wfn.org | Great Ends of Church Theme Set

[PCUSA.NEWS@pcusa.org]

18-June-1997 
GA97063 
 
                Great Ends of Church Theme Set 
 
                      by Marj Carpenter 
 
 
SYRACUSE--The Assembly Committee on the Office of the General Assembly 
unanimously adopted the recommendation to use the Great Ends of the Church 
as the theme for the General Assemblies for the next six years.  The only 
question was on the time element involved in stressing them. 
 
    The Committee on the Board of Pensions brought a recommendation to 
study them for only two years, instead of six.  One commissioner then 
suggested three years instead of six.  Then the committee  voted to stress 
one of the six great ends each year. 
 
    A recommendation to the church that the per capita remain at $4.66 and 
not be increased was approved and sent to the floor. 
 
    In other actions the committee, recommended re-electing C. Fred Jenkins 
and Eugene Turner as associate stated clerks and the election of Janet 
DeVries and Fred Heuser as associate stated clerks. The four were strongly 
endorsed by Clifton Kirkpatrick, stated clerk.  Kirkpatrick also presented 
a resolution of thanks to Juanita Granady for her service.  Granady is 
ineligible to be an associate stated clerk because she belongs to another 
denomination.  Kirkpatrick called her "the greatest ecumenical gift to the 
church" and pointed out that she will continue to serve the PC(U.S.A.) and 
is not retiring.  "I just wanted to commend her service," he said. 
 
    The committee routinely approved narrative reports of the moderator, 
the Committee on the Office of the General Assembly, the Office of the 
General Assembly, the General Assembly Committee on Representation, the 
General Assembly Nominating Committee; the Presbyterian Historical Society; 
the Advisory Committee on Litigation, and the Presbyteries' Cooperative 
Committee on the Examination for Candidates. 
 
    The committee approved moving regional historical documents from 
Philadelphia to Montreat to make them more accessible to that region.  A 
complicated overture from Hudson River Presbytery asking for major changes 
in Assembly procedures was referred to two committees for study.  Part of 
it went to the Special Committee on Presbyterian Groups and part of it to 
the Committee on the Office of General Assembly. 
 
    Lengthy discussion revolved around the overture requesting that reports 
that are not approved by the Assembly not be printed and sent out. 
 
    The committee refused a request form the Presbytery of Philadelphia to 
allow the presbytery to be scheduled out of sequence to host the General 
Assembly in a year that coincided with a special anniversary.   Request for 
additions to the statistical report to include a listing of Presbyterians 
involved in public education and resource persons for Men of the Church 
were both turned down. 
 
    An overture asking for more modern technology to be used in G.A. 
reports and a general overhaul of the report system was turned over to the 
Office of the General Assembly for implementation. An overture to require 
that Commissioners Resolutions involving constitutional changes be 
submitted 120 days in advance was scrapped after discussion. 

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