GAC decides to lobby against three overtures By John H. Adams The Layman Online Saturday, April 29, 2006 LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The General Assembly Council voted Friday to lobby against three overtures that will be considered by the 217th General Assembly during its meeting in Birmingham, Ala., June 15-22. Overture 20 from the Presbytery of Newton calls on the General Assembly to create a commission to study the personnel policies of the council "as they affect the national staff of the Presbyterian Church (USA)." Its purpose is to second-guess John Detterick, the executive director of the General Assembly Council, who fired his deputy director and the staff leader of the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy after some of the members of a delegation they were leading met with Islamic terrorist leaders in Southern Lebanon and praised them for their work. Overture 83 from the Presbytery of New York City is similar to overture 20. It asks the General Assembly to require that the General Assembly Council "bring its policies for termination in conformity with the Form of Government." Overture 120 calls for elimination of the 5 percent administrative fee charged against restricted contributions for mission programs. The council approved arguments against each of the overtures. Overture 20 The council said its personnel policies and procedures are grounded "in the Theology of Employment statement that was approved by the 211th General Assembly in 1999" and declared that "its personnel policies and procedures are fair, equitable and appropriate for the church." It said Detterick, before terminating the two employees after the trip to the Middle East, consulted with the PCUSA's Legal Services Office and Human Resources Office, according to policy. "In addition, the executive director consulted with the chair of the General Assembly Council prior to the decision to terminate. In summary, the GAC already has a policy and practice in place, which provides for the concerns of the Presbytery of Newton." Overture 83 The council said its personnel policies do not entitle staff to termination benefits. "In the event the GAC offers a termination agreement, that offer is made in exchange for the employee agreeing to a full legal release of any claims against the GAC. If the employee signs the agreement, all appeals and claims are waived by the employee. If the agreement is not signed, the employee is free to pursue an appeal and any other recourse to the employee." The response also noted that the GAC has given assurance that it will provide timely notice -- "normally within two months" -- to presbyteries about any changes in a minister's call during his or her employment by the denomination. It also said that, in the event that any termination that "may lead to disciplinary action by the presbytery," the GAC will provide information on the cause for termination to the presbytery's committee on ministry and will cooperate in any investigation, unless prohibited by applicable law." Overture 120 The General Assembly Council said it "reluctantly agreed to impose a 5 percent administrative fee" on restricted gifts "due to a continual reduction in shared mission giving and reduced revenue." That fee is levied on a range of contributions, including Presbyterian Disaster Assistance funds, special offerings and gifts made by PCUSA support groups, such as Frontier Fellowship and the Presbyterian Outreach Foundation. "The calculation of the administrative fee takes into consideration administrative costs already covered by restricted fund mission and ministry, and, in the case of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, the maximum amount of potential administrative fees is capped so that an extraordinarily high level of disaster assistance giving will not result in a windfall of excess administrative fees," the council said. Eliminating the administrative fee "would reduce unrestricted income to the General Assembly Council by $800,000. The General Assembly Council has already made substantial reductions in costs and has had to reduce the size of the work force in meaningful ways. The effects of this overture would require additional layoffs and work stoppage."

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