Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Washington Office.
[12-23-08]

This week’s messages are:

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Send Christmas Prayers for Peace to Bethlehem

As Christians in the United States prepare to celebrate Christmas, we are being invited to pray for a just peace for Israelis and Palestinians and to send Christmas wishes and messages of peace and encouragement to the Christian community living in Bethlehem, the place of Christ's birth.

Since December 2000, a new Christmas tradition has been taking shape: sending peace messages to people in Bethlehem. Once again, individuals, communities, churches and congregations, organizations and partners from across the world are invited to e-mail Advent and Christmas wishes and prayers for justice and peace to Bethlehem.

Wishes and prayers will be printed and handed out as personal messages, educational materials (e.g. at schools), and in the context of interfaith prayers (in places of worship) and in the newly established peace house of the Arab Educational Institute in Bethlehem, affiliated with several church-related organizations.

Sending a wish or a prayer by e-mail is an important way of communicating with many people who long to hear a word of hope. People in Bethlehem greatly appreciate receiving wishes and prayers from people outside the region, both as personal and spiritual gestures of comfort and hope on the occasion of Christmas.

Please e-mail your Christmas messages and prayers for peace before the 25th of December 2008 (Western Christmas) and/or the 7th of January 2009 (Eastern Christmas). Messages can be e-mailed to the Arab Educational Institute at the following address: aei@p-ol.com

If you would like to read prayers for peace from around the world that AEI has already received, please click here >>

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Join the Call for Holy Land Peace

American Christian leaders and congregants of the Catholic, Evangelical, Orthodox and Protestant traditions are joining together to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and urge President-elect Obama to make Israeli-Palestinian peace an immediate priority of his Administration.

If you have not yet signed the Christian Call for Holy Land Peace, please click here, add your name today and join your fellow American Christians in supporting vigorous diplomatic efforts to secure a just and lasting two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians.

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General Assembly Policy

From the “Amman Call” endorsed by the 2008 General Assembly:

Amman challenges:

9. We have heard the voices of the Christian churches of Palestine and Israel challenging and saying to us:

9.1. Act with us to liberate all peoples of this land from the logic of hatred, mutual rejection and death, so that they see in the other the face and dignity of God.

9.2. Pray with us in our efforts to resist evil in all of its guises.

9.3. Raise your voices along with ours as we speak “truth to power” and name with courage the injustices we see and experience. The illegal occupation has stolen two generations of lives in this tortured place, and threatens the next with hopelessness and rage.

9.4. Risk the curses and abuse that will be aimed at you and stand in solidarity with us and with our Palestinian brothers and sisters of all faiths as we defiantly reject the possibility that occupation will continue.

9.5. Help us to tear down walls and build and rebuild bridges among all peoples in the region. Extremism on all sides produces chaos. It threatens to divide us and to destroy bridges among peoples that would lead to reconciliation and peace.

9.6. Add your hope to ours in the knowledge that evil and despair have been overcome through the death of our Lord on the Cross and through His Resurrection.

9.7. Insist with us that all dispossessed peoples, all refugees, have the right to return.

9.8. Partner with us as we seek peace and pursue it. Peace is possible. Christians and Muslims and Jews have, can and will understand one another and live together as neighbors.

10. And we representatives of Christian churches and church-related organizations from every corner of the earth, we respond:

11. Yes, we will. Together we will act and pray and speak and work and risk reputations and lives to build with you bridges for an enduring peace among the peoples of this tortured and beautiful place—Palestine and Israel—to end these decades of injustice, humiliation and insecurity, to end the decades of living as refugees and under occupation. We will work with you to seek peace and pursue it. We have allowed too much time to pass. Time has not served the cause of peace but has served the cause of extremism. This is our urgent cause that cannot wait.

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Luke 2:1-14 – The Manger: the Sign of Promise

1 In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 All went to their own towns to be registered. 4 Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. 5 He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

8 In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for see-I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: 11 to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger." 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, 14 "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!"

