Baltimore
considers overture
to require local per capita
By John H.
Adams
The Layman
Online
Wednesday, November
16, 2005
The Presbytery of
Baltimore is considering asking the 217th General Assembly to "obligate"
sessions to remit full per-capita requests from presbyteries, synods and
the General Assembly.
The presbytery will meet Thursday night to consider the
overture, currently in the form of a proposed authoritative
interpretation of G-9.0404d in the Book of Order:
- 1. That the covenantal relationship of the Presbyterian Church
(U.S.A.) recognizes both the need and obligation of governing bodies
to support each other; and
- 2. That Sessions are responsible for payment of per capita
apportionments of General Assembly, Synod, and Presbytery directed
to them by the Presbytery in accordance with G-9.0404d.
Both the General Assembly and the General Assembly's Permanent
Judicial Commission, the highest court in the Presbyterian Church (USA),
have repeatedly rejected attempts to make per-capita payments by local
congregations obligatory.
Instead, they have said, sessions have absolute discretion over how to
use the offerings of the members – with the exception of money
donated for specific purposes. The courts have concluded that sessions
that decide to withhold per capita or to redirect money sought by higher
governing bodies to other ministries do not violate the constitution.
But the proposed Baltimore overture contends that the Book of Order
is duplicitous because it gives the presbyteries the right to "collect
and remit" per-capita payments, but puts the burden on presbyteries
to ensure that synods and the General Assembly get their apportioned
share – even if some sessions don't make their payments.
G-9.0404d says:
- Each governing body above the session shall prepare a budget for
its operating expenses, including administrative personnel, and may
fund it with a per capita apportionment among the particular
churches within its bounds. The presbyteries shall be responsible
for raising their own per capita funds, and for raising and timely
transmission of per capita funds to their respective synods and to
the General Assembly. The presbyteries may direct per capita
apportionments to the sessions of the churches within their bounds.
The rationale included with the proposed overture says, "The
first sentence of G-9.0404d makes it clear that the General Assembly,
synods and presbyteries have the authority to fund operating expenses
with a per-capita apportionment. The responsibility of presbyteries, as
the governing bodies assigned by the second sentence of G-9.0404d, to
collect and remit this apportionment was affirmed by the General
Assembly in its 1999 Authoritative Interpretation (1999, 65, 107,
16.001-.007, Request 99-1). The third sentence gives presbyteries the
right to direct the per capita apportionment to sessions, and the
responsibility for payment is not changed; that is, the responsibility
to remit the apportionment is assigned to sessions, but the
responsibility of the presbyteries is not eliminated.
"Presbyteries may, as they determine will best serve the interests
of the whole church, determine that sessions may, for financial hardship
or other reasons be excused from payment, and presbyteries may exercise
their full powers of administrative review and original jurisdiction to
insure that sessions meet their responsibility to remit per capita
payments."
The rationale contends that, "The words 'may direct' used in the
third sentence [of G-9.0404d] are permissive as to the Presbytery but
the body being directed is obligated to follow the direction. Compare
G-9.0410, in which a higher governing body again "may direct"
a lower governing body – in this case to correct an irregularity or
cure a delinquency. The obligation of the lower governing body to carry
out the direction is clear."
The rationale said the proposed authoritative interpretation "will
resolve conflicting interpretations of G-9.0404d, including:
- a. In 1999 the General Assembly provided an authoritative
interpretation of this paragraph (1999, 65, 107, 16.001-16.007,
Request 99-1) in response to a question about the responsibility of
presbyteries to pay per capita. The General Assembly concluded that
such payments are obligatory.
- b. The Permanent Judicial Commission of the General Assembly, in
considering the obligations of sessions to pay per capita concluded
that, while there is a strong moral obligation, the payment is not
obligatory. References: Session of Central Church v. Presbytery
of Long Island (1992, 179, 11.050); Minihan v. Presbytery of
Scioto Valley (2004, 350, 216-1); and First Presbyterian
Church v. Heartland Presbytery (Remedial Case 217-2, October,
2004).
The rationale contends that the interpretations "are
inconsistent: nothing in the wording of G-9.0404d suggests that in one
case these payments are obligatory and in another case only requested.
It is difficult to understand how the same paragraph of the Book of
Order can be interpreted to make session payments not obligatory and
presbytery payments obligatory."
Furthermore, it added, "The current inconsistency of
interpretations can place an impossible financial burden upon
presbyteries, which must pay their full per capita even if sessions do
not pay the presbytery." |