Bothered by bailout? Tell the recording
The Layman Online, January 12, 2000
The leadership of the Presbyterian Church (USA), which advocates spending $500,000 to bail out the National Council of Churches, is directing phone calls about the issue to an unattended opinion line.
An announcement posted on the PCUSA website said the denomination set up an opinion line at (502) 569-8181 for people to express their concerns about the National Council of Churches.
Normally, the denomination promotes its toll-free number, 1-800-872-3283, for use by Presbyterians. In raising concerns about the proposed PCUSA bailout, the Layman Online and a special publication titled “The Layman Update” have referred Presbyterians to the toll free number.
The Layman checked both telephone numbers shortly after the PCUSA announced its unattended opinion line. Both were functioning. The opinion line was answered by a recording. The toll-free 800-872-3283 was answered by an attendant, who transferred callers to the opinion line recording. In neither case is a caller directed to speak personally with someone.
The opinion-line recording asks callers to leave their name, location and “a brief summary of your concerns.” The recording adds, “Your concerns will be shared with the appropriate people.”
The controversy surrounding additional funding for the NCC recalls the furor that followed the 1993 ReImagining conference. Many Presbyterian individuals and congregations expressed their concerns to the General Assembly Council, but the Council responded by affirming all that was said and done at the conference. The Council’s decision to endorse ReImagining theology cost the denomination millions of dollars as contributions were withheld or redirected. In 1994, the General Assembly declared the ReImagining ideology “beyond the boundaries … of Christian faith.”
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