Washington Report to Presbyterians
September-October Issue

[10-24-08]

There’s very good stuff in this issue: 

Fair trade policy, and specifically the proposed Colombia Free Trade agreement which will probably come to Congress early next year, is the focus of a very good summer by Catherine Gordon. She begins:

Douglas Meeks, Professor of theology at Vanderbilt University, has written a paper, “The Economy of Grace and the Market Logic,” in which he discusses the ancient sense of what the word “economy” means. He states, 

“Economy” is found throughout the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) and the New Testament and the phrase oikonomia tou theou (the economy of God) is central and decisive for the biblical speech about God. Economy in its ancient sense is about access to what it takes to live and live abundantly. Up to the seventeenth century, to pursue economy meant to pursue the question, “Will everyone in the household get what it takes to live? Will everyone survive (sur-vivre = live through) the day and, where possible, flourish?” As the arrangement that makes it possible for the household or community to live, economy was bound to community. In fact, it was clear that economy existed to serve community. Economy in the broadest sense meant the relations of human beings for the producing of the conditions of life against death.

Gordon points out that one way we can respond is by pressing for “fair trade” rather than “free trade.” 

Alternatives to current trade rules can make a difference. “Fair trade” rather than “free trade” can help eradicate poverty and make the world a better place. Fair trade can allow small farmers to survive and compete in a just trading system. Fair trade rules can also support fair wages, workers rights, women’s rights, indigenous peoples, and environmentally sound practices. One way trade can be fair is by promoting food sovereignty – the right of a country to determine its production and consumption of food, and to exempt agriculture from global trade regimes such as the World Trade Organization and other free trade agreements.

The Moral Crisis in the United States

Leslie G. Woods offers ethical reflections on the current economic crisis. She begins:

What has brought us to this point in our history? People are suffering -- not only those whose investments are endangered in the market but people who have lost their homes (or are at risk), those who have lost their jobs, those who have lost their ability to meet their financial obligations and those who are unable to conduct their normal business. No doubt, greed was one of many factors that drove us to this point; but the reality of growing inequality in the US is too pressing to take time to play the blame game.

As Mary Ellen McNish, General Secretary of the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker group, noted when commenting on the current crisis, “The turmoil on Wall Street is not just a financial challenge but a moral one.” She notes that the gap between rich and poor is widening and that inequality is at its highest level since the Great Depression. Statistics on the economy speak for themselves. This year, the US has lost 760,000 jobs (as of October 3), food banks and homeless shelters are so overwhelmed that they are turning people away, millions of households face winter without heat as government programs are starved for funding, and more than a million families have already lost homes to foreclosure in the last two years.

In thinking about how to address these serious and growing gaps in well-being and financial security in the US, we must be guided by the principles that have always led the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in discerning just economic policy. For nearly a century, the Church has identified human worth, the common good and equity as guiding principles for economic life. ...

More >>

Mary Anderson Cooper provides a Biblical framework for thinking about environmental issues today, including climate change, species extinction, pollution and our dependence on automobiles. She concludes:

 Change is both possible and essential; but plants, animals, air, water, and vulnerable humans are subject to the behavior of powerful people, institutions, corporations, and governments. It is they who must commit to the protection of the creation if it is to survive in a way that allows all to flourish and rejoice in the abundance around us. We must compel them to make that commitment.

More >>

INTRODUCING PRESBYTERIAN LEGISLATORS
REPRESENTATIVE LYNN WOOLSEY (D-CA)

Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), the first former welfare mother to serve in Congress, is in her eighth term as the Representative from California’s 6th District, just north of San Francisco. Her district includes all of Marin, and most of Sonoma County.   More >>

ECUMENICAL ADVOCACY DAYS – “Enough for All Creation” – March 13-16, 2009

Registration for Ecumenical Advocacy Days is now available online at www.advocacydays.org.

WITNESS IN WASHINGTON WEEKLY
for September 8, 2008
[posted here 9-9-08]

Congress returns from recess this week with a short timetable and a long list of things to do before adjourning again on September 26.

This week’s message deals with the following topics, of which we’re giving just excerpts here.

[For the full WITNESS IN WASHINGTON WEEKLY issue for September 8, 2008, including General Assembly guidance on each issue, please download the issue (in PDF format).]

Help Iraqi Refugees: Support Bipartisan Effort to Address Their Needs

The United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that there are between 2 and 2.5 million Iraqi refugees and 2.2 million Iraqis who are internally displaced within Iraq. Most of the refugees have fled to neighboring countries with approximately 1.5 million in Syria, 700,000 in Jordan, 50,000 in Lebanon, and 150,000 in Egypt. This mass influx of traumatized people only serves to further destabilize a region already coping with serious political issues.

