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

Note #8 from PCUSA NEWS to GA 212 REPORTS:

	This is Jerry Van Marter of the Presbyterian News Service with news from
the 212th General Assembly in Long Beach, California, for Monday, June 26.

	The day started today with the second annual General Assembly Breakfast. 
Keynote speaker Andrew Young told a crowd of nearly a thousand that the
churches are uniquely situated to meet the needs of a hurting world and that
the world is increasingly relying on people of faith as governments become
increasingly slow to respond to people in need.  Young is former U.N.
ambassador, Carter administration official, mayor of Atlanta and head of the
Atlanta Olympic Committee.  He is currently president of the National
Council of Churches and thanked the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) for its
longstanding support for the beleaguered ecumenical organization.

	The Assembly met in its 16 Assembly Committees all day today, going through
the 900 items of business that are before the Assembly.  While many of the
key issues were not decided today -- same-sex unions, police accountability,
nomination for stated clerk, gambling and declaring an "irreconcilable
impasse" -- the Assembly Committees made some important recommendations.

	The Church Orders and Ministry Committee voted down an overture from
Chicago Presbytery that would have created a fourth ordained office in the
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) -- that of Christian Educator.  But the
Committee also turned down the report of the Work Group on the Role and
Status of Christian Educator, recommending that it be sent back to the
General Assembly Council for more work.  The work group report proposed a
number of measures to give educators more rights and responsibilities in the
church, but the Assembly Committee wanted greater detail about ordination
options for educators.

	The National and Social Issues Committee approved a toned-down resolution
supporting efforts to remove the Confederate Flag from state capitol and
other government buildings in the South.  A far more strident overture from
Detroit Presbytery was turned back.

	The Church Polity Committee today recommended an overture from Twin Cities
Area Presbytery amending the "Book of Order" to clarify that persons are
welcomed into membership in the PC(USA) regardless of sexual orientation. 
The "Book of Order" provision applies only to membership, not to ordination,
and the committee added a clarifying comment that sexual orientation does
not include pedophilia, necrophilia, voyeurism, exhibitionism or bestiality.

	The Pensions and Benefits Committee signed off on a decision by the
church's Board of Pensions to grant an experience apportionment of 9 percent
for 2000.  That means retired and disabled pension plan participants will
receive a 9 percent increase in their pensions and active plan members will
receive a 9 percent increase in their pension credits, effective Aug. 1,
2000.

	The Physical and Spiritual Well Being Committee approved a report that
calls Presbyterians to a renewed observance of the sabbath.  The report
calls for the General Assembly to observe the sabbath by not conducting any
business on Sunday, a practice that was practiced until about 10 years ago.

	The 16th and newest Assembly Committee -- the Stated Clerk Nomination
Committee -- received information on the two candidates nominated for the
office this year.  The incumbent, the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, has been
nominated for a second term by the Stated Clerk Review and Nomination
Committee that has been meeting for the past year.  Today his candidacy was
publically endorsed by former moderators Douglas Oldenburg, Freda Gardner
and Marj Carpenter; the Rev. Bryant George, who has been active in the life
of the General Assembly for many years; and by the Rev. Brian Ellison, who
chaired the committee that nominated Kirkpatrick four years ago. 
Kirkpatrick is being challenged by the Rev. Winfield "Casey" Jones, a pastor
in Pearland, Texas, who was nominated from the floor Sunday.  Jones backers
in today's committee meeting were three women elders – Shirley Prey from Old
Greenwich, Connecticut; Anne Chappee a former member of Jones' congregation;
and Lynn Cinciripini, clerk of the Pearland Church session; and two pastors,
the Rev. Brad Long, executive director of Presbyterian Renewal Ministries
International; and the Rev. James Logan of Charlotte, North Carolina.

	The Assembly Committees meet again Tuesday.  The Assembly reconvenes in
plenary session Wednesday morning.

	This is Jerry Van Marter.  Thank you for calling VoiceLine.  For more news
from the 212th General Assembly, call VoiceLine Tuesday, June 27, after 7:00
p.m., Pacific Daylight Time.  Pray for peace.  Good bye.

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