08098
February 8, 2008

ACSWP approves policy document and resolutions

Papers on Iraq war, affordable housing for homeless among those going to ’08 GA

by Evan Silverstein
Presbyterian News Service

LOUISVILLE — The Iraq war and providing the homeless with affordable housing, particularly in hurricane-ravaged New Orleans, are among the subjects of eight documents going to this summer’s 218th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

The seven resolutions and one policy paper, which also cover issues ranging from energy, voting rights and electoral reform, to ministering to those with serious mental illness, were approved during a recent meeting of the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy (ACSWP), which develops social-justice policies for GA consideration.

“We believe these reports speak to vital challenges to our faith today and have tried to highlight places where congregations are already involved,” said the Rev. B Gordon Edwards, ACSWP’s chair, “whether it is care for the homeless, volunteering in New Orleans, improving energy efficiency or praying for those denied their human rights.”

Also approved during the Jan. 24-27 meeting at the Presbyterian Center here was a resolution asking the Assembly to affirm its commitment to equality for women in society and church, for ending discrimination against women, and for economic justice for women through equal pay in the workplace.

Meanwhile, ACSWP approved sending a study document updating a paper on “The Nature and Value of Human Life” to a drafting team for further revision. Originally adopted by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States in 1981, the document says human life is a value of the first order and human beings are God’s representatives in the care of creation.

The drafting team will work to revise the paper, which involves the treatment of bioethics and end-of-life concerns, with consideration for expanding its scope and will circulate it among synods, presbyteries and others interested in providing feedback. 

Portions of the meeting were jointly held with the Advocacy Committee for Racial Ethnic Concerns (ACREC), and the Advisory Committee on Women’s Concerns (ACWC), which worked in conjunction with ACSWP on some of the papers. The committees met together at the center for parts of two days and heard from a number of staff persons.

The eight ACSWP documents going to the General Assembly, which startsJune 21 in San Jose, CA:

IRAQ

This resolution and study paper focus on war-torn Iraq and the long-term ethical responsibilities of the United States government to the Iraqi people as part of a peaceful transition from occupation to self-government. Objectives of the resolution called “Costly Lessons of the Iraq War” include increased dialogue between Christians and Muslims, and taking steps to reduce anti-American and anti-Christian pressure on church partners in Iraq and in other majority-Muslim countries. The paper also calls for developing a plan to continue responding to concerns of Iranian and Iraqi churches during and after the war; providing ethical reflection and guidance to the PC(USA); and steps for education, advocacy and relationship building for members, congregations, soldiers, chaplains, governing bodies and the denomination’s United Nations and Washington offices.

HOMELESSNESS

A resolution, “From Homelessness to Hope: Constructing Just, Sustainable Communities For All God’s People,” affirms congregations already engaged in ministries of “compassion, empowerment and advocacy” with those who are homeless, while challenging congregations to embrace a more comprehensive approach to ending homelessness.

The resolution indicates that a substantial percentage of American families, whether renting or owning, are under increased pressure to maintain housing. Homelessness and the struggle to find affordable housing is a crisis that spans the diversity of communities that make up the United States, from rural and small-town areas to large metropolitan centers.

The resolution calls on the PC(USA) to create communities of hospitality that assure all members of society, including persons experiencing homelessness, a right  to basic economic and social well-being, including safe, affordable housing.

The document urges the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Foundation, in collaboration with the denomination’s General Assembly Council, ACSWP and the PC(USA)’s office on Mission Responsibility Through Investment, to utilize its Creative Investment Program to invest in housing through a national organization called the Local Initiatives Support Corporation. LISC, as it’s also known, helps resident-led, community-based development organizations transform distressed communities and neighborhoods into healthy ones by providing capital, technical expertise, training and information.

This will allow creation of a revolving loan fund, which could be made available to Presbyterian congregations, presbyteries, synods and coalitions in which church entities are involved for predevelopment loans to support construction and rehabilitation of permanent rental housing for individuals and families with low income and/or a history of homelessness.

The investment would accrue at an interest rate to be agreed upon between the foundation and LISC, and would result in a secure investment for the PC(USA). Creative Investment loans are generally at two-thirds the market rate with high security through entities like LISC.

Other recommendations include encouraging congregations, presbyteries, synods and other church-related entities to take the lead in welcoming shelters, transitional housing programs and affordable housing into their communities, and to work in favor of mixed-income communities rather than exclusionary ones.

         THE GULF COAST POST-HURRICANE KATRINA

The resolution focuses on the PC(USA)’s continued response to post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans and other regions impacted by hurricanes in 2005. The document, a combined effort between ACSWP and ACREC, expresses concern for delay and neglect in providing relief and assistance, and encourages continued Christian engagement in the renewal of New Orleans and surrounding areas devastated by the storms.

