Overture seeks 'grass roots' response in declarations By John H. Adams The Layman Online Thursday, June 3, 1999 An overture from the Missouri Union Presbytery would require a new guideline for social policy statements by the denomination and its officials – the most current policy statement by the General Assembly would be authoritative. Overture 99-43 seeks an amendment in a document titled "Why and How Presbyterians Make Social Policy Witness." The amendment would state, in effect, that the General Assembly's most current policy statement would be authoritative until superceded by a future General Assembly, and that boards and agencies of the denomination should identify it as authoritative. Cafeteria approach Currently, some agencies of the denomination take a cafeteria approach to their social policy statements and activities. For instance, the Washington Office of the PCUSA consistently advocates a General Assembly statement favoring women's choice in abortion but does not promote a later General Assembly statement expressing grave concern about abortion and opposing partial birth abortions. Consequently, Washington Office lobbying efforts have not included efforts to promote adoption as an alternative to abortion. Similarly, other Presbyterian groups refer to a number of General Assembly positions favoring civil rights for people who say they are homosexual without reference to the denomination's ordination standard that requires candidates for office to refrain from sex outside of marriage. 1993 report is cited Overture 99-43 cites a report made to the 1993 General Assembly by a task force on social witness policy development. The 1993 General Assembly adopted that report, which called for a "grass roots" or "bottom up" response in development of social witness policy. The "grass roots" or "bottom up" would be the latest declaration of the General Assembly. "Now we are again concerned that this approach to social witness policy is not being consistently followed by boards and agencies of the church in developing materials and strategies for such witness," the overture says. The overture says some "boards and agencies of the church, including the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy, refer to past actions of the General Assembly, some of which have been superseded by the adoption of more recent policy statements of the General Assembly."

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