News Archive

July 11, 2005

Theological Task Force set to consider portions of final report

Drafts of sections to be released at end of meeting

LOUISVILLE—The Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Church will hold its next meeting July 18-21, 2005, in Dallas, Texas. The group will have as its main agenda the consideration of initial drafts of portions of its final report.

The final report will be adopted at the task force’s August 24-25, 2005 meeting in Chicago.

Since December 2001, the Theological Task Force has been working to address ongoing conflict within the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Mandated by the 213th General Assembly (2001) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), its 20-person membership represents a wide range of Presbyterian diversity, including racial, age, geographic, gender, and theological perspective.

The task force’s mandate includes, but is not limited to, issues that have challenged the church in its recent past, including Christology, biblical authority and interpretation, ordination standards, and power.

The release date for the task force’s final report is September 15, 2005, which is nine months before the 217th General Assembly convenes in Birmingham, Alabama, June 15-22. This early release date provides time for synods, presbyteries, sessions, and other entities to consider its content and recommendations. Already, many groups have been formed to consider the task force’s preliminary report and supplemental material in response to its call for presbyteries to form theological reflection groups.

Task force members plan to spend much of this coming fall and winter traveling throughout the denomination to interpret the report.

At the conclusion of its Dallas meeting on July 21, drafts of the task force’s report will be available on this Web site. Additional background material and resources are also available at this site.

Contact info: Sharon K. Youngs, Communications Coordinator, Office of the General Assembly; (888) 728-7228, ext. 5750.