wfn.org | GA Moves Quickly on Presbytery per Capita

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19-June-1998 
GA98119 
 
General Assembly Moves Quickly on Presbytery per Capita, Special Group 
Designations,  
                 and Future Assembly Arrangements 
 
                      by Allison Politinsky 
 
CHARLOTTE, N.C.--The General Assembly passed all the recommendations of the 
General Assembly Procedures (GAP) Committee Friday morning, June 19, 
including those to advise presbyteries of the "undue burden" they place on 
the church by not paying the per capita apportionment fees; to disapprove a 
measure to create two types of special group designations; and to determine 
where the General Assembly will meet in future years. 
   The Presbytery of Santa Fe had presented a proposal to the GAP earlier 
in the week to hold presbyteries accountable if they did not pay their per 
capita apportionment funds to the General Assembly. The penalties would 
include the advisement that "entities of the Assembly representing 
presbyteries that have not met their per capita apportionment, that as 
matters of Christian integrity and conscience, they should not participate 
in debate and discussion or vote on any matter affecting the expenditure of 
per capita funds." 
   The GAP decided against this portion of the overture and decided instead 
simply to "communicate with each presbytery failing to meet its 
apportionment the information that they place an unfair burden upon fellow 
Presbyterians and other presbyteries to make up the difference." The 
Committee's recommendation was passed. 
   Another proposal would have created two new categories of groups  in 
order to define their relationship with the General Assembly. The Special 
Committee on Relationships of Accountability Between the Presbyterian 
Church (U.S.A.) And Presbyterian Groups recommended the proposal to the GAP 
earlier in the week, that would have created Covenant Relationships and 
Corresponding Relationships. This would affect special groups created from 
grass roots efforts to promote specific issues within the church. Some 
members of the GAP prepared a minority report emphasizing the need to 
strengthen the ties with these special groups in a non-binding way.  The 
GAP majority report prevailed in the Assembly with the disapproval of all 
of the recommendations in the report of the Special Committee on 
Relationships of Accountability. 
   Finally, the location and dates for two General Assembly meetings were 
approved, in one case despite concern about conflicts with educational 
institutions. The Assembly will meet in Denver, Colo. from May 24-31, 2003. 
Those dates may conflict with public school dates and graduation dates at 
higher education institutions. The General Assembly would have had to spend 
an additional $100,000 to move the date due to increased hotel rates in 
Denver later in the summer. The Assembly went ahead and approved the Denver 
dates. In addition, the Assembly will meet in Richmond, Va. from June 
27-July 3, 2004. 

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