Committees support elevating
Belhar to confessional status
By Carmen Fowler, The Layman, January 27, 2010
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Three committees of the Presbyterian Church (USA) – the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy (ACSWP), and the advocacy committees on Women’s Concerns (ACWC) and Racial Ethnic Concerns (ACREC) met Jan. 22 to discuss their mutual concerns and coordinate plans for July’s General Assembly meeting.
Though a special task force will report to the GA, the committees expressed support for including the Belhar Confession in the denomination’s Book of Confessions, but took no formal action.
During the meeting, Cynthia Holder Rich, an at-large member of ACREC, gave an overview of the Belhar Confession acknowledging that there is opposition in the denomination to elevating it to confessional status. An overture from Sacramento Presbytery opposing the Belhar addition was discussed and it was acknowledged that the confession could be used to advance agendas other than racial equality.
“Theologians have used this document to press issues other than race. The overture from Sacramento refers to sexuality issues. You may or may not know that that is part of the international conversation. … This document is about freedom. People of different sexual orientations are not free and so this document could be used to free people,” Holder Rich stated.
Referring to her presentation on Belhar at the recent “Confessing when empire trembles: Belhar and Accra confessions in conversation” colloquium Jan. 15-17 sponsored by ACSWP, Holder Rich emphasized, “I hope in the context we talk about power rather than strictly border it by the color of people’s skin. Are we able to use this document to … really effectively share power.”
The Accra Confession is named for the place where it was adopted in 2005 by the World Alliance of Reformed Churches. Belhar was named for the location in South Africa where it was adopted. Both confessions address issues of power and poverty. Accra seeks to address global powers of military and economic oppression, particularly in relationship to people of color. Belhar specifically addresses the issue of apartheid in South Africa, but its proponents hope to universalize it in addressing issues of power and freedom worldwide.
It is expected that the theology and strategies advocated by both documents will be advanced at the uniting council meeting of the new World Communion of Reformed Churches in Grand Rapids, Mich., June 18-28, 2010.