wfn.org | [PCUSANEWS] ACSWP approves policy documents

[PCUSA NEWS <PCUSA.NEWS@ECUNET.ORG>]

Note #9080 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

06038
Jan. 30, 2006

ACSWP approves policy documents

Papers on globalization, disabilities among those going to '06 GA 

by Evan Silverstein

LOUISVILLE - The Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy (ACSWP) will
send nearly a dozen documents to this summer's 217th General Assembly of the
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

	The papers, covering issues ranging from globalization to ministering
to the disabled, were approved during a regular committee meeting at
Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary here.
 
	Also approved during the Jan. 18-21 meeting - pending a conference
call - was a resolution asking the Assembly to affirm its opposition to any
U.S. government policy that sanctions the use of torture or inhumane
treatment of detainees held in connection with the war on terrorism.

	Meanwhile, ACSWP, which develops social-justice policies for GA
consideration, rejected a staff recommendation to approve a paper on energy
policy developed for this year's Assembly. 

	That document was returned to ACSWP's coordinating committee for
further work and possible presentation to the 2008 GA.

	ACSWP did not release copies of its documents to reporters during the
session, but later reviewed the papers with the Presbyterian News Service.

	"The committee respects the Open Meeting Policy of the General
Assembly, while also seeking to preserve the confidentiality of draft
documents that are still being worked on," said the Rev. Christian "Chris"
Iosso, ACSWP's coordinator.

Globalization

	ACSWP tentatively approved an amendment to a policy paper on "Just
Globalization: Justice, Ownership and Accountability," pending an ACSWP
conference call scheduled for Feb. 3.

	The document, which will go to this summer's Assembly for approval,
deals with issues related to globalization, international trade and
fair-trade issues. 

	Among its recommendations: that church officers and congregations
oppose the exploitation of children and women through forced labor, inhumane
working conditions, drug trafficking and prostitution; that congregations
engage in cross-cultural dialogue in their communities about the impact of
changing global economic structures, particularly in the world's poorer
countries; and that the PC(USA)'s stated clerk communicate to Congress and
the President the denomination's concern about inequities in the current U.S.
tax system.	

Disabilities

	ACSWP approved a policy on the treatment of people with disabilities
titled "Living Into the Body of Christ: Toward Full Inclusion of People with
Disabilities."

     The paper challenges the church to prophetic witness on issues relating
to people with disabilities, recognizing that many such concerns are matters
of social justice, and urges church and society to advocate for people with
disabilities.

     The report was prepared in response to a referral from the 211th General
Assembly in 1999. An earlier draft was presented to the committee during
meetings in July and October.
 

    Human rights 

	The committee tentatively approved its biennial Human Rights Update
for 2005-2006.

	The document, which incorporates brief overviews of human rights
conditions around the globe, is expected to be approved during the Feb. 3
conference call.

	The United States is prominent in this year's update because of
prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and other U.S. military detention
facilities from Afghanistan to Guantanamo, Cuba.  

	The document recommends approval of an ACSWP resolution, "Human
Rights in a Time of Terrorism and Torture," and calls on the General Assembly
to affirm its opposition to the use of torture and abusive treatment of
detainees. 

	The measure supports the Geneva Conventions and due process and
emphasizes the importance of U.S. judicial review and congressional oversight
of the executive branch, including the Office of Homeland Security and the
intelligence agencies.	

	The paper encourages church members, sessions, presbyteries and
synods to pray for victims of abuse and for their persecutors, especially in
anticipation of Human Rights Day next Dec. 10.

Iraq 

	ACSWP also reviewed a background document on Iraq outlining America's
responsibility to bring about a peaceful transition from occupation to
democracy.

	The paper is meant to provide "advice and counsel" - one of ACSWP's
primary responsibilities - to commissioners who will be considering overtures
on the war in Iraq.

	"It is in fact not a simple 'U.S. withdrawal' kind of position,"
Iosso said. "It is more, 'How do you try to assure an orderly transition?'"

