by Evan Silverstein, Presbyterian News Service

LOUISVILLE — Jan. 30, 2006 – The Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy (ACSWP) will send nearly a dozen documents to this summer’s 217th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

The papers, covering issues ranging from globalization to ministering to the disabled, were approved during a regular committee meeting at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary here.

Also approved during the Jan. 18-21 meeting — pending a conference call — was a resolution asking the Assembly to affirm its opposition to any U.S. government policy that sanctions the use of torture or inhumane treatment of detainees held in connection with the war on terrorism.

Meanwhile, ACSWP, which develops social-justice policies for GA consideration, rejected a staff recommendation to approve a paper on energy policy developed for this year’s Assembly.

That document was returned to ACSWP’s coordinating committee for further work and possible presentation to the 2008 GA.

ACSWP did not release copies of its documents to reporters during the session, but later reviewed the papers with the Presbyterian News Service.

"The committee respects the Open Meeting Policy of the General Assembly, while also seeking to preserve the confidentiality of draft documents that are still being worked on," said the Rev. Christian "Chris" Iosso, ACSWP’s coordinator.

ACSWP tentatively approved an amendment to a policy paper on "Just Globalization: Justice, Ownership and Accountability," pending an ACSWP conference call scheduled for Feb. 3.

The document, which will go to this summer’s Assembly for approval, deals with issues related to globalization, international trade and fair-trade issues.

Among its recommendations: that church officers and congregations oppose the exploitation of children and women through forced labor, inhumane working conditions, drug trafficking and prostitution; that congregations engage in cross-cultural dialogue in their communities about the impact of changing global economic structures, particularly in the world’s poorer countries; and that the PC(USA)’s stated clerk communicate to Congress and the President the denomination’s concern about inequities in the current U.S. tax system.

ACSWP approved a policy on the treatment of people with disabilities titled "Living Into the Body of Christ: Toward Full Inclusion of People with Disabilities."

The paper challenges the church to prophetic witness on issues relating to people with disabilities, recognizing that many such concerns are matters of social justice, and urges church and society to advocate for people with disabilities.

The report was prepared in response to a referral from the 211th General Assembly in 1999. An earlier draft was presented to the committee during meetings in July and October.

The committee tentatively approved its biennial Human Rights Update for 2005-2006.

The document, which incorporates brief overviews of human rights conditions around the globe, is expected to be approved during the Feb. 3 conference call.

The United States is prominent in this year’s update because of prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and other U.S. military detention facilities from Afghanistan to Guantanamo, Cuba.

The document recommends approval of an ACSWP resolution, "Human Rights in a Time of Terrorism and Torture," and calls on the General Assembly to affirm its opposition to the use of torture and abusive treatment of detainees.

The measure supports the Geneva Conventions and due process and emphasizes the importance of U.S. judicial review and congressional oversight of the executive branch, including the Office of Homeland Security and the intelligence agencies.

The paper encourages church members, sessions, presbyteries and synods to pray for victims of abuse and for their persecutors, especially in anticipation of Human Rights Day next Dec. 10.

ACSWP also reviewed a background document on Iraq outlining America’s responsibility to bring about a peaceful transition from occupation to democracy.

The paper is meant to provide "advice and counsel" — one of ACSWP’s primary responsibilities— to commissioners who will be considering overtures on the war in Iraq.

"It is in fact not a simple ‘U.S. withdrawal’ kind of position," Iosso said. "It is more, ‘How do you try to assure an orderly transition?’"

The committee reaffirmed two previously approved documents — one examining state and federal lending laws, the other focusing on financial security for older adults.

"A Reformed Understanding of Usury for the Twenty-First Century" advocates stricter interest limits and enforcement of laws protecting borrowers from excessive credit costs. It proposes ethical criteria for evaluating lending laws on payday loans, sub-prime loans, predatory lending practices and cash-back tax-preparation arrangements.

"Economic Security For Older Adults," produced in response to an overture from the 216th Assembly in 2004, reaffirms the importance of the nation’s social insurance systems, specifically Social Security and Medicare.

The committee and the PC(USA)’s Office of Health Ministries were asked to review and update a 22-year-old church position paper on "Economic Security for Older Persons" in light of changes relating to mandatory retirement and pension reductions.

The 2004 Assembly, noting the imminent retirement of millions of "baby boomers," warned against "radical ideas" that would damage Social Security.

The draft says Social Security needs adjustments to accommodate the boomers, the largest generation in American history. It notes that the ranks of Americans older than 65 will swell to 75 million from the current 35 million by the year 2030.

ACSWP approved an interim report chronicling the work of ACSWP and the Office of the General Assembly in pursuing ecumenical talks in advance of the centennial of the Social Creed of the Federal Council of Churches, now called the National Council of Churches (NCC).

The 1908 creed is a statement of principles from a number of Protestant denominations that helped end child labor and incorporate Christian values in U.S. workplaces. Over the years, churches acting on its 14 principles have worked for improved wages, regulation of sweatshops, Sabbath rest, abatement of poverty and old-age pensions.

The GA asked ACSWP to survey key Christian principles to guide 21st-century Presbyterians in addressing major social-justice concerns, such as lack of health care coverage, outsourcing of jobs to countries without human rights or environmental safeguards, and growing economic inequities.

The committee is also proposing ways to commemorate the original social creed and is preparing to recommend to the 2008 Assembly a new creed for this century.

During the meeting, the committee heard from the Rev. Gene TeSelle, a consultant and retired historical theology professor from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN, who has analyzed several versions of the Social Creed that the Presbyterian church has adopted over the years. He said the church has not updated its version since the 1930s.

The committee referred a report titled "A Christian Witness on Energy" to its coordinating committee for revision. It would be the first document to address the PC(USA)’s position on U.S. energy policy since 1981, when a paper titled "The Power to Speak Truth to Power" was approved jointly by the former Presbyterian Church in the United States and United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America.

That statement was prompted by energy shortages in the 1970s, and ecumenical discussions of energy sufficiency. The 2002 Assembly ordered an update in light of current national and international concerns about production, consumption, cost, distribution and energy security.

ACSWP referred an update of a paper titled "The Nature and Value of Human Life" to an editing team, with the intention of submitting it to the 2008 Assembly. The 212th Assembly (2000) called for updating the paper, originally adopted by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States in 1981. It says that human life is a value of the first order, and that humans are God’s representatives in the care of creation.

Iosso said the committee is exploring a more Biblical/theological approach than that of the earlier paper.

The committee approved reports on progress toward implementation of previously enacted policies on problem pregnancies and abortion, domestic violence, the abolition of for-profit private prisons, and families.

The committee elected new officers to two-year terms beginning in July. The Rev. Gordon Edwards, of Stillwater, OK, will be the chair, succeeding the Rev. Nile Harper, of Fridley, MN. Dianne Briscoe, an elder and lawyer from Denver, CO, was elected vice-chair. She succeeds the Rev. Sue Dickson, a pastor from Ashland, OH.