Committee opposes congregational tax to support PCUSA's seminaries The Layman Online Tuesday, June 12, 2001 LOUISVILLE, Ky.–A committee of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) toned down an overture that might have led to a tax on local congregations to support the denomination's seminaries. Instead of a tax, or euphemistically an involuntary apportionment, the committee decided to amend Overture 01-10 from the Presbytery of Iowa to encourage local congregations to support the seminaries. That's the way it is now. The overture reflected some dissatisfaction with the voluntary approach. It noted that the denomination's Theological Education Fund has been in place for 10 years with a goal of collecting 1 percent of the tithes and offerings of local congregations. But the fund's 2000 report says 153 churches quit giving to the fund between 1997 and 1998 and that 58 additional congregations "drastically reduced their giving during the same time period." Furthermore, congregational support for the seminaries has not risen to the level of support before reunion of the Northern and Southern Presbyterian denominations in 1983. (Since then, the denomination has shrunken by nearly 700,000 members.) The overture asked the General Assembly to "explore methods and/or programs to ensure that all churches in the denomination assume responsibility for financial support of our theological seminaries." The committee substituted the word "encourage" for "ensure" and voted on June 11 to send the revised overture to the full General Assembly. The General Assembly Council had offered its advice to the committee. "The Committee on Theological Education supports, and wholeheartedly affirms, congregations' voluntary participation in the Theological Education Fund." During the committee's discussion of the overture, there was no discussion about whether Presbyterians are satisfied with the training prospective ministers receive in the denomination's seminaries.

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