Renewing the Vision: Social Justice and the 223rd General Assembly

Climate Change, the Global Order, the War on Drugs, Religious Freedom Without Discrimination, & more!

Issues of Social Justice before the 223rd General Assembly (St. Louis)

The Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy (ACSWP) has six resolutions before the General Assembly this year. However, issues of social justice touch many other corners of the 223rd GA as well. Where there is an urgent need, our goal is to raise awareness. Where there are divergent perspectives, we hope to lift up prophetic voices in a way that enables each to make her case. 

Henry Koenig Stone contributes a background piece on the business, organized by committee and seeking to cover every committee that includes major social justice issues. Additional articles are added to this page as authors join the interactive discussions surrounding these issues both before & after GA. We urge you to take part in these discussions!  Unbound remains committed to the integrity of a democratic church polity, which is strengthened when all participate actively in the life and witness of the Church. 

During GA, Unbound live-tweets events at @UnboundJustice.

From All of the Places We’ve Been

19 mins read

Attending GA With Clouds of Witness and Hopes of Transfiguration Rev. Johnson delivered the original version of this speech live at the Compassion, Peace and Justice dinner of the 223rd General Assembly in St. Louis on Tuesday, June 19th, 2018. I sat in my kitchen with a breakfast sandwich and

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Thou Shalt Not Kill

4 mins read

Loving Even My Dad’s Killer A version of this text was originally delivered as testimony before the 223rd General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in St. Louis, MO, in support of overture 11-02. I am overwhelmed with gratitude to have had the opportunity to serve as the Young Adult

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Shall the Institutionalists Win?

12 mins read

General Assembly 2018, A Drama in 3 Acts Act I. The Prophetic March to End Cash Bail It was a glorious moment: hundreds of General Assembly commissioners marched down to the St Louis jail to support bailing out persons unable to post bail, and to oppose the cash bail mechanism

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Middle East Issues [12], GA 223

15 mins read

Below are descriptions of each piece of business, divided into categories by topic. Each item number links to the full text of the resolution on pc-biz.org, along with all official comments that have been submitted. Abbreviations Used: ACREC—Advocacy Committee for Racial Ethnic Concerns ACSWP—Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy ACWC—Advocacy Committee

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Social Justice Issues [11], GA 223

20 mins read

The Social Justice Issues Committee considers matters related to: concerns of the church in national affairs, righteousness and justice of persons/organizations, global evangelism and education, the Advocacy Committee for Women’s Concerns, and the self-review report of ACSWP. (Source: pc-biz.org.) Below are descriptions of each piece of business, divided into categories

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What the General Assembly may say about St. Louis

12 mins read

Five St Louis congregations continue the dialogue of “The Gospel from Detroit” This article was originally published by Presbyterian News Service on June 12, 2018. The city of St. Louis is the historic centerpiece of a highly accomplished cultural and economic region. At the same time, like most of the

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Mission Coordination Committee [10], GA 223

23 mins read

The Mission Coordination Committee of the General Assembly considers: “Mission programs authorized by General Assembly; PC(USA) vision and mission goals; Organization for Mission and General Assembly Mission Council Manual of Operations; mission budget; audits; churchwide compensation; initiatives on church growth and the 1001 Worshiping Communities program.” (Source: www.pc-biz.org). Topics Addressed:

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From “The Way Forward” to a Way Ahead: The Missing Prophetic Compromise

7 mins read

Unbound Staff address the missing text from ACSWP’s Advice & Counsel Ironically, on possibly the hottest issue of the PCUSA General Assembly, where the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy (ACSWP) has ventured a prophetic compromise, www.pc-biz.org originally left out four key paragraphs. Because the Assembly is fast approaching, and the

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