General Assembly Council Presbyterian Men seeks GAC representation, saying, 'We want to be part of the family' By Craig M. Kibler Staff Writer The Layman Online Thursday, April 24, 2008 LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The president of Presbyterian Men made an impassioned plea Wednesday to the General Assembly Council executive committee that it consider adding a representative from his organization to the GAC, saying that, "We want to be part of the family." Kyung-il Ghymn, president of Presbyterian Men, made the request during a morning meeting of the Presbyterian Church (USA)'s GAC executive committee in the Brown Hotel. The request for comment from the executive committee is in reference to an overture (OVT-08-04 ) that commissioners will consider at the 218th General Assembly, which will be held June 21-28 in San Jose, Calif. The Rev. Allison Seed, chair of the executive committee, introduced the topic by reading from a letter that had been received from Presbyterian Men in which that organization requested that the GAC consider making a comment regarding the appointment of one of its members as a representative on the GAC. She then introduced Ghymn. "I originally came here to be a resource person for when you vote on this," Ghymn said. Since the executive committee was not planning to vote on the issue, he said that, "Now I'm here as an observer so that, if this goes to the General Assembly floor, I want to get some advice on how to set up a strategy to advocate for this issue." Presbyterian Men, he said, "has been there under the PCUSA umbrella for years, sort of a stepchild. Now, we want to be part of the family. There are one million men in the denomination." The group's objectives, as approved at its April 27, 2007 annual meeting, are: Strengthen men's understanding of the church. Assist congregations in nurturing men to mature discipleship. Encourage men in the church through their commitment to Christ. Nurture men in their ministry to which they are called in their families, work and ministry in their community and in the world. Involve men of various racial/ethnic backgrounds and ages together in Christian fellowship, mission and worship. "We want to reorient ourselves as a mission-oriented body," Ghymn told the executive committee. "We want to be connected with the PCUSA in all agencies. In order to do so, we want the men to know that we are regular members of the PCUSA. We are not trying to gain anything, but to be accepted. We want to be an asset to the PCUSA." At Seed's suggestion, the executive committee referred the request for comment to the GAC's Spirituality/Discipleship Committee and its Leadership/Vocation Committee. The overture, sponsored by Eastern Virginia Presbytery, that commissioners will consider at the General Assembly asks that commissioners "follow the requirements of 'Full Participation and Representation' as listed in the Book of Order and approve this overture that guarantees the men of the church full participation and access to representation in the decisionmaking of the church by adding to the General Assembly Council a representative from the National Council of Presbyterian Men, Inc., with voice and vote." In its rationale, the overture states that, in the Book of Order, under G-4.0403, "Full Participation, states, '… Persons of all racial ethnic groups, different ages, both sexes, various disabilities … shall be guaranteed full participation and access to representation in the decision making of the church. (G-9.0104a)'" "The Book of Order, under G-9.0104a, Participation and Representation, states, 'Governing bodies of the church shall be responsible for implementing the church's commitment to inclusiveness and participation as stated in G-4.0403. …' The overture states that "there are approximately one million male members of the church without representation on the General Assembly Council. The reorganization of the General Assembly Council presented, and approved, at the 217th General Assembly (2006), meeting in Birmingham, Alabama, failed to include a representative of Presbyterian Men" and that "the present General Assembly Council does not include a representative of Presbyterian Men." In conclusion, the overture's rationale states that the overture was submitted "in keeping with the Book of Order requirements for equal representation on all committees. The General Assembly Council does not have a representative for the approximately one million Presbyterian Men. In this regard, The National Council of Presbyterian Men, Inc., feels so strongly that the needs of men in the church be addressed as they cope with persistent life situations, that they are willing to pay the cost for its representative to attend two meetings a year. The Presbyterian Men have assisted and will continue to assist pastors, especially women pastors, who seek assistance in ministering to the needs of the men in their congregations. A representative of the Presbyterian Men on the council would enhance this much-needed effort. Over the years, the Presbyterian Men's ministry has been heavily involved in working with both men and women pastors with the goal of bringing men, women and children to Jesus Christ by getting more men involved in the church as deacons, elders, teachers, mentors and other activities involved in keeping the more than 11,000 churches open each week for Sunday worship and other activities." Craig M. Kibler is the Director of Publications and Executive Editor of the Presbyterian Lay Committee.

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