These same countries have been serving as hosts to the Palestinian refugees for 60 years, many of whom still live in refugee camps in their countries. It is estimated that the refugees and their direct descendants now total 4.25 million. ...

As with most refugees from violent conflicts, the displaced Iraqis have been traumatized. Many of the refugees have health issues and are suffering from depression and anxiety. ... Other problems facing the refugees include lack of access to education for the children, lack of legal employment (none of the host countries except Lebanon permit them to work), few financial resources, and the lack of legal status in the host country.

The United States Government, under previous legislation has allowed for up to 12,000 visas to be issued by this September. To date only 4,700 have actually been processed. In July of this year, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) urged the U.S. government to do everything possible to speed up the process of resettlement for the Iraqi refugees and to give assistance to the region to resolve the crisis.

Congressman Alcee Hastings is leading a bipartisan effort to address the needs of Iraqi refugees in a comprehensive fashion. His bill, H.R. 6496, is the best effort to date. There is not much time left in this session of Congress, but we are working to make sure that this urgently needed bill gets passed. Please write your representative and urge him or her to sign on as a cosponsor of H.R. 6496.

 Click here to send a message to your member of Congress urging him or her to cosponsor this bill.

Congress Should Enact Mental Health Parity Before Adjourning

Passage of the balanced and bipartisan mental health and addiction parity legislation would represent the fruition of many years of work by members of Congress, advocates, religious groups, employer organizations and health plans to build on the Mental Health Parity Act of 1996. Mental health parity legislation requires that mental health care be covered at the same rate by insurance companies as general health care. Now, Congress has the chance to reach the goal of enacting this consensus legislation, before a new administration and a new Congress take office, and broader health policy issues begin demanding policymakers’ time and attention.

Click here to send a message to your members in support of action on mental health parity by the 110th Congress. 

Or call them on Wednesday, September 10, using the toll-free Parity Hotline: 1-866-parity4 (1-866-727-4894).

Message: “I’m calling to ask that the Senator/Representative urge the congressional leadership to pass mental health and addiction parity legislation this month before Congress adjourns.”

Call in for National Kickoff Call: Fight Poverty with Faith Week of Action

People of diverse faiths in almost 100 communities in 36 states are challenging candidates and elected officials to address the issue of poverty in the United States during “A Week of Action” September 9 – 16, 2008. This call to action is to bring attention to the needs of the nation’s poor and urge candidates for elected office to outline what they would do in their first 100 days in office to develop comprehensive plans for reducing poverty and creating economic opportunity in the United States.

A national kickoff conference call and a closing prayer vigil on the steps of the United States Capitol bookend the week. Other activities include: grassroots writing and calling campaigns, forums to discuss these issues with local and national civic and political leadership. Groups will also engage in interfaith community service to aid those in need in their communities, and highlight the need for increased leadership from elected officials on these issues.

KEY NATIONAL EVENTS

National Conference Call, Sept. 9, 1:00 pm EDT

Call in toll-free from within the U.S. and Canada: 888-668-8585 (The toll number for international callers: 201-604-0409); Participant Access Code: 7905123#

Speakers:

* Congressman John Lewis of Georgia
* Rabbi Steve Gutow, Executive Director, The Jewish Council for Public Affairs
* Rev. Clarence Williams, C.P.P.S., Senior Director for Racial Equality and Diversity, Catholic Charities USA
* Dr. Jared Bernstein, Director of the Living Standards Program, Economic Policy Institute

 Prayer Vigil on Capitol Hill, Sept. 16, 10:00 am EDT, Steps of U.S. Capitol

 Contact Information:

To contact your candidates or find those running for office in your home state or district, visit http://pcusa.capwiz.com/election/home/. You can send emails to the major presidential candidates from this page, or visit their web pages to learn more about them.

Washington Office Mission Study Announced

          Click here for the full story, and here for Witherspoon Society comments.

Isaiah 1:16-17 – Make Yourselves Clean

Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;
remove the evil of your doings
from before my eyes;
cease to do evil,
learn to do good;
seek justice,
rescue the oppressed,
defend the orphan,
plead for the widow.

To download the full WITNESS IN WASHINGTON WEEKLY issue for September 8, 2008, click here.

To support the work of the Washington Office, send a contribution to:

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Individual Remittance Processing
P.O. Box 643700
Pittsburgh, PA 15264-3700.

