wfn.org | [PCUSANEWS] ACSWP ponders impact of Obama's election on church's social witness

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www.pcusa.org/pcnews/2009/09060.htm<http://www.pcusa.org/pcnews/2009/09060. htm

ACSWP ponders impact of Obama's election on church's social
witness

Expects PC(USA)'s voice to be better heard by new
administration

>by Jerry L. Van Marter
>Presbyterian News Service

BERKELEY, CA ― With the new administration of Barack Obama
seeking more counsel from mainline denominations than its
predecessor, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s Advisory
Committee on Social Witness Policy
[ www.pcusa.org/acswp<http://www.pcusa.org/acswp> ](ACSWP) approached its l engthy agenda
with renewed vigor here Jan. 22-25.

On issues ranging from human rights to immigration to the
Iraq war, the committee seemed convinced that the PC(USA)'s
voice will be now be heard more clearly in Washington than
at any time in recent memory.

The question, of course ― in Washington and Louisville ― is
what can be done on a number of fronts in light of the
global economic meltdown.

In Washington, for instance, free trade agreements with
countries such as Colombia "will be back-burnered, I
think," said committee member Bill Saint from Washington,
"in order to pursue preservation of U.S. jobs."

And in Louisville, pursuit of environmental justice issues
has been slowed by a budget-driven lack of staffing for
that office, ACSWP coordinator Christian Iosso told the
committee.

Nevertheless, work is proceeding on a number of projects
mandated by last summer's 218th General Assembly:

- HIV/AIDS: the task force to work on the HIV/AIDS study is
still being assembled, ACSWP associate Belinda Curry told
the committee.

- Gun Violence: Iosso said he is still searching for the
right balance of urban, suburban and rural Presbyterians
for the task force. He said another factor needs to be
considered: nearly half the deaths from gun violence in the
United States are suicides, a factor not considered when
the General Assembly authorized the study last summer.

- Theology of compensation: composition of the task force
to do this study is also tricky, Iosso said, because in
addition to customary diversity requirements, the task
force needs persons who are familiar with secular
compensation patterns and the internal economic life of the
PC(USA). Another issue that needs to be addressed is "how
to get responsible access to Board of Pensions data on
compensation in the church," Iosso added.

- Immigration/detention: no money was appropriated for this
study, envisioned as a follow-up to a major report on
immigration issues approved by the 2004 General Assembly.
As a result, the paper, which will focus on the impact on
families of immigrant detention, will largely be a staff
effort, utilizing the expertise of Julia Thorne, an
immigration attorney who is manager of immigration issues
for the Office of the General Assembly. ACSWP will also
assist Human Rights Watch, which is conducting a similar
study.

- "The Nature and Value of Human Life": Technological
advances in the medical and bio-ethics fields since the
last major denominational report on the subject make a
comprehensive new look at the subject necessary, the
Assembly said. With new scientific advances occurring
almost daily, the trick is to "construct this study in such
a way that it can be useful as future issues emerge, said
committee member John Knapp.

A number of other ACSWP papers ― on the Iraq war, human
rights in Colombia and the Philippines, the Middle East,
problem pregnancies and healthcare reforms ― await updating
based on very different approaches the Obama administration
is expected to take in contrast to the Bush administration.

Updating the Iraq war paper ACSWP prepared for the last
Assembly is complicated by the fact that the Assembly
commended the committee's background paper for study but
declined to adopt the accompanying resolution outlining
specific recommendations, such as withdrawal timetables.

"We're not asking for policy, we're trying to further
study, which the Assembly did approve," Iosso explained.
"It seems clear that some thought needs to be given on the
lessons of Iraq as we beef up in Afghanistan and reflect on
the Gaza war."

But with the Assembly having turned down the resolution on
the Iraq war, Knapp said it might "appear disrespectful to
some to proceed with matters the Assembly refused to
adopt." The committee agreed, at least for now, to focus on
"just peacemaking" by inviting Glen Stassen of Fuller
Theological Seminary and Walter Wink, professor emeritus at
Auburn Theological Seminary in New York, who have both
written recent books on the subject to come talk with the
committee at its May meeting in Washington, DC.

ACSWP co-chair Ron Kernaghan, a professor at Fuller
Seminary, also suggested revisiting a 1999 ACSWP-produced
paper on just peacemaking approved by that year's Assembly,
as well as 2004's "Religion, Violence and Terrorism."

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