Report withheld from 2006 GA leans against ordination option Kirkpatrick, who lobbied for PUP report, didn't want survey to sway commissioners By John H. Adams The Layman Online Friday, December 1, 2006 The report that Clifton Kirkpatrick didn't want the commissioners to the 2006 General Assembly to see has been published after the fact. The delayed report contains the results of a churchwide survey of the Presbyterian Panel, a group of 3,705 members, elders and ministers in the denomination. The questions focused on the work of the Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity and Purity and the denomination's ordination standards. In general, the four-page summary of the report shows that Presbyterians were adverse to any changes in the ordination standard, believed purity was more important than peace and unity, and preferred declaring that there are theological essentials. The responses showed little evidence of support for the task force's proposed authoritative interpretation – which the General Assembly approved – that undermines the constitutional "fidelity/chastity" ordination requirement. The Office of Research Services of the Presbyterian Church (USA) planned to release the report before the General Assembly convened in Birmingham, Ala., in June. But Kirkpatrick, the General Assembly's stated clerk, intervened and asked John P. Marcum, the administrator of the Presbyterian Panel, not to release the results until after the General Assembly. Marcum reported Kirkpatrick's request in a terse letter on the PCUSA Web site. Quoting from a cover letter that went to members of the Presbyterian Panel, Marcum said the purpose of the survey was "to facilitate 'informed debate' at the assembly, 'not to influence discussion in any particular direction.'" But Kirkpatrick told Marcum that "there will be constituencies in the church that will be angry at this last-minute addition to the debate." Kirkpatrick's request to Marcum also included a citation from the Book of Order (G-4.0301d) that "presbyters are not simply to reflect the will of the people, but rather to seek together to find and represent the will of Christ." While often maintaining that his job requires that he remain neutral on issues, unless directed by the General Assembly, Kirkpatrick was a cheerleader for the task force report and the authoritative interpretation. Before the PUP report went to the General Assembly, Kirkpatrick called it a "great gift to the church" and compared it to the action of the Jerusalem council in the Book of Acts. In January 2002, seven months after the 2001 General Assembly voted to establish the theological task force, Kirkpatrick expressed his disdain for the "fidelity-chastity" requirement, G-6.0106b in the Book of Order. "I am well aware that there is considerable debate about the wisdom of this provision in our Constitution in light of our historic Presbyterian polity and that an amendment has been approved by the 213th General Assembly [2001] and is currently before the presbyteries that could remove this provision," he said in a Jan. 3, 2002, letter to presbyteries. Kirkpatrick did not say he was "well aware" of the fact that presbyteries had already voted in 1997 and 1998 in favor of G-6.0106b – as they would do shortly after his letter. Nearly three-fourths of the presbyteries affirmed G-6.0106b in the 2001-02 vote. Three key questions in the Presbyterian Panel survey showed that respondents agreed with the constitutional requirements. "By majorities of 80% or more, panelists 'strongly agree' or 'agree' that 'ordaining and installing bodies have the responsibility to apply the constitutional standards for ordination of church officers set forth in the church's constitution apply to the whole of the PCUSA." "Similar sized majorities 'strongly agree' or 'agree' have the responsibility to apply constitutional standards when examining candidates for ordination." "Many fewer [the minority], however, 'strongly agree' or 'agree' that when an ordination candidate disagrees with one of the church's constitutional standards, ordination should still be allowed to proceed if the disagreement is not over an essential tenet of Reformed faith or polity." Those questions framed much of the debate on the task force's report and recommendations. The 2006 commissioners voted against proposals to repeal G-6.0106b but in favor of allowing ordaining bodies to deem that it is not essential, thereby avoiding another referendum on a constitutional change. The survey also showed that there was strong sentiment among Presbyterians to declare some things essential. While "four of ten" lay people were neutral on that issue, "more 'strongly favor' or 'favor' this idea [37% members; 38% elders] than 'strongly oppose' or 'oppose' it [19% members; 21% elders]." More pastors (44%) favor some essential tenets than oppose them (37%), but specialized clergy, those with jobs outside the local church or denominational employment, lined up 48% against essential tenets and 31% in favor of them. Some other findings: The larger percentages of laity and pastors agreed that "if local governing bodies are allowed to decide what is essential and inessential, there will be chaos." By wide margins, laity (67%), elders (65%) and pastors (62%) agreed that "a church that is not clear about what it believes is not worth belonging to." Only 47% of the specialized clergy agreed with that statement. Majorities among the laity, elders and pastors do not believe that "it is worth giving up some purity to get peace in the church." The panelists were asked to rank the importance of peace, unity and purity. They regarded purity as nearly twice as important as peace and more than four times as important as unity. The ranking of peace, unity and purity was just about the opposite of the task force's report. At one point during its deliberations, to emphasize the need to maintain unity, the task force declared that merely leaving the PCUSA could imperil one's salvation.

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