Designate the Washington Office, ECO # 865714.

by Gene TeSelle, Witherspoon Society Issues Analyst
[9-6-08, updated on 9-7-08, particularly with the addition of the fifth paragraph.]

Click here for a variety of comments on this essay >>

We note that a "mission study" to review the scope and function of the PC(USA)'s Washington Office has begun. Presumably this is part of the review of all General Assembly committees, directed by the recent GA. But it has also been noted that this is a time of transition for the Washington Office, since the Rev. Elenora Giddings Ivory, director for 18 years, resigned more than a year ago to take a position with the World Council of Churches. It has been a significant year in which to face a major vacancy, though we recognize that posts in the Hunger Office and Presbyterian Disaster Assistance have also been long vacant.

According to the press release by the Presbyterian News Service (September 2, 2008), the study will include a review of the "historic mandate" of the Washington Office and the gathering of information from individuals and organizations across the church.

Such a procedure seems at first glance to be innocuous, a routine feature of any review. But the Washington Office has been the perpetual target of attacks from Presbyterian conservatives, alleging that it does not speak for the whole church.

We are not reassured by the statement of the Rev. Tom Taylor, GAC Deputy Executive Director for Mission, that "the whole church must be served by the Washington Office" and that a study of this scope will "allow the divergent opinions and views of our public witness to help shape the future of this vital ministry." A statement like this seems to echo the constant complaint heard from the Presbyterian Right that their views have not been adequately represented in the statements of the Washington Office. We hope that is merely an "I hear you" from a non-directive counselor, not a declaration that the GAC or its staff has adopted a new policy pandering to the Presbyterian Right.

We know from their public statements that many on the Right think the church has been misled and is headed in the wrong direction. We can be sure that the staff in Louisville, and the elected members of the GAC, are constantly hearing from them. And they get results. Budget cuts, layoffs, and firings in recent years have clearly diminished the public witness of the church. In a letter to PresbyWeb (August 22, 2008), Clark Cowden, Executive Presbyter of San Diego Presbytery, says that "there have never been more evangelicals on the GAC staff than there are today," commenting that the culture has changed "in only the last two years." He goes on to say, "I know for a fact that many GAC staff disagreed with the actions of GA and were not happy with them."

If any changes were to be made in the Office's mandate, they should come from the General Assembly, not the GAC or its staff.
 

It might help to be clear on the task assigned to the Washington Office, which is simply and only to represent in the halls of the federal government the social policies that have been adopted by past General Assemblies of the Presbyterian Church. Obviously not all Presbyterians agree with all of those policies, but the Washington Office represents the official voice of the church as a whole. The policies adopted by our General Assemblies are normally shaped through lengthy processes of study involving members from across the church, along with experts in the particular field involved. Once a policy has been drafted, debated, and finally adopted by an Assembly, those who hold differing views still have many other avenues through which they can speak to legislators and others. It's important to remember, too, that our Washington Office is just one among many agencies representing faith perspectives on current social issues in Washington; our office works in close collaboration with many of the others, to ensure that faith perspective is heard in the halls of power.

What is the mission of the Washington Office?

The Washington Office was founded in 1936, reflecting Reformed convictions about the relevance of Christian concerns to social issues of all sorts. Prior to that, the church witnessed to lawmakers through the offices of Church and Labor, then Social Education and Action. Going farther back, let's remember that John Witherspoon was the only clergyperson who signed the Declaration of Independence, and he was convinced that a lack of vigilance about public issues would only lead to erosion of religious freedom as well.

It has been pointed out frequently that the Washington Office makes statements only in accord with positions taken by the General Assembly, indeed, very often at the direction of the General Assembly, which tells its agencies to communicate with the President, the Congress, or other governmental bodies.

What is not so well known is that the Washington Office does not make statements about matters that the General Assembly has not addressed. For example, it has not advocated the "morning-after" pill (RU-235), an anti-implantation drug, because the GA has not acted. "Asset-building" has been advocated for at least a decade as a way of climbing out of poverty, but this has not yet been mentioned in GA policy statements. GA statements about minimum wage policy date from 1996 and do not consider some more recent strategies.

But don't Presbyterians disagree about public policy issues?

It should not surprise anyone that there are Presbyterians who disagree with many statements made by the General Assembly and the Washington Office. Ours is a diverse church, with members and leaders from all regions and all walks of life, with varying kinds of self-interest and varying perspectives on public issues.

