Sabbatical
January 1, 1998
The Presbyterian News Service and The Presbyterian Outlook have opined that “A Call to Sabbatical” influenced the 210th General Assembly not to attempt another change in the denomination’s ordination standards. Reported as news, this is clearly a matter of speculation, and neither publication offered evidence to support it.
The proposed sabbatical, an unofficial agreement signed by six individuals without authorization from the organizations that they purported to represent, called for a truce on attempts either to change or enforce our constitutional ordination standards. No such truce exists. Attempts to amend the Constitution were proffered to the Assembly, and there are cases now before our judicial system which challenge acts of defiance.
The 210th General Assembly defeated Milwaukee Presbytery’s attempt to undermine our ordination standards by a whopping 412-92 majority. It also crushed a move introduced by Baltimore Presbytery that was designed to allow for “ecclesiastical disobedience” by “More Light Churches” and other governing bodies that dissent from the denomination’s ordination standards, arguing that “God alone is Lord of the conscience.”
Why did the Assembly so decisively reject these proposals? Two groups of commissioners who together comprised the vast majority of the Assembly voted no. The first group was made up of persons who honor and obey our Constitution. The second group included many of last year’s Amendment A supporters who reasoned that even if they could enact a similar amendment in Charlotte, they would face another humiliating defeat in the presbyteries. The confluence of these two very different interest groups produced a substantial bloc that solidly resisted further amendments to the Constitution this year.
The Outlook and News Service need not have speculated on how the commissioners felt about the “Call to Sabbatical.” An overture specifically calling for a sabbatical was sent to the Assembly by the Presbytery of Utica. The Assembly overwhelmingly defeated it.