Curated news about the PCUSA General Assembly meeting in 2014.
By Roberta P. Seid and Roz Rothstein JNS.org – Much has been written about the deplorable anti-Israel divestment vote at the recently held 221st General Assembly (GA) of Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA). I (Roberta P. Seid) witnessed the proceedings and was struck by an aspect not covered in the reporting on the GA: the corrosive…
By Joseph D. Small The 221st General Assembly (2014) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) will be remembered for its approval of same-sex marriage, but its most lasting effect may be the decisive victory of proceduralism—the displacement of substantive consideration by parliamentary process in the service of prevalent opinion. The church’s reliance on legislative procedures produces,…
By Dexter Van Zile It’s funny what an embarrassing interview on national television will do to a guy. When Heath Rada, the recently elected moderator of the Presbyterian Church (USA), was eviscerated on CNN a few weeks back, it must have been pretty embarrassing. Fortunately enough, it looks like Rada has learned from the experience,…
For the record, we (the Presbyterian Lay Committee) are not going anywhere. We are, in fact, going everywhere. More on that later. Here I will offer comment, comfort and some castigation over the actions of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA). By now you know that the General Assembly did the mental and…
By Arnold M. Eisen (RNS) The vote by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) to divest from three U.S. companies doing business in Israel came exactly a week after news broke of the kidnapping of three yeshiva students (may their memory be a blessing) and at the same time that an Islamic terrorist…
By Sue Cyre Theology Matters The Board of Directors ofTheology Matters is deeply grieved by the action of a majority of commissioners to the Presbyterian Church (USA) General Assembly that now allows ministers to perform same-sex marriages and effectively changes the definition of marriage. A majority of commissioners approved and celebrated a behavior that…
By Peter Smith Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) leaders are doing plenty of explaining inside and outside their churches these days after their church’s top legislative body took stances in June on two volatile issues — opening the way to same-sex marriages involving its pastors and churches and pulling investments in companies aiding the Israeli-occupation of Palestinian…
By John M. Buchanan At the 221st General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), held last month in Detroit, members of the governing body voted to allow Presbyterian clergy to preside at same-sex weddings in states where same-sex marriage is legal (see “PCUSA votes to divest funds, to marry gays where legal”). They also approved…
The action of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) in issuing an Authoritative Interpretation (AI) on marriage does much more than you probably think. Yes, it authorizes pastors who live in states where it is legal to do so to perform same-sex marriages. But it does more than that. I tried to warn them,…
Prominently featured at the website of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is an “An Open Letter of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to our American Jewish Interfaith Partners” which is signed by the denomination’s three senior officials and which begins: We are reaching out to you after our General Assembly’s action, by a 310-303 vote, to recommend…