This diversity was evident during the recent General Assembly in San Jose, both in Committee 9 on Social Justice Issues and in the plenary session.

o A draft statement on gun violence received many objections from an elder from New Mexico. They were answered by a hunter and gun-owner who called gun violence "the major spiritual issue" in our country.

o Many commissioners probably came to the Assembly with the assumption that local police should help enforce national immigration laws. But ministers and elders with on-the-ground experience pointed out that such policies cause immigrants to hesitate to call the police about street crime or domestic violence. They also noted the family disruptions caused by the much-publicized slaughter-house raid in Postville, Iowa.

o Many commissioners may have felt skeptical about a draft report on global warming, or apprehensive about dealing with such a "controversial" issue. They were reassured when a chemical engineer said he had printed out the whole report, researched it, and found that he agreed with everything in it.

o Commissioners from Iowa, in committee and on the floor, voiced their concern about a call to reduce meat consumption because of its consequences for global warming. But the Assembly did not remove this from the statement, which was approved overwhelmingly.

How is social witness policy formed?

Social witness policy in the PC(USA) is not based upon polling, even though the Presbyterian Panel does survey the attitudes of members, elders, and ministers. Neither is it based upon a referendum of the presbyteries, even though they are often asked to participate in the shaping of policy. Positions are taken by the General Assembly after study committees, with varied membership, have explored an issue over a period of several years, calling upon expert advice. When it makes a statement, this is not just the result of processes "from the top down"; as the examples just given indicate, voices that come "from the bottom up" can be just as important.

When the General Assembly speaks, it is exercising responsibility in behalf of a Christian church with nationwide membership -- and with worldwide concerns, of which it is visibly reminded by the presence of Ecumenical Advisory Delegates from other churches around the world. The positions it takes may be surprising, even to those who have participated in the process; and even those who have adopted them may not feel comfortable with everything in a given statement. But the Bible is full of people who felt uncomfortable about what they were called to do, not only before but after they responded.

The statements made by the General Assembly do not represent a "consensus" of the church. But they do constitute "common ground" on which we can stand as Presbyterians. One characteristic of common ground is that it is a place where we can continue to disagree and struggle with each other, and perhaps even struggle with God (and that, too, has often been done).

When we look at the Presbyterian Social Witness Policy Compilation, more than 400 pages long, we see how many issues the Presbyterian Church has addressed -- and how consistent its positions have been over a span of many decades, including the Fifties, when the Presbyterian Church was called "the Republican Party at prayer." A summary of this kind is helpful in giving us orientation when new issues come up, or old ones come up in new ways. In most cases we will find that we want to keep moving in the same direction. But if there is a need for "course corrections," small or large, that becomes all the more evident when we look at policies and criteria that have been stated explicitly.

The 2008 General Assembly has adopted a New Social Creed for the 21st Century, commemorating the original "social creed" approved in 1908 at the founding meeting of the National Council of Churches. This is a vivid reminder of the continuing witness of the mainline churches in championing justice in the workplace and the general economy -- an issue that is all the more urgent with globalization and its many opportunities for exploitation of workers, including new forms of human trafficking.

What about those who disagree?

What Presbyterian conservatives seem to find especially galling is that the Washington Office communicates directly with Congress and the administration in behalf of the PC(USA). "It doesn't speak for me!" is a commonly expressed attitude.

The General Assembly does not speak "for" everyone in the church. Sessions, presbyteries, and synods can always speak for themselves. But it does speak "to" the church about issues of national and international importance. And its policy statements are binding upon agencies of the General Assembly. That is why the Washington Office makes its statements.

Presbyterian conservatives most often disagree with the positions taken by the General Assembly on issues like reproductive choice and same-sex marriage. They have made their positions known at each General Assembly, and they have channels through which to communicate with office-holders in Washington.

The organization that has made the most noise about the Washington Office through the years is the Institute on Religion and Democracy, a conservative think-tank founded in 1981 to attack the "leftist" National and World Councils of Churches and to defend the Reagan administration's efforts to destroy "Communism" (very broadly defined!) in Central America by whatever means were deemed necessary, including torture and terrorism. Alan Wisdom of the IRD staff, and Jim Berkley of Presbyterian Action, an IRD affiliate, have consistently attended the General Assembly and raised questions about the social witness statements that are proposed and usually adopted. While claiming to be evangelical in orientation, the positions of the IRD are more accurately called conservative (e.g., denying global warming) or neo-conservative (e.g., supporting wars in the Middle East and continued Israeli occupation of Palestinian land).

