An Overdue Post on Top Issues

I have not posted my usual Assembly previews this month.  A month of crises in my presbytery has taken my time and energy.  But now it's time to catch up -- hopefully not too late.  First, let me share my "top ten eleven" issues at this year's assembly.  (Former Stated Clerk Cliff Kirkpatrick did this annually.  Current Stated Clerk Gradye Parsons has posted a list of "hopes" for the assembly at http://ga219.pcusa.org/news/hopes.htm - but the PCUSA server seems to have crashed tonight - not a good omen!)

Anyway, here is my list, with annotations:

11. Elections – There are six candidates for moderator this assembly, the result of a lack of strong candidates declaring early.  I will post a separate assessment of the candidates, but suffice it to say that this will likely be a more reliable predictor of the assembly's leanings than in previous years, as none of the candidates are particularly well known and they seem to span the full spectrum of ecclesiastical politics.

10. Authoritative Interpretations – Several overtures seek to limit the powers of the GAPJC and/or the Assembly itself to make authoritative interpretations of the Constitution.  The right wing is upset over the AIs adopted in 2008 (and 2006) that seemed to override mandatory provisions of the Book of Order; the left wing is upset that the 2006 AI (recommendation 5 of the Peace, Unity, and Purity Task Force report) was overridden by the GAPJC in the 2008 Bush decision.  

9. Interfaith relations - New papers on relationships with Muslims and Jews will take collateral damage from the larger issue of Middle East Peace policy (below).

8. Theology of Life - A theological paper on the Theology of Life will be a target in the ongoing debate over abortion.  Obscure overtures on "baptism and election" are stealth attempts to establish a foundation to change the denomination's policy.

7.  Impending financial crisis for mission - This may in fact be the REAL story of this Assembly.  It isn't #1 because it comes before the Assembly in the rather low-profile Mission Coordination and Budgets Committee.  However, it affects the work of EVERY Assembly committee; most notably the Middle Governing Bodies committee (see below).

6.  Confessional documents - Two study committees formed by the 218th Assembly report back with recommendations to grant confessional status for the Belhar Confession, and to participate in a new translation of the Heidelberg Catechism.  The former is under fire from the right as a stealth attempt to mandate equal ordination status to gays and lesbians; the latter is the subject of controversy over whether question 87 properly translates the original to include "homosexual perversion" in a list of sins.

5. The future of middle governing bodies - The budget crisis in middle governing bodies and the ideological divisions in the church are generating various measures to rethink the roles of presbyteries and synods.  A proposal from the Committee on the General Assembly would create a General Assembly Administrative Commission to take action between assemblies.  As I am resourcing this committee for the ACC (Advisory Committee on the Constitution) I will leave it to the reader to draw your own conclusions about the relative wisdom of the overtures.

4. Ordination standards (G-6.0106b) and the limits of conscience (G-6.0108) - our perennial discussion, which seems to be so familiar that the assembly isn't even offering a "Riverside Chat" on the topic on Friday.  One overture to watch:  item 06-09 from Western Reserve Presbytery, which stands out among a slew of similar-sounding overtures.  I may comment on this in a later blog.

3. Marriage -  The legalization of gay marriage in some civil jurisdictions has led to several overtures from all sides regarding the definition of marriage and the permissibility of gay marriage.  Up to now, the Assembly has avoided the issue by a two-track approach, on the one hand retaining a traditional understanding of marriage while permitting pastoral discretion to extend pastoral care to gay and lesbian couples through other means such as civil unions.  The changes in civil law have forced the issue on this one.

2. Proposed new Form of Government - This is the great conundrum of the Assembly.  Is anyone throwing political clout behind this other than folks in the OGA and on the Task Force?  This may be a complete dud of an issue, or it could result in a major revision of our Book of Order.  I'm betting on the dud, despite a large dose of institutional inertia behind the proposal.

1. Middle East peace policy - The secular press has already maligned the document before the Assembly, as have pro-Israel conservatives in the church.  In fact, it does little to change the position held by the church for 60 years:  a two state solution, security for the nation of Israel, and economic justice for the poor.  No matter what the Assembly decides, the secular press is ready to make this the lead story of the Assembly.

Undoubtedly there will be a sleeper issue that arises in the Assembly, one that no one expected would be a big story.  I'll keep you posted if one emerges.