Overture 20

On Creating a Commission to Study the Personnel Policies Now Operative as They Affect Members of the National Staff of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A.—From the Presbytery of Newton.

The Presbytery of Newton respectfully overtures the 217th General Assembly (2006), through its Stated Clerk, to create a commission to study the personnel policies now operative as they affect members of the national staff of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and make recommendations for change that will ensure that supervisory oversight is conducted with as much transparency as possible and that all personnel decisions are made corporately.

Such a commission needs to include persons representing a variety of concerns. It might be composed of one member selected by General Assembly Council, one member selected by the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly, one member selected by someone whose ministry has been terminated in a recent action, and one member selected by the Moderator of the General Assembly.

Rationale

Two staff members of the national office of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) were terminated in 2005 by executive action of the Executive Director of General Assembly Council. These terminations appear to have occurred because of displeasure about events that happened under the watch of the employees in question.

These terminations have called attention to the personnel policies that now govern employment of the national leadership staff. It has become apparent that, unlike the personnel policies that govern other levels of employment in the Presbyterian Church U.S.A., members of the national staff can be terminated by executive action. That employee has a choice between accepting a modest termination package or contesting the action.

At the heart of Presbyterian polity there is a cherished conviction that no person’s exercise of office in the church is to be subjected to the control of any other single individual.

The conditions that govern employment of the national staff of the church have an impact on the health of the church. The present business model used by the General Assembly Council is not Reformed in nature or concept and may very well contribute to the tense work conditions of those currently employed by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).