An Open Letter to the Members of the Presbyterian Church (USA)
From the Board of Directors of the Presbyterian Lay Committee, Posted Friday, Jan 17, 2003
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
On January 14, 2003, Elder Alexander Metherell, a commissioner to the 214th General Assembly, presented to the Moderator of that assembly petitions to convene a special meeting of the 214th General Assembly to address widespread defiance of the laws of our church by individuals, sessions and presbyteries. The petitions were signed by 57 fellow commissioners, representing 26 pastors and 31 elders from 46 presbyteries and all 16 synods, meeting the requirements that our Book of Order sets out in G-13.0104. That section guarantees to commissioners the right to call a special meeting of the Assembly (similar to the guarantee that elders have to call a meeting of session). The Assembly is the highest representative body in our system of government.
Instead of executing the call for the meeting as required by the Book of Order, the response of the Moderator, as well as members of the Committee on the Office of the General Assembly, the General Assembly Council and the Office of the Stated Clerk, who were present when the petitions were presented, has been to try to prevent the gathering by misconstruing procedural requirements and making personal appeals that are beyond the proper exercise of office. The officers claim that the meeting may not be called sooner than 120 days, rather than the 60 days clearly provided in the Book of Order. Such timing would bring the special meeting so close to the timing of the 215th General Assembly as to cause alleged confusion and disruption. Instead of merely verifying the signatures of the commissioners who signed, the Moderator has sought to persuade them to rescind their signatures by sending them a personal letter imploring them to change their vote, and the Stated Clerk has sent them a communication asking them to vote again.
We have watched with alarm the actions of our denomination’s officers and agencies these past several days as they try to thwart a meeting that is guaranteed in our democratic procedures. It is clear to all fair-minded Presbyterians that the duty of these officials is to perform their responsibilities of office impartially and to execute evenhandedly the provisions of our constitution as they vowed to do when they became officers. Whatever privilege these officers may have had to advocate against such a meeting before the petitions were presented ceased the moment that the requisite petitions from commissioners were handed to them.
Such disregard of their plain duty engenders the very behavior that the special meeting seeks to address. Any further defiance and disregard of their plain duty dishonors the head of our church, Jesus Christ, and further corrodes that trust among Presbyterians that is the basis of decent and orderly governance in our life together.
We call upon the Moderator and Stated Clerk to fulfill their obligations of office now and to call a timely special meeting of the assembly as required by G-13.0104 of the Book of Order.
In the Service of our Lord,
Peggy M. Hedden
Chairman
The Board of Directors
The Presbyterian Lay Committee