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General Assembly 2004
Comments on
A Witherspoon Special Report |
| Another comment
on Gene TeSelle's report on GA
[7-16-04] The Rev. Lane Stephenson, who was a
commissioner at General Assembly, has written with a couple questions for
Gene TeSelle, who authored Witherspoon's brief report on the Assembly.
His note:
As a minister
commissioner to the past General Assembly, and a member of the Health
Issues committee, I was intrigued to read Eugene TeSelle's report saying
that some members of the committee "threatened to create parliamentary
hell during the report of the Health Issues committee if their 'experts'
were not allowed to be on the platform to answer questions."
I believe the request had to do simply with whether a member of the
committee who voted with the majority decision could present the report to
the General Assembly on that particular overture, something that I
understand is considered fairly routine and which is allowable by General
Assembly procedures.
There is something else that perhaps you can help me out with. In
listening to the report of the Church Overtures Committee [Church Orders
Committee? -- WebWeaver], I heard several commissioners, including the committee
moderator, refer to a quote from the Authoritative Interpretation
supposedly saying that homosexuals are "maladjusted, unreliable,
incompetent, irreligious, and promiscuous." I have not been able to find
that quote in the AI. Perhaps you can locate it for me?
Lane Stephenson
French Camp, MS.
Gene TeSelle responds:
I think that you are referring to something else. There
were threats about a floor fight.
You are right about the derogatory language--it was not
in the AI but in the report of the committee, as a characterization of
some attitudes toward gays and lesbians. Several of us caught this during
the report and discussion on the floor.
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| A visitor argues with TeSelle's report on
GA [7-15-04]
We have received a note from Deborah Milam Berkley, a
member of First Presbyterian Church of Bellevue (WA), criticizing some of
the comments made by Gene TeSelle in his Witherspoon report on General
Assembly. She writes:
I have a comment about some remarks in
Gene TeSelle's report on General Assembly.
Here is what he wrote:
The Presbyterian Right still wants to take over the
church, its program agencies, and the Foundation. Its funders still expect
it to take a conservative line in politics and economics. In the meantime,
its efforts are likely to go in two directions. They will attack General
Assembly programs and promote parachurch organizations like Presbyterians
for Renewal and the "validated mission organizations," in the hope that
they will supersede the General Assembly agencies. And they will devote
even more effort to "wedge issues" around sexuality and reproduction that
have the best chance of winning over some moderates in the church.
Leaving aside the question of unfair accusations of
political and economic motivations, which I have brought up with you before
(why can't you understand that people who disagree with you can be purely
theologically motivated, with no thoughts at all in their heads of "wedge
issues"?), I would like to focus on the funding accusation. Specifically,
Mr. TeSelle has mentioned Presbyterians for Renewal in this context: that
they are being promoted by "the Presbyterian Right", with politically- and
economically-motivated funding. However, PFR is funded by donations from
individuals and churches, and, what is more, has had to tighten its belt
somewhat of late. (Any appearance of large sums of money in their income in
the past consisted of fees that were collected for and then spent on youth
conferences or "Wee Kirk" conferences.)
I would like Mr. TeSelle to clarify, with documentation,
what he means by the funders of "the Presbyterian Right", in particular with
respect to PFR, or else to withdraw his claim of politically- and
economically-motivated funding.
Thank you.
Deborah Milam Berkley
A note from your WebWeaver:
You might be interested to see some opinions recently
expressed by Ms. Berkley's husband, James Berkley, the Issues Ministry
Director of Presbyterians for Renewal.
One of his recent "blogs" goes after Michael Adee and More Light
Presbyterians.
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An index of
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BECOMING NEIGHBORS:
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