Presbyterians whose positions are more like those of the IRD are not voiceless victims. This well-funded organization has its own channels to Congress and the administration, and there are many Presbyterian senators and representatives whose positions are closer to those of the IRD than to those of the General Assembly. Understandably it would like to have the added legitimation that the General Assembly could give to its positions.

Other voices

There are other voices, too, that are increasingly heard in Washington.

o All the mainline churches have an official presence in Washington.

o The National Council of Churches is a significant voice, especially on environmental issues.

o A vigorous role is now being played by Jim Wallis of the Sojourners Community, and when he speaks in towns all across the country he draws sizable crowds. In many respects Wallis occupies space usually associated with the mainline churches, and his positions tend to have more vocal support in mainline than traditionally evangelical circles.

o The Society of Friends, the Mennonite Central Committee, and other "traditional peace churches" maintain a significant witness in the nation's capital.

o The Washington Office is itself a member of a number of groupings devoted to social justice, such as the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights and the Washington Office on Latin America, and has supported initiatives by organizations such as the Children's Defense Fund.

o And finally we should remember that both major political parties have paid Christian consultants in Washington, advising them about the attitudes of religious people and their likely responses to policy proposals.

Thus not everything depends upon the Washington Office. But it is a noble part of our Presbyterian heritage, and the PC(USA) belongs there, offering perspectives and raising points that many lobbying organizations, focused on narrow self-interest, are not likely to raise.

Yesterday we posted a report from the Presbyterian News Service on the steps being taken for a new review of the work of the Presbyterian Church’s Washington Office. Later in the day we added an essay by Witherspoon’s Issues Analyst, Gene TeSelle, offering some clarification of the mission and work of that office, and of the objections to its work from some people on the conservation side of the PC(USA).

Now we are adding a bit more to TeSelle’s essay, as he has thought further on the subject.

And we’re happy to add also two helpful comments, below, which came within hours after our posting yesterday, both of which support and add to his expressions of concern about the study.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

September 6, 2008
 

As one who wrote a doctoral dissertation on the Presbyterian Church in American Public Affairs, and has spent a lifetime as an elder associated with social concerns, I am profoundly troubled by the words TeSelle quoted, about the mission of the Washington Office and of the committee asked to review that mission. TeSelle is absolutely right: the Washington Office's mission has been, and must continue to be, the presentation to public officials of General Assembly positions on specific issues. In so doing, it should normally quote from those positions, and should be free to make faithful application of them on particular issues. But it would be a gross deviation from responsible church polity to require the Washington Office to report minority views on any issue, or to be silent on any issue on which the General Assembly has spoken, under pressure from a minority within the denomination.

How can we communicate this position to our church's leaders? How can we speak Truth to Power within our own fellowship???

— Gordon Shull (M.Div, Yale; PhD in Political Science; retired prof of international relations from the College of Wooster. I would welcome responses to this . . . gbshull@sssnet.com )

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Doug, here's my comment:

Thanks to Gene for providing this thoughtful summary of the history and function of the Washington Office, as well as an analysis of some of the political pressures that have been exerted in recent years.

The close relationship between the policies approved by the General Assembly and their implementation by the Washington Office needs to be maintained. For years the Office, in its statements that are available to the whole church, through, for instance, "The Washington Report to Presbyterians," has made clear the GA policy base upon which positions are adopted in relation to legislation. While the implementation of GA policy in relation to specific legislation may always require some interpretation, unless the GA has spoken directly to specific legislation, the Office has maintained a steady witness for the values that General Assemblies affirm.

If there is a move to have the Office reflect views that have not received GA support, regardless of whether those views are "conservative" or "liberal," then we're in trouble.

Len Bjorkman (HR, Owego, NY)
LenandJudy@stny.rr.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

September 8, 2008

Gene TeSelle does not quite get it right when he says about many of us: "Presbyterian conservatives most often disagree with the positions taken by the General Assembly on issues like reproductive choice and same-sex marriage." 

We do not disagree about "reproductive choice," Dr. TeSelle, we disagree over abortion, the snuffing out of the life of the unborn. 

