Feedback sought on
Washington Office’s future
The Layman , August 6, 2009
The Washington Office study group is ready to report its findings to the General Assembly Mission Council next month. But first it wants input from the people the Washington Office was commissioned to serve.
Charged with defining the agency’s future direction, the group has released a provisional mission statement and guiding principles for “the redevelopment of PCUSA’s public witness” along with its call for feedback from Presbyterians. Another goal of the study is to replace former Washington Office director Eleanor Giddings Ivory, who resigned in 2007.
The Rev. Eileen W. Lindner, a pastor, presbytery executive and consultant, led the study. She urged wide participation in the online report survey, which is comprised of five open-ended questions.
“The public voice and public witness of the PCUSA is the business of all Presbyterians in keeping with our Reformed theology,” she said. “As we move closer to making decisions about the future of our public witness, we will be strengthened in our discernment by the shared thoughts of a diversity of Presbyterians sharing their views.”
Long criticized by evangelicals for supporting legislation and political actions not endorsed by the General Assembly, there has been no shortage of “views” on the Washington Office in the past. Among the more controversial actions that angered some Presbyterians were: lobbying against the Federal Marriage Amendment; calling for recognition of same-gender unions; and joining an effort to have the phrase “under God” removed from the Pledge of Allegiance.
The provisional mission statement calls for the Washington Office to implement the guidance of the General Assembly and Mission Council concerning public affairs by:
- Extending the evangelical mission of the church by witnessing to the sovereignty of God and the grace of Christ.
- Urging the nation to promote mercy and justice.
- Speaking truth in love to power among our national leaders.
- Helping Presbyterians respond to God’s call to witness to that same faith in their congregations, communities, states, the nation and the world.
The new guiding principles, according to the document outlining the study on the Washington Office Web site, are based on analysis of previous research, critical comments on the office’s function and other consultations. Among the eight principles are calls for: complementing Presbyterians’ public witness; joining with the Washington Interfaith community; analysis and upgrade of communications strategies; integration with the Stated Clerk’s office; and integration with the denomination’s United Nations Office.
The principles also call for a staff director who is “esteemed within the PCUSA as a culturally sensitive person of theological integrity with a sophistication about public affairs and a commitment to full accountability to the perspectives of the General Assembly and to Presbyterians in congregations.”
The request for input from the Washington Office and the Mission Council does not list a deadline for taking the survey. The Mission Council’s next meeting is scheduled for Sept. 23-25 in Louisville, Ky.