MILWAUKEE — The 227th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. meeting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Monday, June 29, acted on several items of business that affect or make changes to its Book of Order.
Recommendations from the General Assembly Committee on Constitutional Interpretation (CON) are required to be considered by the full assembly – even if passing the criteria for placement on the assembly’s consent agenda by a 75% affirmative vote of the committee – as they may affect changes to the denomination’s constitution.
CON-02
Among the requested changes that garnered the most discussion in committee and in the assembly’s plenary was CON-02, a prohibition on non-disclosure covenants in employee relations.
At issue was the process by which PC(USA) Mission Co-Workers were notified of the termination of their employment and the terms of their severance. Several terminated personnel indicated they received verbal warnings that disclosing any details of their dismissal could result in the loss of their severance packages or related benefits.
Related reading: “Documents contradict PL&W testimony on covenant given to terminated mission co-workers” by Eric Ledermann, Outlook reporting
Dismissed Mission Co-Worker and Teaching Elder Commissioner Karla Koll, Pueblo Presbytery, shared with the assembly the process by which she was informed of the terms of her discharge.
“We were also told that we could not share this fact [of our dismissal] with the partners with whom we were working or with the churches who had been supporting us with their prayers and gifts,” she said.
“At one point in this process, a person on the staff of the Unified Agency looked at me over Zoom and said to me, ‘It would be a shame if you lost your severance package.’
“I rise to speak today because I do not want any other employees of the PC(USA) to be treated the way that I and my colleagues were treated,” Koll said.
After approval of an amendment to ensure all employees of the PC(USA), including those encompassed in the employer of record — the PC(USA), A Corporation, are protected from such non-disclosure covenants, the assembly approved the overture by a vote of 440-29 with the text:
1) To direct PL&W and A Corporation staff to rewrite employee policies prohibiting the use of non-disclosure covenants with all PL&W and A Corp employees.
2) To report on revisions in employee policies to the 228th General Assembly (2028).
An apology
Following the assembly’s vote, Stated Clerk Jihyun Oh addressed the assembly, saying she had heard the questions of many asking, “When will the PC(USA) apologize for this behavior?”
She continued, saying, “[W]e recognize, acknowledge, see, and lament the pain and the grief that this process has caused. And with the best of intentions, the impact can be felt very differently by folks who are receiving news of large amounts of change.
“And I want to acknowledge that the even though there was an intention to try to shift past the process of being surprised on the day, of hearing news all of a sudden, by informing staff early and asking them to hold information about decisions that were not yet complete, that for many folks that felt like they were being silenced, and that it felt like folks could not share the pain and the grief of their journey, and for that I am very sorry.
“I know that does not remove the pain that folks have experienced; I know that does not change the amount of grief that this process has caused; but I do want to apologize for all the pain and the grief that folks are experiencing.”
An attempt to reconsider CON-02 later in the assembly’s business was defeated by a vote of 250-228.
CON-10
CON-10, an overture asking for an authoritative interpretation of the constitution requiring Ministers of Word and Sacrament to be monogamous, was ruled out of order in committee and not eligible for consideration to modify the constitution.
Related reading: “PC(USA) overture on monogamy deemed out of order, referred for further study” by Gregg Brekke, Outlook reporting
The committee’s recommended referral of CON-10 to GEN-09, a study to be directed by the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy (ACSWP) titled “Beyond Changing Families,” was ultimately upheld by the assembly.
Related reading: “Assembly advances several gender and sexuality initiatives” by Caroline Garcia, Outlook reporting
Young Adult Advisory Delegate Avery Clark, Presbytery of the Cascades, spoke in favor of the referral, warning the assembly about the nature of its submission.
“The purported author of this overture is a 23-year-old who claims to speak for these [young adults], but I would like it on record — it’s not,” he said.
“Most of us respect this assembly’s time and choose not to push through out-of-order overtures in order to cause controversy and accrue social clout. This overture is not reflective of Christ’s ministry of restorative justice and instead seeks to prohibit and punish individuals’ behavior.”
Clark’s comment garnered an admonishment from co-Moderator Tony Larson, saying it is best to “speak to the merits of the motion before us and speak to our own motivations for our vote and discernment and not the motivations of others.”
After confusion was cleared up regarding the definition of the words “polygamy” and “polyamory,” commissioners agreed to end debate and voted 433-44 in favor of the recommendation to refer CON-10 to ACSWP.
The primary overture author, Richard Ackerman, vice president of Presbyterians for the Kingdom, referenced in Clark’s remarks above, reacted to the vote saying:
“Given how admittedly poorly we worded it, we knew from the start that CON-10 was practically begging to get shot down,” he said, noting he believes a “vast majority” of the denomination is against polyamory. “We consider it a miracle that [the overture] is still being considered and studied.”
