Overture 04-36. On Amending D-10.0201a to Specify a Time Limit—From the Presbytery of North Puget Sound.

The Presbytery of North Puget Sound overtures the 216th General Assembly (2004) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to direct the Stated Clerk to send the following proposed amendment to the presbyteries for their affirmative or negative votes:

Shall D-10.0201a be amended as follows: [Text to be deleted is shown with a strike-through; text to be added or inserted is shown as italic.]

“An investigating committee shall have no more than five but no less than three members, and may include members from another governing body, if appropriate, in accordance with D-10.0104. A session shall not appoint members of the session as members of the investigating committee. When a written statement of alleged sexual offense is submitted by a minister of the Word and Sacrament accusing another minister of the Word and Sacrament, the investigating committee shall conclude its investigation within 30 days of the receipt of the written statement of alleged offense by the stated clerk.”

Rationale

In secular business, when dealing with employee-to-employee relations, allegations of sexual misconduct are normally concluded within seventy-two hours. In a congregation with a multiple staff, there is no time limit for such an investigation. Lengthy ongoing investigations, particularly where the investigating committee disseminates no information, creates an atmosphere of rumor and innuendo, particularly if either the accused or accuser is no longer present to and with the congregation. For the sake of all parties involved, particularly the congregation, such investigations and determinations whether formal charges will be filed must be concluded in a timely manner. (Our experience in this presbytery was that one investigation took more than a year before the decision was made to file no charges. This was a very painful experience for the congregation).