General Assembly Top 10 issues for 2000 The Presbyterian Layman Volume 33, Number 3 Posted May 22, 2000 Renewal groups in the Presbyterian Church (USA) have identified the following as the key issues coming before the 212th General Assembly in Long Beach, Calif., June 24-July 1. 1. Several presbyteries have responded to a synod court’s sanctioning of same-sex “holy unions” by proposing constitutional amendments that prohibit ministers from performing such ceremonies or allowing them to occur in PCUSA sanctuaries. 2. Two overtures to the General Assembly declare that there must be a limit to pluralism and “diversity” in any church that calls itself Presbyterian. One specifies matters of faith that constitute a theological bottom line, issues like the divinity of Jesus Christ. The other asks for an orderly procedure that would allow congregations refusing to abide by the church’s faith to leave the denomination with their property. 3. The PCUSA leads U.S. denominations in its contributions to the World and National Councils of Churches. A proposal seeks to redress this imbalance by limiting the Presbyterian contributions to the average of the top six U.S. denominational contributors to both of the organizations. 4. The PCUSA requires that all denominationally sponsored meetings and events be open to the public. Only four exceptions are allowed: legal consultation, consultation on property matters, personnel issues and security (safety) considerations. But the Advisory Committee on the News is proposing loopholes to the Open Meeting Policy that would allow certain “non-business” meetings to occur behind closed doors. 5. A new study of abortion that focuses solely on the teachings of Scripture and Presbyterian confessional standards has been proposed. 6. Recent General Assembly meetings have been disrupted by demonstrations, at times with the permission of the moderator and with logistical support from General Assembly staff. An overture calls for an end to this practice. 7. The PCUSA has funded a ministry to families in the U.S. armed forces for many years. In recent years, however, this office has been lodged in the Division of National Ministries along with Social Justice and Peacemaking, the denomination’s Washington lobby and other groups that are generally adverse to any involvement with the military. The chaplains have been told that they must raise their own funds if they want their program to survive. Overtures seek to reverse that trend by securing funding for the chaplains’ ministry. 8. The General Assembly will be asked to remove standards of sexual behavior from the denomination’s ordination requirements. 9. Members of the General Assembly Nominating Committee are currently appointed by the moderator. An overture to the assembly asks that future members of the committee be elected by the General Assembly itself. 10. Recognizing that many controversies in the PCUSA have occurred because of a failure to affirm Scripture as “the unique and authoritative witness to Jesus Christ and the final rule of faith and practice,” an overture seeks to reaffirm this principle of Reformed faith and require that all policies and programs of the denomination honor it.

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