“Struck Down, But Not Destroyed: From Hurricane Katrina To A More Equitable Future” calls for providing ethical reflection and guidance to the PC(USA) and such steps as education, advocacy and relationship building for members, congregations, governing bodies and the PC(USA)’s Washington Office on matters related to urban and coastal public policy. The study’s primary author, Professor Ron Peters of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, was raised in New Orleans.

The report also calls for strengthening Christian witness against the abandonment of regions, populations or sectors of society, particularly on matters concerning race and class. The document also commends the more than 30,000 Presbyterians who have volunteered so far in relief and recovery efforts along the hurricane-wrecked Gulf Coast, along with response efforts of presbyteries located in the impacted region. In October the advisory committee held its last regular meeting of 2007 in New Orleans, where the group conducted fact-finding efforts to identify the church’s possible role in ongoing post-Katrina re-development.

    ENERGY

A resolution, “The Power to Change: U.S. Energy Policy and Global Warming,” is the first document to address the Presbyterian Church’s energy policy since 1981, when a paper titled “The Power to Speak Truth to Power” was approved jointly by the former Presbyterian Church in the United States and United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America. That policy statement was prompted by energy shortages in the 1970s and ecumenical discussions of sustainability and energy sufficiency. 

The 2002 PC(USA) General Assembly ordered an update, calling on the church to address energy issues in light of current national and international concerns about production, consumption, cost, patterns of distribution and energy security.

Proposed recommendations under the new document include a strong push for alternative energy sources and forms as well as personal lifestyle changes, and the purchase of sustainably grown food and other products from local producers in order to reduce energy needs associated with shipping goods.

The new energy document, which builds on the 1981 policy paper, calls on Presbyterian families, congregations and governing bodies to become “carbon neutral” by reducing the use of energy, especially fossil fuels. It also builds on advocacy by the church for serious attention to the problem of global warming, including repeated calls for U.S. engagement with the Kyoto Protocol process and for changes in U.S. transportation policy.

The resolution recommends that synods and presbyteries become models of energy-efficient institutions and proponents of renewable energy in such ways as stocking resource centers with information about energy issues, working with new church development committees to ensure that all new and remodeled churches meet high-efficiency standards, and by advocating before local, state and federal governments for public policies that encourage energy efficiency and renewable energy generation.

The paper endorses strong responsibility for United States’ leadership politically and technologically in alternative energy development. A moratorium on new coal and nuclear power plants also is among the recommendations.

  SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESS

This policy statement focuses on how the PC(USA) engages in ministry with people who have serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

The 211th General Assembly (1999) directed ACSWP to develop a serious-mental-illness policy.

Among topics addressed by the proposed social witness policy, which is called “Comfort My People,” are justice-related issues and full participation for those with serious mental illness in the life of the church and society. Designed to offer direct encouragement to those who suffer, the report includes personal stories and reflection as well as analysis and recommendations.

The document, which ACSWP approved in principle at its October meeting, says that people with serious mental illnesses are often effectively exiled in American society — denied jobs, housing and access to quality treatment, while bearing the burden of a “stigmatized illness.” As church members they often are denied access to decision-making bodies and unable to find pastors and caregivers qualified to minister to them.

The paper addresses causes of serious mental illness, including post-traumatic stress disorder, a syndrome increasingly seen in prison and homeless populations. The document includes resources for people living with mental illness or people who are living with those who are affected by it.

Among other things, “Comfort My People” urges presbyteries to provide continuing education for pastors, staff and lay care providers in training them to recognize and intervene when a person with a serious mental illness also abuses drugs, including alcohol. It also recommends continuing education opportunities for pastors to help them learn how to support and advocate for families in crisis and to make appropriate treatment referrals, and encourages pastors to preach sermons and provide Bible studies about serious mental illness.

ACSWP used information from a synod consultation in September and feedback related to a study guide distributed through the presbyteries to all PC(USA) congregations in order to finalize the paper.

PAY EQUITY

This resolution, written in conjunction with ACWC, focuses on pay equity issues between men and women. It is titled “God’s Work in Women’s Hands: Pay Equity and Just Compensation.”

The document examines systemic patterns within the PC(USA) and within society that generally contribute to a significant pay differential between men and women, with non-Asian women of color facing larger differentials. There are recommendations regarding public policy as well as measures by which the church can study the impact of pay inequities in its own employment practices with secretaries, choir directors, pastors and others.

It recommends that local congregations participate in the PC(USA)’s goal of assuring gender equity in pay by using “data and tools” from their presbyteries and the counsel of the denomination’s Office of Vocation to evaluate ministerial compensation patterns with particular regard to women clergy and racial-ethnic clergy and their experience levels.

