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Overture 02-49 -- on the costs of
litigation |
This overture from the Presbytery of Hudson River can
be found also on
the PC(USA) web site. [posted here on 4-3-02]
This overture relates to the concerns
recently expressed by Frank Baldwin, Stated Clerk of the
Presbytery of Philadelphia.
Overture 02-49. On Directing OGA to
Prepare a Study of Costs and Consequences of Litigation Related to
G-6.0106b, with a Report to the 215th General Assembly (2003)-From the
Presbytery of Hudson River.
The Presbytery of Hudson River respectfully overtures
the 214th General Assembly (2002) to direct the Office of the General
Assembly to prepare a timely study with recommendations on the governing
body costs and churchwide consequences of litigation related to
G-6.0106b, such study and recommendations to help ensure fair use of the
church's disciplinary processes and faithful use of human and financial
resources, to report back to the 215th General Assembly (2003), and
include the following elements:
1. The costs of judicial cases filed in the past five
years in presbyteries and synods, averaging, insofar as possible, the
costs per case and estimating volunteer, hired legal, and governing body
staff time spent prosecuting and defending such cases at each level up
to the Permanent Judicial Commission.
2. The pattern of per capita payment or nonpayment by
congregations filing complaints and those defending against them.
3. An analysis and correlation of the voting patterns
on G-6.0106b and related amendments in the presbyteries, with patterns
of per capita payment in the presbyteries over the past seven years.
4. An assessment of the role of affinity (or special
interest) groups in providing funding and legal counsel in the filing of
litigation, noting whether those groups supporting litigation or
"enforcement of Amendment B" have voluntarily disclosed brief
reports on their finances and objectives, as requested by the past two
General Assemblies (and as some do regularly to the U. S. Government and
private foundations).
5. Recommendations for means to conserve resources
while preserving fairness in the church's disciplinary apparatus,
including ways to share costs related to insurance, potential penalties,
and potential violations of civil antidiscrimination statutes.
6. Assessment and recommendations of the impact of
past and in-prospect litigation on the connectional nature of the
church, the work of the Office of the General Assembly itself, the
public visibility of the denomination, the scope of conscience for
candidates and the responsibilities of governing body staff.
Rationale
Our basis for concern is the clear mid-1990's
understanding that almost $1,000,000 of per capita was withheld by
congregations favoring limits on the ordination of homosexual persons,
while those faithfully paying their per capita effectively paid for the
litigation measures used against them. We believe there is a basic issue
of fairness here and that the church needs to be clear about the impacts
of our internal divisions on our witness to Jesus Christ.
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Some blogs worth visiting |
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PVJ's
Facebook page
Mitch Trigger, PVJ's
Secretary/Communicator, has created a Facebook page where
Witherspoon members and others can gather to exchange news and
views. Mitch and a few others have posted bits of news, both
personal and organizational. But there’s room for more!
You can post your own news and views,
or initiate a conversation about a topic of interest to you. |
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Voices of Sophia blog
Heather Reichgott, who has created
this new blog for Voices of Sophia, introduces it:
After fifteen years of scholarship
and activism, Voices of Sophia presents a blog. Here, we present the
voices of feminist theologians of all stripes: scholars, clergy,
students, exiles, missionaries, workers, thinkers, artists, lovers
and devotees, from many parts of the world, all children of the God
in whose image women are made. .... This blog seeks to glorify God
through prayer, work, art, and intellectual reflection. Through
articles and ensuing discussion we hope to become an active and
thoughtful community. |
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John Harris’ Summit to
Shore blogspot
Theological and philosophical
reflections on everything between summit to shore, including
kayaking, climbing, religion, spirituality, philosophy, theology,
politics, culture, travel, The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), New
York City and the Queens neighborhood of Ridgewood by a progressive
New York City Presbyterian Pastor. John is a former member of the
Witherspoon board, and is designated pastor of North Presbyterian
Church in Flushing, NY. |
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John Shuck’s Shuck and Jive
A Presbyterian minister, currently
serving as pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Elizabethton,
Tenn., blogs about spirituality, culture, religion (both organized
and disorganized), life, evolution, literature, Jesus, and
lightening up. |
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Got more blogs to recommend?
Please
send a note, and we'll see what we can do! |
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