wfn.org | Assembly Adopts a Professional Code of Ethics

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19-June-1998 
GA98121 
 
          Assembly Adopts a Professional Code of Ethics 
 
                       by Jerry Van Marter 
CHARLOTTE--The 210th General Assembly has adopted a professional code of 
ethics for members, officers, employees and volunteers of the Presbyterian 
Church (U.S.A.). 
   The code of ethics, developed over the last three years by a special 
committee of the General Assembly, was commended to the Assembly June 19 by 
its Assembly Committee on Church Orders and Ministry and was approved by 
voice vote. 
   Anna Case Winters, a professor at McCormick Theological Seminary and a 
member of the special committee, explained the rationale for the code. 
"There is a desire for clarity about shared expectations of ethical 
behavior across the church," she said. 
   Noting that other professions have similar codes, Winters said, "We have 
the Bible and the confessions, but we need a bridge to the practical and 
concrete." 
   The code calls for Presbyterians involved in the church to be honest and 
open, "judicious in the exercise of power and privilege," and to refrain 
from exploitative relationships of any kind.  It calls for respecting 
privacy, cooperation and faithful stewardship of time, talent and money. 
   Winters said the special committee hopes the code of conduct "will 
foster a broader ethical conversation -- in seminaries, in Committees on 
Ministry and in church officer training." 

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