Hundreds of Presbyterians gather and walked over a mile to the Justice Center of St. Louis (a fancy name for the city’s jail) to call for an end to the cash bail system that keeps poor people in jail for minor offenses. Photo: Eric O. LedermannA new day of radical inclusivity has been embraced by the Presbyterian Church (USA) at its 223rd General Assembly in St. Louis. In the spirit of Jesus who welcomed all who had been pushed to the margins of society, the assembly approved via consent agenda a number of items that only a few years ago would have been debated heavily both in committee and in plenary. On the consent agenda the assembly approved the Stated Clerk in “oppos[ing] legislative, judicial, and administrative efforts at the state and federal levels to limit the protection of persons based upon race, ethnicity, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion or gender expression in the guise of religious freedom.” A powerful statement.
Anne Apple (2nd from left) Moderator of Committee 14 – Theological and Church Growth Issues and Institutions, and Miriam Foltz, the vice-moderator (far left), present the business of the committee to the assembly. Photo: Eric O. LedermannIn what once would have been considered a bold move, but now seems like a natural next step for our denomination in its efforts to truly embody the diversity and beauty of God’s creation as well as to engage fully the ministry of inclusion through Jesus, the assembly approved by consensus an overture that affirms and celebrates the “full dignity and humanity of people of all gender identities.” Item 11-12 from the Presbytery of New Castle in Newark, Delaware, was amended slightly by the Social Justice Issues Committee and recommended for approval in a 43-3-4 vote. The overture calls on the assembly to acknowledge that “the church has fallen short of these commitments and obligations” with regard to the treatment particularly of transgender people. “The church has failed to understand fully and to celebrate adequately the full spectrum of gender embodied in God’s creation,” the overture states.
The assembly further sought a prophetic voice in an age of deep political division within our nation in order to re-frame what “patriotism” looks like. Item 11-16 from the Social Justice Issues Committee defined “honest patriotism” using a book by Donald W. Shivner, Honest Patriots, as “loving a country enough to remember its misdeeds.” The overture further stated that, “Such misdeeds are usually those times and places where particular groups were denied “equal protection under the law.”
It is, indeed, a new day in the PC(USA). May we live faithfully into our new-found voice for peace and justice!
