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LOUISVILLE — A task force created by the 226th General Assembly (2024) to review the PC(USA)’s Divestment Strategy, which dates back to 1984, has a series of proposed amendments it will make to the 227th General Assembly, meeting online and in person in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, June 22 through July 2.
The 11-member task force held its first meeting in April 2025 and elected the Rev. Brian Ellison as moderator. In all, the task force met seven times via Zoom and held one in-person meeting. Staff from the Office of Faith-Based Investing and Shareholder Engagement provided support, with staff from The Board of Pensions of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the Presbyterian Foundation participating fully in task force meetings.
The task force included members with current and past experience in churchwide debates over divestment, as members of Mission Responsibility Through Investment (MRTI) representing the Board of Pensions and the Presbyterian Foundation, or as those actively advocating for or against particular divestment actions. Per the GA directive, the Task Force represented geographic diversity from across the church, with the at-large members representing five different synods. Task force members also called on the experience and input of others, including former staff of both MRTI and the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy (ACSWP), mid-council leaders and representatives from advocacy groups.
The task force examined relevant documents and statements and prohibited securities policies of both the General Assembly and the investing agencies, and received presentations from staff on the historical application and current understandings of the 1984 policy. It also received and considered input from those who have pursued divestment from companies and who have been impacted by the divestment process.
“Our task force really wanted to make sure we heard from many voices across the church,” Ellison said. “We supplemented our own experiences with presentations from those who have advocated for more widespread divestment in the past, and from others who have been troubled by proposed divestment actions.”
In the end, the task force came together around a shared understanding that the PC(USA) and its ministry have largely been well-served by the 1984 Divestment Strategy, which has provided a steady framework for actions of conscience and witness, providing meaningful guidance for investing agencies as they have fulfilled their fiduciary responsibility.
“The task force unanimously agreed that the church’s divestment policy has served the church well,” Ellison said. “We also unanimously supported these measured changes [see below] that we hope will allow the investing agencies to bear witness in responsive and flexible ways, while also maintaining their fiduciary duty as faithful stewards of the resources they manage.”
Through its conversation, the task force recognized key areas where changes in technology, communications, investment practices and in church and society as a whole necessitate some updates to the policy to maximize its relevance and usefulness in a new context.
The updates being proposed by the task force include seven criteria that must be met for divestment to be considered:
- Proposed divestment action must be supported by analysis that is grounded in scripture, the church’s confessions, and the justice-oriented ethical concerns of the PC(USA) as approved by action of the General Assembly; must clearly define the behavior and stance of the corporate entities whose policies or practices are at issue; and must state the ends sought through divestment.
- The church must have addressed the issue on which divestment is proposed through a variety of educational and action efforts, as the 1984 policy states. The task force proposes this amendment: “In the limited cases where potential engagement is deemed by MRTI as not likely to be successful and all the other criteria for divestment are met, a company may be added to the GA Divestment/Proscription List upon approval by the General Assembly without the engagement ordinarily required.”
- The decision to divest shall be taken only after consultation with the ecumenical community and values-based investment partners. (The latter group is added in the proposed amendments.)
- Efforts shall be made to examine the probable effects and consequences of the action with affected communities, particularly Presbyterians. (This portion remains the same.)
- The proposed action shall be sufficiently precise that the effect of its application can be evaluated. (This portion also remains the same.)
- Any proposed divestment action shall include provision for informing appropriate church constituencies, giving public visibility to the action, engaging other bodies and members in advocacy for what prompted the divestment, and giving pastoral care to those directly affected. (This section also remains the same.)
- An added section states that divestment recommendations approved by the General Assembly, whether for a single company or a sector of companies, shall be referred to MRTI, which will ensure that the first six criteria are met and will work collaboratively with the investing agencies of the PC(USA) toward implementation consistent with the investing agencies’ prohibited securities policies.
By Mike Ferguson, Presbyterian News Service
