Ban on demonstrations upheld by General Assembly
By John H. Adams, The Layman Online, June 14, 2001
LOUISVILLE, Ky.– Once again, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) has decided that demonstrations on the floor are inappropriate.
With little discussion, the commissioners voted 317-175 to follow the recommendation of the Committee on General Assembly Procedures and to reject Overture 01-5 from the Presbytery of Baltimore.
There was virtually no debate about the issue. Don Stroud, a minister commissioner from the Presbytery of Baltimore, made a brief plea to allow groups to demonstrate spontaneously.
Referring to what has become known as Standing Rule B.13, which bans the demonstrations, Stroud said, “This runs counter to our long history as Presbyterians in honoring dissent. This bans the voice of the people.”
The ban on demonstrations, which was adopted last year by the 212th General Assembly in Long Beach, Calif., was the outgrowth from a demonstration allowed at the 210th General Assembly in Charlotte, N.C.
The Charlotte Assembly had voted to foreclose the denomination’s funding of a controversial group – the National Network of Presbyterian College Women – after it was determined that the network was promoting lesbianism and polytheism.
But then-Moderator Douglas Oldenburg, who was sympathetic to the network, allowed network members to stage a demonstration before the commissioners. It was late in the evening of the final night session of the 210th Assembly when network members stood before the commissioners and wept, held lighted candles and sang This Little Light of Mine.
The commissioners voted to undo their action that night. The next morning, they gave the network a new lease on life. Many Presbyterians severely criticized Oldenburg for allowing the demonstration and the General Assembly staff for helping to orchestrate it.