wfn.org | Women's panel seeks GA feedback

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

Note #7199 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

07-June-2002
02215

Women's panel seeks GA feedback

Invites comment on sex-misconduct policy, women in ministry

by Alexa Smith

LOUISVILLE - Presbyterians attending next week's 214th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) are being invited to provide information on the effectiveness of the denomination's sexual-misconduct policy and on the treatment of women in parish ministry.

The consultations, to be conducted by the Advisory Committee on Women's Concerns (ACWC), are scheduled for June 19 in room D244-45 of the convention center. The treatment of female clergy will be the topic from 9 a.m. to 11; comment on the sexual-misconduct policy will be invited from 11 to noon.

The Department of Constitutional Services of the Office of the General Assembly and the Legal Services/Risk Management office of the General Assembly Council, will also use information gathered on the sexual misconduct policy, according to the Rev. Joanne Sizoo, of Cincinnati, OH, the ACWC moderator.

"This is not a formal study," Sizoo said. "We're just looking at what the emerging issues are. The ACWC is looking at what formal studies have been done, and is asking what hasn't been asked yet."

Sizoo said the ACWC wants to learn whether the sexual-misconduct policy can be improved: "Do we know more now that we did 10 years ago? We're looking at what things we might have missed, what is not covered by existing policy."

She added that, while statistics on females in ministry have improved steadily in recent years, there are still areas in which clergywomen report problems, such as questions of salary.

She said the committee is interested in identifying patterns, not in dealing directly with individual cases.
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