Stated Clerk rallies troops to defend the Syracuse GA

Calls on staff network and commissioners to counter ‘misinformation’

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - General Assembly Stated Clerk Clifton Kirkpatrick says he believes an "organized campaign" is working to undermine confidence in the integrity of the General Assembly and to deny funding to GA agencies. In a November 10, 1997 letter he called on executives and stated clerks of the presbyteries and synods to counter "misinformation" that might lead to "disrespect for the Assembly."

By Parker T. Williamson

Referring to a flurry of letters and session resolutions that have pummeled his office since adjournment of the Syracuse General Assembly, Kirkpatrick said a great deal of "misinformation" is being distributed across the denomination. He said this has led to "confusion and misunderstanding about events and decisions made at the 209th General Assembly," and he called on his colleagues "to correct misinformation and to defend the constitutional procedures that were followed even for those decisions with which individual commissioners and officers may disagree."

Kirkpatrick did not identify the "organized campaign" that he believes is spreading misinformation throughout the General Assembly

Per capita protests

The clerk repeated an opinion he has voiced in news conferences, press releases and speeches since the Syracuse Assembly, that when local church sessions declare that they will not make a contribution to the per capita budget, this constitutes "a denial of the covenant by which churches, presbyteries, synods and the General Assembly function in unity as a whole church."

But critics say the clerk’s opinion is flawed on two counts:

(1) Harold Kurtz, executive director of the Presbyterian Frontier Fellowship and a highly respected member of the PCUSA Mission Funding Task Force, has declared in public meetings and in writing to the stated clerk that it is inaccurate to label the per capita budget as a fund to pay for "ecclesiastical expenses of the General Assembly" (each member’s fair share of the denomination’s overhead). Kurtz points out that while that may have been the original intent of per capita, Assembly leaders have transferred other, non-ecclesiastical costs into the per capita budget, like huge contributions to the World Council of Churches and the National Council of Churches and several costs from the program side of Presbyterian Church (USA) headquarters. Thus while the original per capita plan was a "covenant" to share necessary "ecclesiastical expenses," the terms of that covenant have been unilaterally changed by national church leaders.

(2) Many of the per capita protests are coming from sessions that are incensed over events that transpired at the Syracuse General Assembly. They believe that the word "covenant" cuts both ways, and that the Syracuse assembly and its officials broke faith with the Presbyterian Church (USA). Some of these sessions have terminated their per capita contributions. Others, like Eastminster Presbyterian Church in Wichita, Kan., have deferred action on that decision, pending receipt of Stated Clerk Kirkpatrick’s written assurance that violations of Presbyterian faith and polity will not be repeated in future Assemblies.

Contribution or coercion?

Kirkpatrick’s letter asks the executive network to help him disseminate his interpretation of the Book of Order. "It is urgent that commissioners and officers help sessions understand thatwhile church members are free to give or not to give, officers have a duty to promote the offerings and causes adopted and announced by the higher governing bodies of our church" (emphasis added). That theme is consistent with counsel that one of Kirkpatrick’s staff members, Mark Tammen, has been offering to ministers who write or call the stated clerk’s office to discuss the per capita issue. Tammen says that if ministers and elders attend a presbytery meeting that votes for per capita, they are obliged to represent the position of the presbytery subsequently when it comes up in their session meetings, and they are subject to disciplinary charges if they do not do so. Tammen emphasizes that his message should be received as information rather than a threat.

Calling on commissioners

In addition to calling on executives at synod and presbytery levels to snuff out per capita protests, Kirkpatrick has appealed to commissioners who attended the Syracuse Assembly. Enclosing an opinion survey indicating that most commissioners were satisfied with what happened in Syracuse, the stated clerk urged them to rise to the Assembly’s defense.

Ignoring specific citations of political manipulation, abuse of Presbyterian polity, and conduct unbecoming of a Presbyterian Assembly that have been issued by leaders of several renewal organizations who observed the Syracuse Assembly, Kirkpatrick says his poll indicates the commissioners themselves did not have the perception that anything was wrong and indicated that they felt no discomfort with the event.

Looking for trouble

At a December, 1997 budget hearing and General Assembly Council Executive Committee meeting in Louisville denominational officials expressed some anxiety about the possibility of diminished income resulting from widespread discontent following the Syracuse Assembly. Nagy Tawfik of the controller’s office told the group that he was monitoring the income flow very carefully and had not yet seen any negative impact, but he indicated that it was too early to tell because most of the denomination’s income arrives in December and January.