   Lending and social insurance

	The committee reaffirmed two previously approved documents - one
examining state and federal lending laws, the other focusing on financial
security for older adults.

	"A Reformed Understanding of Usury for the Twenty-First Century"
advocates stricter interest limits and enforcement of laws protecting
borrowers from excessive credit costs. It proposes ethical criteria for
evaluating lending laws on payday loans, sub-prime loans, predatory lending
practices and cash-back tax-preparation arrangements.
     
     "Economic Security For Older Adults," produced in response to an
overture from the 216th Assembly in 2004, reaffirms the importance of the
nation's social insurance systems, specifically Social Security and Medicare.

     The committee and the PC(USA)'s Office of Health Ministries were asked
to review and update a 22-year-old church position paper on "Economic
Security for Older Persons" in light of changes relating to mandatory
retirement and pension reductions.

     The 2004 Assembly, noting the imminent retirement of millions of "baby
boomers," warned against "radical ideas" that would damage Social Security.

	The draft says Social Security needs adjustments to accommodate the
boomers, the largest generation in American history. It notes that the ranks
of Americans older than 65 will swell to 75 million from the current 35
million by the year 2030.

Social creed

	ACSWP approved an interim report chronicling the work of ACSWP and
the Office of the General Assembly in pursuing ecumenical talks in advance of
the centennial of the Social Creed of the Federal Council of Churches, now
called the National Council of Churches (NCC).

     The 1908 creed is a statement of principles from a number of Protestant
denominations that helped end child labor and incorporate Christian values in
U.S. workplaces. Over the years, churches acting on its 14 principles have
worked for improved wages, regulation of sweatshops, Sabbath rest, abatement
of poverty and old-age pensions.

     The GA asked ACSWP to survey key Christian principles to guide
21st-century Presbyterians in addressing major social-justice concerns, such
as lack of health care coverage, outsourcing of jobs to countries without
human rights or environmental safeguards, and growing economic inequities.

     The committee is also proposing ways to commemorate the original social
creed and is preparing to recommend to the 2008 Assembly a new creed for this
century.

	During the meeting, the committee heard from the Rev. Gene TeSelle, a
consultant and retired historical theology professor from Vanderbilt
University in Nashville, TN, who has analyzed several versions of the Social
Creed that the Presbyterian church has adopted over the years. He said the
church has not updated its version since the 1930s.

   Energy

	The committee referred a report titled "A Christian Witness on
Energy" to its coordinating committee for revision. It would be the first
document to address the PC(USA)'s position on U.S. energy policy since 1981,
when a paper titled "The Power to Speak Truth to Power" was approved jointly
by the former Presbyterian Church in the United States and United
Presbyterian Church in the United States of America. 

	That statement was prompted by energy shortages in the 1970s, and
ecumenical discussions of energy sufficiency. The 2002 Assembly ordered an
update in light of current national and international concerns about
production, consumption, cost, distribution and energy security.

Value of life

	ACSWP referred an update of a paper titled "The Nature and Value of
Human Life" to an editing team, with the intention of submitting it to the
2008 Assembly. The 212th Assembly (2000) called for updating the paper,
originally adopted by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the
United States in 1981. It says that human life is a value of the first order,
and that humans are God's representatives in the care of creation.

	Iosso said the committee is exploring a more Biblical/theological
approach than that of the earlier paper.

Monitoring reports

	The committee approved reports on progress toward implementation of
previously enacted policies on problem pregnancies and abortion, domestic
violence, the abolition of for-profit private prisons, and families.

Officers elected

	The committee elected new officers to two-year terms beginning in
July. The Rev. Gordon Edwards, of Stillwater, OK, will be the chair,
succeeding the Rev. Nile Harper, of Fridley, MN. Dianne Briscoe, an elder and
lawyer from Denver, CO, was elected vice-chair. She succeeds the Rev. Sue
Dickson, a pastor from Ashland, OH.

	ACSWP bade fond farewells to members Ron Stone, an elder from
Pittsburgh, and Dickson, whose terms end in July.

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