wfn.org | Assembly asks for a stronger report on Native American outreach

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Note #6051 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

28-June-2000
GA00103

	Assembly asks for a stronger report on Native American outreach

	Refers proposed changes in church financial campaign funding to next year

	by Alexa Smith

LONG BEACH, June 28 – Decisions to strengthen ways to reach Native Americans
and develop sensitizing strategies to reach racial ethnic groups across the
board went through the Assembly Wednesday afternoon without a hitch, while a
recommendation to alter funding patterns for church financial campaigns was
referred to the General Assembly Council for more study.

	While the Assembly endorsed the idea of a "Comprehensive Strategy for
Ministry with Native Americans," it put the task force that has been working
on it since 1996 back to work at the request of the Assembly Committee on
Evangelism and Church Development asking for more "specific, measurable"
recommendations in two years' time.

	"We were energized and challenged by the report written for this vital area
of concern and potential growth in our church," committee moderator the Rev.
W. James Gerling of Geneva Presbytery told commissioners.  "The committee
struggled for a long time to bring specificity ... and came to believe that
the place to do that was back in the task force. "Thus, we're asking for an
extension of its work."

	Chaired by Native American June Lorenzo of Falls Church, Va., the task
force was appointed by Moderator Marj Carpenter and has nine members.

	The Assembly's actions include calling upon the "whole church" to form
better ties with Native American churches and ministry projects and between
Native American churches and the middle governing bodies who relate to them.
 It instructed the denomination's Research Services to develop statistics on
Native American Presbyterians by 2002 and continued the work of the task
force for two more years.

	In other business, the Assembly told the Evangelism and Church Development
and Racial Ethnic Ministries staffs to develop culturally sensitizing
seminars and strategies for presbytery, synod and General Assembly leaders
to enable church development in a variety of cultures.

	It also referred a plan to alter the funding patterns of the Church
Financial Campaign Service back to the General Assembly Council.  The
council will make a recommendation at the 213th General Assembly in
Louisville, Ky.  The committee amended Overture 00-84 from the Presbytery of
Blackhawk, asking the Assembly to approve that the Church Financial Campaign
Service give one campaign at half-price to each new church development or
redevelopment site of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

	The other costs, it proposed, could be picked up the campaign service and
either the presbytery or synod.

	Commissioner Edwin Martin, a minister in the Twin Cities Area, told the
Assembly that "free gifts" at the front end of a financial campaign are not
a good idea and asked for more study.  Further, the Rev. Tom Johnston,
executive for the Synod of the Trinity, said there had been no consultations
with synods or presbyteries before the proposal came to the floor and asked
for time to do that.

	The Assembly backed Overture 00-88 from the Presbytery of San Jose in an
amended form, re-affirming the denomination's commitment to social justice
when establishing new church developments.

	The Assembly took a moment to applaud the winners of the Walton Awards,
given annually for "outstanding new church developments."  The $45,000
awards went to: the Iglesias Presbiteriana Canto de Esperanza in Chicago
Presbytery; Riverside Presbyterian Mission Church, National Capital
Presbytery; Grace Presbyterian Church, Mission Presbytery; Kwanzaa Community
Fellowship, Twin Cities Area Presbytery; New Harvest Presbyterian Church,
New Harmony Presbytery; and Providence Presbyterian Church, Foothills
Presbytery.

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