Middle East forum set for PC(USA) middle governing bodies

by Toya Richards Hill

LOUISVILLE — Requests by synod and presbytery officials for more information about the General Assembly’s recent actions on Israel and Palestine have led to plans for a three-day meeting in February. About 200 participants — representing every synod and presbytery — are expected to attend.

      “Steps Toward Peace in Israel and Palestine,” scheduled to take place Feb. 10-12 in Louisville, is being held “so that they (synods and presbyteries) know what we did and why we did it,” says Marthame Sanders, missionary-in-residence in the offices of the PC(USA) Worldwide Ministries Division and project team co-manager for the event. 

      Last summer the General Assembly took action on several issues related to Israel and Palestine, including beginning the process of  “phased selective divestment” in companies supporting the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza and in corporations profiting from either Israeli or Palestinian violence.

      The process is designed to enable shareholders to influence corporate behavior, guided by the ethical priniciples of the Reformed tradition.

      The action is also directed at engaging corporations or financial institutions who benefit from the ongoing creation and expansion of Israeli settlements on the West Bank.

        Controversy ensued over the Assembly’s actions, particularly angering some Jewish leaders.

      As a result of what the Assembly did the church has “received a great deal of attention,” Sanders says. “Presbyteries and synods … have been getting asked a lot of questions about this.”

      The middle governing bodies needed and wanted information about what the Assembly did “to be equipped to have a debate” on the subject, he said.

      Synods and presbyteries have asked for a wide range of information on the issues, ranging from the text of previous General Assembly resolutions related to Israel to the history of the region.

      “It’s a conference designed to equip leadership in presbyteries and synods,” General Assembly Stated Clerk Clifton Kirkpatrick told the Presbyterian News Service. He said it is important for church leaders to be able to interpret these General Assembly actions.

      Kirkpatrick and John Detterick, General Assembly Council executive director, invited participants to the events, which Sanders says will be largely a Presbyterian conversation.

      Among the topics to be covered at the meeting are Presbyterian actions and witness in the region, interfaith relationships, and Presbyterian theology, particularly related to Christian Zionism.

        “I am hopeful that they (the middle governing bodies) will at least feel they have a stake in some of the issues,” Sanders says.