The paper urges presbyteries to participate in the PC(USA)’s goal of assuring gender equity in pay by reviewing annually the terms of pastors’ calls in order to assess whether stereotypical patterns about race, ethnicity and gender unfairly affect terms or task assignments. Also by using evaluative tools to be provided by the PC(USA)’s Office of Vocation to determine if unjustified pay disparities exist among clergy of the presbytery due to gender or race and ethnicity, and by aiding congregations in their understanding of pay equity issues.

Other recommendations direct the denomination’s various entities and agencies to take steps in assuring gender equity in pay for employees and clergy.

The advisory committee discussed the realities facing presbyteries and churches with limited resources and recognized a continuing need for a “theology of compensation” in a society with extremes of wealth and poverty such as the United States.

    VOTING RIGHTS AND ELECTORAL REFORM

This resolution, written in conjunction with ACREC, provides recommendations in five categories: to increase voter participation, to ensure equality and fairness, to provide for accountability and responsibility, to renew democracy more broadly, and to propose actions for individuals, congregations and councils of the PC(USA).   

The document, which is called “Lift Every Voice: Democracy, Voting Rights and Electoral Reform,” responds to a resolution of the 216th General Assembly in 2004 calling for the reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and for a further statement by the PC(USA) recommending new measures to prevent voter disenfranchisement in the United States.

The 2004 Assembly resolution is a detailed legal assessment of the need for accountability provided by the Voting Rights Act. It directed ACSWP to develop a resolution on “the disenfranchisement of people of color in the U.S. electoral process” for the 2008 General Assembly that would address at least two dimensions: improvements in legislation with a strong push for uniformity across states, and options for practical engagement.

Recommendations of ACSWP’s resolution for increasing voter participation include supporting universal voter registration to allow all citizens over 18 years of age to vote. That would mean every citizen turning 18 years old, and every person becoming a citizen, would be automatically registered to vote by the government.

Other recommendations of the paper include supporting full voting rights for the more than 600,000 residents of the District of Columbia who are tax-paying citizens currently unrepresented by either senators or representatives. It also supports restoration of voting and other civil rights to former felons, which represents an estimated five million people, helping to reintegrate them into society and give more voice to their generally poorer home communities. It opposes the imposition of special ID requirements, which are alleged to prevent fraud but may further discourage poor and elderly voters.

The resolution also recommends development of a non-partisan, professional electoral infrastructure in the place of partisan selection and patronage hiring of election officials; application of “best practice” standards for record-keeping, staff-training, public education and electoral management; national minimum standards for voting equipment, ballot design, ballot counting; and transparency of administration to ensure that all citizens have their votes counted properly.

        HUMAN RIGHTS IN COLOMBIA

This resolution focuses on human rights concerns amid swirling violence that makes Colombia one of the most dangerous countries on earth.

Colombia is plagued by a four-decade-old civil war — pitting leftist rebels against government forces and right-wing paramilitary groups — that has killed tens of thousands of civilians and driven several million others from their homes. The 217th General Assembly in 2006 lifted up the accompaniment program developed by the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship and the World Mission program to protect church workers, especially in displacement camps, and asked that further guidance be included in the advisory committee’s usual Human Rights Update.

Recommendations of the resolution includes calling on congregations, presbyteries, synods and entities of the General Assembly to advocate and establish new and strengthen existing partnerships with Presbyterians in Colombia; encouraging Presbyterians to join church-sponsored study tours in order to familiarize themselves with problems confronting the troubled Latin American country and directing the PC(USA)’s World Missions ministry area to continue working with Presbyterians and other ecumenical bodies to address the social, health, economic and educational issues that affect Colombia.
 
A drafting team was asked to add a section to the human rights resolution regarding violence and political killings of clergy and other church workers in the Philippines. Since Filipino President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo took office in 2001, hundreds of human rights activists, journalists, ministers and other church workers have been slain, sparking accusations of a systematic, nationwide campaign to silence those who challenge the status quo. 

SOCIAL CREED

Also approved in October and initially reviewed last July, the new Social Creed of the Churches is designed to be a one-page consensus statement of social justice directions for not only the PC(USA) but also for other communions in the ecumenical community. Requested by the 2004 General Assembly, an advisory committee study team has coordinated its work with similar teams of the National Council of Churches and, to a more limited degree, the United Methodist Church, which is developing a version for singing. The occasion for this new creed is the centennial of the 1908 original, which focused church attention on the problems of industrialization and anticipated the reforms of the New Deal. The new Social Creed focuses on globalization and ecological sustainability and was approved by the NCC in November.

ACSWP, along with ACREC and ACWC, viewed the “first cut” of a video documentary, “The Social Creed 1908 - 2008, Toward a New Social Awakening.” Also designed to bring together the range of social and environmental justice commitments of the church, ACSWP heard progress on other interpretive material: an ecumenical prayer book, a collection of scholarly essays on themes in the Social Creed and an explanatory booklet, for which distribution plans are being developed.

Minor changes are still possible in the text being forwarded to the General Assembly.

CO-CHAIRS ELECTED