This digest is a compilation of the social witness-related items that came before the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) 220th General Assembly in 2012.
Keep ReadingIntroduction The Presbyterian Church (USA) has been engaged in a decade-long struggle to divest from companies that are profiting from the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip. After an extensive corporate engagement process, the Committee
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“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matt. 5:9). Humanity, Scripture tells us, has been made in the image of God. Jesus was recognized as the son of God. Central to the notion of being “sons and daughters of God” is that of being a
MoreAs I entered the scene, it felt like I was standing on sacred ground. A paradox, like so much of life in this part of our globalized world. There lay a woman, motionless and blanketed by the compassion of her counselor. Her integrity had been desecrated only the day before
MoreA Reflection on Education Policy in the PC(USA) and Response to Item 14-02: “Educate a Child, Transform the World” My students are the legacy of Brown v Board of Education. Let me introduce you to my students. They are eighth-graders living in Tuscon, AZ, who find themselves tasked with studying
MoreThis article was originally published on the blog of the PC(USA) Office of Public Witness. “In these days, it is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunities of an education. Such an opportunity, where the state has undertaken to
MoreGeneral Assembly Takes on Taxation in a Gilded Age “Tax Justice: A Christian Response to a New Gilded Age” provides Presbyterians with a framework for engaging in discussions about the large and growing concentration of income and wealth in U.S. society and about the tax structure as a way of
MoreThe Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) will soon make headlines, one way or another. The decisions we make at our 221st General Assembly will be reported across national media outlets through words loosely connected to what we actually experience together as a denominational family. (Prayers for you, reporters!) Amongst other decisions—some of
MoreMarriage in the PC(USA) That’s my daughter there, with the rainbow face paint and the “Love who you are” sign. We were downtown in Richmond, VA, standing with same-sex couples who have asked Virginia to recognize their marriages. Ours is one of the states that currently ban same-sex marriage. Last
MoreAs a Christian theologian, I support marriage equality because I take the Bible seriously. More importantly, I take the God of the Bible seriously. The God I worship has a divine passion for justice that compels me to respect all neighbors and defend their human rights, including the freedom to
MoreAs I write, the Presbyterian Church (USA) finds itself in a strange place, at an important juncture. Even as our denomination has affirmed our call to care for creation, we continue to profit significantly from fossil fuel companies. In November 2012, Cool Planet Working Group, one of the small groups
MoreEditor’s Note: For business items before the General Assembly, the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy (ACSWP, for short) has the opportunity to offer “Advice and Counsel” – including comments on the social witness implications of the overture, relationship to past social witness policy, and the opportunity to recommend approval,
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