Since 1946, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and its predecessors have maintained a liaison office in Washington, D.C., to provide two-way communication between the church and the federal government. The Washington Office is charged both to keep Congress and the President aware of official General Assembly policy and to keep the church as a whole informed of government actions on relevant issues.
I begin with that descriptive overview because a recent Presbyterian Panel survey (August 1999) tells me that not too many of you are walking encyclopedias on this entity. Specifically, only 4% of pastors report themselves very well informed about the activities of the Washington Office. In fact a majority of pastors, 63%, indicate that they are either not very well informed or not at all informed. Among members and elders, only around 5% consider themselves even fairly well informed. Majorities respond not at all informed.
Very few laity--2% of members, 5% of elders--report any personal contact with the Washington Office in the year prior to the survey. While the rates are higher among clergy--around a third report some personal contact--for most, this contact was at best occasional and indirect, such as reading a publication from the Washington Office, reading a publication about the Washington Office, or hearing one of its staff members give a presentation. Of the 34% of pastors who report some contact with the Washington Office, only a quarter report talking to a staff member in person or by telephone, and most of those had done so only once. Only a quarter report visiting the Washington Office's Web page and, again, only about half had done so more than once.
Given this infrequent and low-intensity interaction, few Presbyterians of any stripe have an accurate sense of how much money the PC(USA) spends every year on the Washington Office. Only one in six elders, for example, even venture to estimate the amount, and of those, only 20--less than 5% of elders responding to the survey--put forward an amount near the actual figure of $567,000 (2000 budget). More pastors and specialized clergy hazard a guess, but even in these groups fewer than one in ten put forward a number within $100,000 of the actual budget amount.
When asked to evaluate the Washington Office's effectiveness "in providing Presbyterians with timely, accurate information about issues before Congress," three in four members (79%) and elders (75%) and around one-half of pastors (46%) and specialized clergy (54%) respond don't know. As the figure shows, those with an opinion are somewhat divided, but in every sample more respond on the less effective than on the more effective side of the response continuum.
In short, the Washington Office of the PC(USA) is off the radar screen of most members and elders. Even among clergy, many lack familiarity and among those who are aware, few have had frequent or intensive contact. Some of that remoteness is by design, some by necessity; a small staff and a large mandate limit personal involvement. But could more be done to inform individual Presbyterians about the work and witness of the Washington Office? I'll leave the answer to the policy makers and communications experts. But they should keep in mind that the Washington Office is far from unique in its obscurity around the church. As long-time readers of this space will no doubt recall, similar Panel results have emerged for a variety of other national entities of the PC(USA). For good or ill, many persons in the pew and on the session--and not a few in the pulpit--view the church beyond its local manifestation as if through a glass, darkly.
For more: Copies of "The Public Role of Presbyterians" may be purchased for $5 from PDS at (800) 524-2612; ask for item #65100-99261. In addition to questions on the Washington Office, this Panel Report gathers Presbyterian opinion on various social policy topics, including family issues, racial justice, the environment, and welfare reform.
Email the author: Jack Marcum
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