LGBTQIA+ advocacy groups within the PC(USA) offered responses as well, looking forward to the results of the comprehensive study on the family.
“Questions about the ethics of relational and family structures are complex, and the church deserves a careful, consultative process rather than a rushed, and also unconstitutional, assembly action,” said TJ Remaley, co-moderator of the Covenant Network of Presbyterians board of directors.
“This action avoids the assembly’s ugly history of debating the lives of people through polity debates, choosing instead theologically driven study and unrushed discernment.”
“We are particularly grateful for the assembly’s referral of CON-10 to the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy (ACSWP), allowing for continued care, study and theological reflection around family, sexual and gender identity, and sexual ethics,” said Jesy Littlejohn, More Light Presbyterians’ director of operations.
“We believe these actions honor the spirit of what our denomination has already affirmed: the full dignity and humanity of all people as beloved children of God.”
CON-08
CON-08, which originally asked for a Book of Order modification that would allow presbyteries to offer “comparable medical, mental health and wellness plan[s]” other than those provided by the Presbyterian Board of Pensions, was reworked in committee into a recommendation for the Board of Pensions to collaboration with the PC(USA)’s Racial Equity Advocacy Committee (REAC) on exploring solutions that would allow expanded choice in health care.
An amendment was added asking that the Advocacy Committee for Women and Gender Justice be added to the group discussing these solutions. The amended CON-08 was passed by the assembly by a vote of 466-9, with its final text reading:
“Recommend BOP in consultation with REAC and the Advocacy Committee for Women and Gender Justice to study and report to GA 228 to provide an equitable, just, and consistent process to permit expanded choice for ministers, and to refer CON-08 to this entity.”
Other business
Other business approved by the General Assembly, most with little or no discussion, included:
CON-13 (408-7), which seeks an authoritative interpretation of the Book of Order section G-1.0104 that guides the organization, governance and property matters as they relate to “fellowship groups, new church developments, and other non-congregational entities.”
CON-05 (449-12), which refers a review of the implications of D-7.0902b, which mandates that administrative leave be paid leave, to Presbyterian Life & Witness.
CON-01 (459-4), which allowed presbyteries to set rules for administrative leave, was approved and recommended as answered, based on action taken in CON-05.
CON-15 (460-5), which asks for an authoritative interpretation of the Book of Order section G-2.10, defining the scope of a commissioned ruling elder to serve in a presbytery other than the one in which they were commissioned.
CON-03 (465-11), which asks for all PC(USA) employee policies to be written to exclude non-disclosure covenants, was approved and recommended as answered, based on action taken in CON-02.
CON-09 (465-4), which seeks to amend Book of Order sections 2.0606–2.0610, specifies that boundaries training and abuse prevention training be provided at least every three years for those involved in ministry.
A recommendation from the Committee on Constitutional Interpretation to disapprove CON-07, which would have removed the requirement for ministers to participate in the Board of Pensions medical plan or offer an alternative, was approved by a vote of 435-42.
CON-11 (458-10), which asks for an authoritative interpretation of section G-4.0206b of the Book of Order regarding presbytery oversight of the proper use and lease of church property.
CON-12 (459-12), which asks for an authoritative interpretation of section W-4.0402 of the Book of Order that would allow ordinations to take place on Sunday mornings “when the presbytery determines that the presbytery’s substantial participation” either in person or through electronic means.
CON-14 (473-1), which asks for an authoritative interpretation of sections of the Book of Order pertaining to a General Administrative Review. It seeks to define parameters of such reviews, specifically if an annual review of minutes by a higher council of a lower council (synod of presbytery) constitutes a General Administrative Review.
CON-16, an overture asking for an authoritative interpretation of D-4.0205a, seeking guidelines for addressing delinquency or irregularities in complaints issued to a Permanent Judicial Commission, was the final item of business from the Committee on Constitutional Interpretation addressed by the assembly and was passed unanimously, 465-0.
CON-06
CON-06 (449-10), which sought to change Book of Order section D-9.03, on “Restoration to Ordered Ministry After Sexual Misconduct,” was disapproved by the committee, largely based on its lack of inclusion of victim consent in the restoration process.
As originally offered, the overture specified that a minister could receive early restoration to ministry after sexual misconduct, even without the victim’s consent, by a 75 percent vote of the sanctioning body.
When asked what voice the victim had in this decision, Advisory Committee on the Constitution Advisory Delegate to the Assembly Christian Boyd responded, “The victim doesn’t have a say. So the victim and the organization, the congregation, the one that was offended, has an advisory aspect to it, but it is the PJC [Permanent Judicial Commission] or the council that would administer the final decision.”
During Tuesday’s plenary, Boyd offered an apology for what he felt was received by many as a literal, rather than pastoral, response in saying the victim did not have a voice. His apology was received with applause by the assembly.