Rev. Walter L. Taylor, Pastor
Oak Island Presbyterian Church
Oak Island, NC  
oipc2@bellsouth.net

~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm with Solomon С let's take a sword and divide it down the middle.

Noel Anderson, Executive Pastor
First Presbyterian Church
Bakersfield, CA

~~~~~~~~~~~~

September 9, 2008

"not a declaration that the GAC or its staff has adopted a new policy pandering to the Presbyterian Right" The GA and the Washington office have "pandered to the left" long enough and often enough. Turn about is fair play, wouldn't you say? You probably wouldn't. 

One other phrase in this article bears scrutiny. "Reproductive rights" I suppose you mean by this the "right" legislated from the bench that a woman is entitled to sacrifice her unborn child on the altar of convenience. In the vast majority of cases, when a woman discovers that she is pregnant, you most often hear her say, I'm having a baby, or I'm carrying a child, NOT "Oh NO! I'm incubating a fetus." Regardless of how inconvenient it is, an unborn baby is a human being, and to intentionally abort it destroys a human life, a life sacred to God, that God is knitting together in that mother's womb. Of course, I suppose you don't believe in that either. You are so concerned with "rights," seems to me like you should care more for the right to life of the unborn, the most helpless person in the case of an unwanted/unplanned pregnancy. 

And in answer to Mr. Shull's comment, the Washington office HAS FOR A LONG TIME been the voice of a VERY SMALL minority of the Presbyterian Church USA. It is time, as Tom Taylor said, for the work of that office to reflect the view of the majority of the church. 

Rev. Charles McFarlin, pastor of Spring Hill Presbyterian Church in Staunton, VA.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

PresbyWeb has posted a fairly lengthy and critical rejection of TeSelle's view of the review, by Whitman H. Brisky, Clerk of Session of First Presbyterian Church, Evanston, Illinois

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eileen Lindner to serve as study consultant

by Presbyterian News Service
[posted here 9-6-08]

LOUISVILLE — September 1, 2008 — A wide ranging mission study designed to enable the larger church to review the scope and function of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Washington Office was announced today by the Rev. Tom Taylor, General Assembly Council deputy executive director for mission.

The mission study comes at a time of transition for the Washington Office, following the 18-year tenure of the Rev. Elenora Giddings Ivory as director. “As with a local congregation following a long pastorate,” Taylor said, “the mission and ministry of this important office can be strengthened by a process of reflection and reorientation to current needs and priorities.

“The whole church must be served by the Washington Office,” Taylor said, “and only a mission study of this scope will allow the divergent opinions and views of our public witness to help shape the future of this vital ministry.”

Ivory resigned as director in 2007 to take a leadership position at the World Council of Churches in Geneva, Switzerland. “Our first concern,” said Sara Lisherness, director of Compassion, Peace and Justice Ministry for the GAC, “was to maintain the on-going work of the Washington Office in preparation for the recently concluded 218th General Assembly. Now we can take some time to reflect on the best hopes for and understanding of the Washington Office from across the church in anticipation of calling a new staff director.”

The mission study will include a review of the historic mandate of the Washington Office, as well as the gathering of information from individuals and organizations across the life of the church. Perspectives will be gathered through surveys, interviews, and discussion with a variety of Presbyterian and ecumenical sources.

A small group of advisors to the mission study will be identified to assist in discerning the present and future needs related to the work of the Washington Office.

Taylor announced that the Rev. Eileen W. Lindner, connectional presbyter of Palisades Presbytery in New Jersey and a nationally recognized ecumenist and social scientist, will serve as a consultant to the mission study. Lindner has served as deputy general secretary of the National Council of Churches of Christ, and as editor of the prestigious Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches.

“We are fortunate to have someone with Eileen Lindner’s ability to reach out to many sectors within the church,” said Lisherness, “so that together we can discern an appropriate and faithful Reformed witness in our nation’s capitol.”

“At this moment in our nation’s history,” said Lindner, “the voice of the church should be present in the public square. The challenge before us is to find a way to bring our Presbyterian witness to bear in ways that advance the church’s mission and serve the common good. I look forward to this important and timely task.”

Presbyterians have had an official presence in the nation’s capital, through a Washington Office, since 1936, reflecting Reformed convictions regarding the interaction between church and society. Linda Valentine, GAC executive director said, “I am confident that this mission study will help us draw up that heritage in shaping our presence and practice in Washington for the 21st century.”

