wfn.org | Bills and Overtures Committee approves Docket for 209th G.A.

[PCUSA.NEWS@pcusa.org]

June 15, 1997 
 
GA97011          BILLS AND OVERTURES COMMITTEE APPROVES 
                  DOCKET FOR THE 209TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY 
 
SYRACUSE--Like air traffic controllers at O'Hare International Airport, the 
Assembly Committee on Bills and Overtures rolled up its collective sleeves 
to approve the docket and manage the information flow of the 209th General 
Assembly, which convened here June 14. 
 
    "My impression is it looks like this committee is going to be pretty 
orderly," said the Rev. Alex Horvath, a Bills and Overtures Committee 
member of Heartland Presbytery. "I was pretty impressed how it was 
organized. We went right to work, which I like, and the group looks like 
they're serious about their business." 
 
    The 31-member committee is chaired this year by the Rev. Robert Craig 
of National Capital Presbytery and Elder Meta Ukena of Hudson River 
Presbytery. 
 
    During the meeting, the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, stated clerk of the 
General Assembly, briefed the committee members on their responsibilities. 
The stated clerk refers all admissible items of business to the Bills and 
Overtures Committee, plus a report to the committee on all items of 
business not referred. The Bills and Overtures Committee then recommends to 
the General Assembly to which Assembly committee each item of business 
should be assigned. 
 
    Kirkpatrick said there are four kinds of business that come before the 
General Assembly: reports of entities, commissioners and committees of the 
General Assembly; overtures that have been previously approved by a 
presbytery or synod; communications directed to the General Assembly by its 
entities or by organizations that have no access to the Assembly by 
established procedures; and commissioner's resolutions that have been 
proposed by any two commissioners and delivered to the stated clerk in 
writing within 24 hours of the opening of the Assembly. 
 
    Typically, the General Assembly receives roughly 700 items of business 
on which it is asked to take action. There are various deadlines for 
submission of assorted kinds of business, but no later than 45 days before 
the convening of the Assembly, the stated clerk determines which items of 
business are admissible for the Assembly to consider. 
 
    "As far as I can tell, things are very much decent and in order," 
Kirkpatrick said 
 
    This year the items of business will be divided among 17 Assembly 
committees, comprised of commissioners and advisory delegates. Each 
commissioner and advisory delegate has been assigned to a committee by a 
random computer selection, except for the moderators and vice-moderators, 
who have been appointed by the moderator of the General Assembly. 
 
Julian Shipp 

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