes intended to protect against future cases of sexual abuse by PC(USA) ministers.
One of the more controversial recommendations came from Overture 06-05, which dealt with a proposed constitutional amendment from the Presbytery of the Western Reserve regarding former teaching elders who had renounced the jurisdiction of the PC(USA). The committee had voted not to approve this recommendation, which said: “Whenever a former teaching elder has renounced jurisdiction in the midst of a judicial proceeding, that former teaching elder shall not be permitted to perform any work, paid or volunteer, in any congregation or entity under the jurisdiction of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).”
The assembly saw the matter differently from the committee, and voted to reject the committee’s recommendation for disapproval. That left open the question of what action the assembly did want to take – and how it wanted to handle advice on the overture which the Advisory Committee on the Constitution had submitted.
The advisory committee had recommended an amendment to the overture, stating that the overture as originally written would “set up a constitutional bar to any work done by the individual based solely on the individual’s having renounced the jurisdiction of the church during a judicial proceeding. Many different alleged delinquencies or irregularities could lead to a remedial complaint, while more serious offenses could lead to a disciplinary process. Without regard for the nature, seriousness, or truth of the alleged delinquency, irregularity, or offense, renunciation in the midst of a judicial proceeding would trigger a permanent bar to employment or volunteer service.”
One commissioner echoed a similar concern, saying: “It would be difficult to enforce, because there’s no way to keep track of those who renounce jurisdiction.”
Debate on the overture led to a flurry of questions, and eventually the assembly decided to postpone the matter until a plenary session on Thursday.
Another proposal that also proved sticky and sparked debate involved a proposal for a required background check before a congregation can call a new pastor. That overture called for presbyteries to require a background check before issuing a call to a teaching elder. The committee had voted to disapprove this overture, while adding this comment:
“We strongly urge presbyteries to mandate criminal background checks for all presbytery staff, all teaching elders in validated ministries, all commissioned ruling elders, and others as deemed necessary.
Some questioned the legality of this kind of mandate, as well as the practical implications. Others said such background checks are a standard way of offering protection and are required in many settings in the secular world.
Hannah Graunke, a Young Adult Advisory Delegate from the Presbytery of the Cascades, said that when she got a job at The Gap, “I had to get a background check to fold sweaters.” She said that, when hiring a pastor, “you’re hiring someone you trust.”
The assembly also voted to postpone final action on this overture until Thursday.
