Baltimore Presbytery passes Overture to
Delete B.13. (Demonstration Ban)
11-21-00
At its Stated Meeting on 16 Nov. 2000 the Presbytery
of Baltimore approved the following motion:
The Presbytery of Baltimore overtures the 213th
General Assembly (2001) of the Presbyterian
Church (USA) to amend The Standing Rules of the General
Assembly by deleting B.13. [B.13. reads as follows: "Peaceful
demonstrations shall be allowed twenty-five or more
feet outside of the entrances to the building in
which the General Assembly meets. Spontaneous
or planned demonstrations by individuals or groups are prohibited
inside the building where the General Assembly meets. The Moderator
of the General Assembly shall declare all demonstrations that occur
in plenary session out of order and, if demonstrators fail to immediately
disband and desist, may recess the General Assembly to a
fixed time and place. This rule does not prohibit the spontaneous or
planned celebration of an action of the General
Assembly or of any event in the life of the
Church."]
RATIONALE
The presence of B.13. in the Standing Rules of the GA
is an abandonment of the great respect dissent has held in the history
of the Reformed tradition. Born in dissent, the Presbyterian Church from
its inception has recognized the importance of dissent. "There have
at all times been great contentions in the Church, and the most
excellent teachers of the Church have differed among themselves about
important matters without meanwhile the Church ceasing to be the Church
because of these contentions. For thus it pleases God to use the dissensions that arise in the Church to the glory of his name, to
illustrate the truth, and in order that those who are in the right might
be manifest (I Cor. 11:19)."
[Book of Confessions, 5.133.]
The presence of B.13. is a failure of the GA to
recognize that its own deliberations, actions, and desires for good
order are not the final word. From the time of Calvin, the Reformed
tradition has insisted that the sole sovereignty of God over creation
makes it impossible for any human institution, including the Church, or
any person, to claim absolute power or final truth.
The presence of B.13. unduly restricts the moderator's
"authority necessary for preserving order and for conducting
efficiently the business of the governing body." [Book of Order,
G-9.0202a] General Assembly demonstrations in recent years have occurred
only at the discretion of the moderators. B.13. prohibits future
moderators from full exercise of their authority, as well as their
pastoral judgment. It is an affront to past moderators and an undue
restriction on future ones.
IF ANY OTHER PRESBYTERIES DESIRE TO CONCUR WITH THIS
OVERTURE, PLEASE DO SO.
Don Stroud
Minister of Outreach and Reconciliation for That
All May Freely Serve: Baltimore
