Moderator wants GAC to address divestment and head off a fight
By John H. Adams, The Layman Online, February 11, 2006
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Moderator Rick Ufford-Chase told the General Assembly Council that he wants the council to help him ward off an explosive confrontation over the 216th General Assembly’s resolution calling for “phased, selective divestment” of the denomination’s holdings in corporations that do business with Israel.
Without committing himself on the divestment issue, Ufford-Chase said he had gained new insights about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict after a recent trip to the Mideast and meetings with Palestinian Christians and Jewish people.
The fight over the divestment has been bitter. Many Jewish groups, as well as some Presbyterian groups and other Christians, have denounced the divestment resolution. Several have accused the PCUSA of being anti-Semitic. Relationships with Jewish groups have been strained.
“Friends, many of you know … our assembly made bold and decisive moves to begin a process of phased selective divestment to deal with the violence taking place in the Middle East,” Ufford Chase said. “I didn’t go looking for that fight. It’s something I inherited.”
The moderator’s recommendation was that, “With your permission and your blessing, I would like to engage many of you on the General Assembly Council and try to seek language that affirms our commitment to our Palestinian partners and our Jewish brothers and sisters.”
There was no vote on his recommendation, but there was obvious agreement. He plans to talk with council members on both sides of the issue and try to discern a way that the Presbyterian Church (USA) may have a stronger voice in peacemaking.
Ufford’s ad hoc group will report back to the full General Assembly Council at its meeting in April. Presumably, the council will adopt a statement in response to the growing number of overtures on divestment — some asking the 217th General Assembly to rescind the action and others favoring the call for divestment or proposing nuanced changes.
In addition to the overtures, the PCUSA’s Mission Responsibility through Investment Committee is prepared to present a list of four corporations that do business with Israel and seek the 217th General Assembly’s permission to proceed with steps toward mandatory divestment of PCUSA holdings in those corporations. The MRTI hit list also includes a fifth corporation that allegedly assisted Palestinian terrorist causes — but there was no mention in the General Assembly about divesting from corporations doing business with the Palestinians.
After Ufford-Chase’s impromptu comments, which were allowed following his request for the privilege to speak to the full General Assembly Council, a MRTI spokesperson expressed thanks for what he said.
He began his presentation with a prayer and a suggested framework for discerning a more appropriate response on the Palestinian-Israeli issues: Ephesians 4:1-4.
- As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit — just as you were called to one hope when you were called — one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
He said he hoped that passage would help the GAC — and the General Assembly — arrive at a unified response on the issue.
Ufford-Chase was careful not to alienate Presbyterian leaders who have been involved in implementing the divestment resolution. “I have been gratified to work together with our staff. They have done a marvelous job with interpreting the intent of the General Assembly. I would add my gratitude to elected members who have responsibility for divestment.”
“But I am most grateful for my opportunity as moderator to sit at the table with both sides, including Jewish leaders.” During his trip to Israel, he said he learned that “most of the best conversations happen outside the room. The pressures in official conversations are great. We all have our constituencies.”
Thus, he said, he had two days “outside the room.”
“When I learned that there were two free days in the agenda, I called our Jewish colleagues and asked them with whom we should meet,” he said. “It was a wonderful and positive experience. I went mostly to meet with Jewish leaders who are committed peacemakers, but also people who raised great concern about phased selective divestment.”
He said he also met with Palestinian religious leaders and members of the Fellowship of Evangelical Churches in Jordan.
“I came home convinced that we have serious work to do between now and the General Assembly,” he added. He said he doesn’t welcome the possibility that there would simply be a vote for or against the divestment resolution.
“What is the responsibility of the General Assembly Council? I would like this afternoon to begin a time of intentional discernment between now and the next meeting.”
He said he wanted to use the Ephesians passage as a guideline for determining “what it means to express this kind of unity. If we don’t make an attempt to offer that kind of guidance, I fear the worst. It would come down to I like divestment, I hate divestment and we put it to vote.”
To create a meaningful statement, he said, there would need to be empathy for both the Israelis and Palestinians.
“It would be my goal to have some guidance that we could discuss together,” he said. “It’s been my experience … that our greatest need is empathetic listening.”
Ufford-Chase said his empathy for both sides increased during his trip. One of the most meaningful experiences, he said, was visiting the Children’s Memorial in Israel’s Holocaust Museum, including a room of photographs of some of the 1.5 million children who died in the Holocaust. Adjacent was a room with candles representing the children and mirrors — “looking like unending beacons.”
But he also described areas of Palestine that were occupied by Israeli forces, noting that Palestinians were literally “incarcerated” in their own homes.
“We have to find a way to tell these stories in a way that’s authentic,” he said.