February 6, 2009

Membership named for two GA special committees

The membership of two General Assembly special committees has been released, bringing the total of special committees named by the Moderator of the 218th General Assembly (2008) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)  to three this week.

Both special committees were formed out of actions of the 218th General Assembly (2008), which met last summer in San Jose, Calif.

Heidelberg Catechism

The Special Committee on Correcting Translation Problems of the Heidelberg Catechism will consider proposed changes to the catechism made by last year’s assembly. According to the assembly action, the proposed changes revolve around correcting “translation problems in five responses of the Heidelberg Catechism as found in The Book of Confessions and to add the original Scripture texts of the German Heidelberg Catechism.”

The Book of Order (G-18.0200) calls for a special committee of no fewer than 15 individuals to be formed when a General Assembly proposes any changes to part of the PC(USA) Constitution. The Heidelberg Catechism is in The Book of Confessions, part of the Constitution.

The special committee will consider the proposed changes to the catechism; consult with Newark Presbytery, which sent the original overture to last year’s assembly; and report back to the 219th General Assembly (2010) in Minneapolis.

The Reverend Bruce Reyes-Chow, Moderator of the 218th General Assembly (2008) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), selected the members. They include the Reverends Heidi Husted Armstrong (Olympia Presbytery), Warner M. Bailey (Grace Presbytery), Shelly Barrick Parsons (West Virginia Presbytery), James R. Edwards (Inland Northwest Presbytery), Christopher Elwood (Mid-Kentucky Presbytery), Gary Neal Hansen (John Knox Presbytery), Neal D. Presa (Elizabeth Presbytery), Lorna A. Shoemaker (Redwoods Presbytery), David L. Stubbs (Lake Michigan Presbytery), and Floretta L. Watkins (Charlotte Presbytery) and elders Dawn DeVries (James Presbytery), Sylvia Dooling (Plains and Peaks Presbytery), Susan N. Haskell (Sheppards and Lapsley Presbytery), Patrick Hunt (San Francisco Presbytery), and David Mulford (South Louisiana Presbytery).

The committee membership covers a spectrum of ages. Of the 15, three are between the ages of 26 and 35, two are between 36 and 45, four are between 46 and 55, six are between 56 and 65, and one is over 65 years old.

Neal Presa will chair the committee. The Reverends Charles Wiley, coordinator in Theology Worship and Education (General Assembly Council), and Tom Hay, director of operations for the Office of the General Assembly, will staff the group.

The committee will begin its work at the end of March.

Israel/Palestine

The 218th General Assembly (2008) also asked the Moderators of the 218th, 217th, and 216th General Assemblies (2008), (2006), and (2004) to “select a nine-member committee from a broad spectrum of viewpoints from PC(USA) members to prepare a comprehensive study, with recommendations, that is focused on Israel/Palestine within the complex context of the Middle East. The study should include an evaluation of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s mission and relationships, including an assessment of the future for the Christian presence and witness in the Middle East, an overview of the complex interactions among religions, cultures, and peoples that characterize the region, an analysis of U.S. policies that impact the area, and steps to be taken with our partners in the Middle East and the United States to foster justice, improve interfaith relations, and nurture the building of peace toward a secure and viable future for all.”

This committee is also to report back to the 219th General Assembly (2010).

Elder Rick Ufford-Chase, Moderator of the 216th General Assembly (2004), and the Reverend Joan Gray, Moderator of the 217th General Assembly (2006), joined Reyes-Chow in naming the following persons to the Committee to Prepare a Comprehensive Study Focused on Israel Palestine: the Reverends Susan R. Andrews (Hudson River Presbytery), John Huffman (Los Ranchos Presbytery), Rebecca Reyes (New Hope Presbytery), Marthame Sanders (Greater Atlanta Presbytery), Ronald L. Shive (Salem Presbytery), and John W. Wimberly, Jr. (National Capital Presbytery) and elders Frederic W. Bush (Los Ranchos Presbytery), Nahida H. Gordon (Muskingum Valley Presbytery), and Lucy Janjigian (Palisades Presbytery).   

Staffing the committee will be the Reverends Christian Iosso (Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy) and Victor Makari (coordinator, Middle East, Asia Minor, Jinishian Memorial Program, General Assembly Council), elder Doug Dicks (mission co-worker, Israel Palestine, General Assembly Council), and the Reverend Kerry Clements (director, Communication, Development, and Technology, Office of the General Assembly).