The mission study will begin immediately and is scheduled to conclude early in 2009.

Information for this report furnished by Barry Creech, coordinator of executive office communications.

WITNESS IN WASHINGTON WEEKLY

The Washington Office of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
March 31, 2008

This week’s messages are —

Federal Budget Needs a Boost

In the U.S. Constitution, this country commits itself to the general welfare. One-hundred-fifty years after the Constitutional Convention enshrined this priority, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared in his Second Inaugural Address, “The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much it is whether we provide enough for those who have little.” The Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 federal budget should be measured by this same test.

Congress must pass a Budget Resolution, a blueprint for Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 spending priorities, by April 15. Both the House and the Senate have passed their own versions of the Budget Resolution, and now they must be reconciled quickly in order to meet the deadline. Both chambers voted to provide modest increases over the President’s budget proposal, which would have cut or eliminated several programs that serve low- and moderate- income workers and their families, but neither the Senate nor House Budget Resolution answers the growing unmet needs of vulnerable populations. The gap is most evident in the domestic discretionary spending level.

The Coalition on Human Needs has been tracking over 100 direct service programs, including health, child welfare, Head Start and child care, nutrition, housing, job training, and education. Since FY 2005 (October 2004-September 2005), only eleven programs grew beyond the rate of inflation, another three stayed even with current costs, and all the others were cut. Among the impacts of these cuts:

The fiscal year 2009 Budget Resolution is a real opportunity for Congress to make important steps toward restoring service levels and expanding services to reach more need.

Click http://capwiz.com/pcusa/dbq/officials/  to send a message to your members of Congress – strongly urge that the final Budget Resolution include the highest possible domestic discretionary funding.

General Assembly Guidance:

The 207th General Assembly (1995) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) called on Congress “to defeat any proposals that base budget or deficit reductions primarily on the services provided to children, families, the needy, and the homeless” and urged strengthening of federal commitments to these groups. The Assembly also called on Congress “to insist on a government that follows ethical values of justice for the poor, welfare for children, hospitality to the stranger, and assistance to the disadvantaged.” (Minutes, p. 718)

REGISTER NOW

Calming the Storm: Middle East Peacemaking in a Turbulent Time

Churches for Middle East Peace Annual Conference
April 20-22

www.cmep.org

At the CMEP conference, Church leaders, issue analysts and policy experts will provide important insights and updates, which prepare conference participants to meet with elected officials. Churches for Middle East Peace, a coalition of 22 U.S. churches and church-related organizations, is positioned to guide church members and clergy in effective advocacy grounded in the principles of our faith. CMEP will help arrange your meetings with your Representative and Senators.

For more information on the conference, registration, and housing go to www.cmep.org

The 214th General Assembly (2002) urged Presbyterians to “pray that all the people in [the Middle East] who live under the tyranny of fear, suspicion, hatred, or despair, may find a just and lasting peace” and to become better informed about the issues. The Assembly called Presbyterians, “especially those in leadership positions, to rise to a higher level of advocacy for a just peace, through organizing ecumenically in congressional districts and statewide by participation in ecumenical efforts,” and made note of Churches for Middle East Peace as one resource toward this end.

Isaiah 32: 1-8 – Hope for Government with Justice

See, a king will reign in righteousness,
   and princes will rule with justice.
Each will be like a hiding-place from the wind,
   a covert from the tempest,
like streams of water in a dry place,
   like the shade of a great rock in a weary land.
Then the eyes of those who have sight will not be closed,
   and the ears of those who have hearing will listen.
The minds of the rash will have good judgment,
   and the tongues of stammerers will speak readily and distinctly.
A fool will no longer be called noble,
   nor a villain be said to be honorable.
For fools speak folly,
   and their minds plot iniquity:
to practice ungodliness,
   to utter error concerning the Lord,
to leave the craving of the hungry unsatisfied,
   and to deprive the thirsty of drink.
The villainies of villains are evil;
   they devise wicked devices
to ruin the poor with lying words,
   even when the plea of the needy is right.
But those who are noble plan noble things,
   and by noble things they stand.

Published by the Witness in Washington Weekly advocacy program of the Washington Office, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), 100 Maryland Avenue, NE Washington D.C. 20002

(202) 543-1126
www.pcusa.org/washington

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