wfn.org | VoiceLine Report of the February 16 GAC Executive Committee Meeting

[PCUSA NEWS <pcusa.news@ecunet.org>]

17-February-2000 
00075 
 
    Text from VoiceLine Report of the February 16 
    General Assembly Council Executive Committee Meeting 
 
    by Evan Silverstein 
 
    This is Evan Silverstein in Louisville and this is VoiceLine. Actions 
from the General Assembly Council meeting Wednesday include good news for 
supporters of Sheldon Jackson College in Sitka, Alaska; two ministry 
divisions hear a report that could shape the role and status of educators 
in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.); Worldwide Ministries wants permission 
to be allowed to send money to assist churches in Iraq; and the  National 
Ministries Division bids farewell to one of its own. And now the news. 
 
    Officials from the Congregational Ministries and National Ministries 
divisions met jointly for an hour Wednesday to hear the final report of the 
Work Group on the Role and Status of Christian Educators in the 
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). The report was introduced by two members of a 
work group formed in 1996 to study issues related to the role and status of 
educators. The workgroup is recommending changes in the Book of Order that 
would allow educators to be ordained as Ministers of the Word and Sacrament 
with specialization in educational ministry. At the same time the report 
calls for changes that would strengthen the current certification process 
for those educators who do not feel called to the ministry of Word and 
Sacrament. The two committees will take a final vote on the report 
tomorrow, before it goes to the full GAC. 
 
    In other news, Mission Support Services received an upbeat report about 
the future of financially troubled Sheldon Jackson College. It appears 
school officials are now hopeful the four-year liberal arts college in 
Sitka, Alaska, will remain open past the current school year. 
A $490,000 loan in December from the General Assembly Council's Executive 
Committee was instrumental in allowing Sheldon Jackson to keep its doors 
open past the end of last year. Now, a revamped board of trustees,  a 
growth design firm, a task force for rallying community support, are all 
reasons for a more optimistic picture for Alaska's oldest college, 
according to Duncan Ferguson, coordinator for the denomination's office of 
higher education. Sheldon Jackson, which takes its name from a pioneering 
Presbyterian missionary, owns several hundred acres of land in and around 
Sitka. School officials anticipate that two land transactions will provide 
operating guarantees for the immediate future, Ferguson said. The school is 
also examining the possibility of a cooperative agreement with the city, in 
which Sheldon Jackson's recreation center, the Hames Physical Education 
Facility, would be open to the public, since the city does not currently 
have a gymnasium. The campus also recently received gifts and a federal 
grant for several upgrades and improvements. While things are looking 
better for Sheldon Jackson, the school is not yet in the clear. It is 
estimated that $6 million new dollars will be needed for Sheldon Jackson to 
operate over the next three years - $2 million of which Sheldon Jackson 
officials expect to raise themselves. That leaves an additional $4 million 
the school must identify to cover additional operating costs for changes in 
programing and services necessary for the long-term health of the 
institution, according to Ferguson. The school's board of trustees will 
decide the school's next step when it meets March 15-16. 
 
    Meanwhile,  The National Ministries Division (NMD) said goodbye to the 
Rev. Barbara Dua,  associate director for the denomination's Women's 
Ministries Program area. She will soon depart for a position as executive 
secretary of the New Mexico Council of Churches in Albuquerque, N.M. 
"Barbara has given unselfishly of her talents and resources," said the Rev. 
Curtis Kearns, the NMD director. "Her contributions to the division and the 
council will certainly be missed. We wish her Godspeed, and say a heartfelt 
'thanks' for the ministry she has provided." 
 
    Finally, getting permission to seek a license to send money to assist 
churches in Iraq is one of the avenues the Worldwide Ministries Division 
will explore tomorrow, in response to a request from the Middle East 
Council of Churches (MECC). "The MECC is concerned about the people of Iraq 
and the costs of their isolation," said the Rev. William Brown, associate 
director for ecumenical partnership. A license for Iraq is listed as the 
last resort in a resolution that asks the General Assembly to step up its 
protest of the continuing economic sanctions imposed by the United States 
in 1990 - because the result is widespread devastation of the people. The 
resolution asks that the GA "use all existing legitimate means" to send aid 
- getting the license if the use of existing channels is not possible. The 
denomination attempted to secure a license to send aid to Iraq from the 
U.S. Treasury Department five years ago, but the request was denied. 
Licenses have been secured to send aid to Cuba and to North Korea, despite 
embargos of those nations. 
 
    This has been VoiceLine. Thank you for calling. 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  This note sent by Office of News Services, 
  Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
  to the World Faith News list <wfn-news@wfn.org>.
  For additional information about this news story,
  call 502-569-5493 or send e-mail to PCUSA.News@pcusa.org

  On the web:  http://www.pcusa.org/pcnews/

  If you have a question about this mailing list, 
  send queries to wfn@wfn.org