The 219th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), meeting in early July in Minneapolis, voted to send to the Presbyteries an overture changing the denomination's ordination practices. The changes would open the way fully to ordination of out, partnered gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender candidates for ministry of word and sacrament. This action answered an overture that originated with the session at Clarendon. The change to the denomination's Book of Order, or constitution, must be ratified by a majority of the 173 presbyteries prior to the 220th General Assembly meeting in 2012 in Pittsburgh.

Our overture on marriage, which would have changed the wording in the denomination's directory of worship to refer to marriage as between "two people" rather than the current "one man and one woman," was endorsed by the committee that heard it, but was answered by the whole assembly with action on a task force report that makes no changes.

The assembly also voted to direct the church's board of pensions to offer domestic partner benefits to all eligible church employees.

While that news drew much of the attention of the media and of the assembly itself, GA touches on almost every aspect of life in the PC(U.S.A.), and Clarendon's voice was heard.

Our overture to the assembly calling the entire denomination into a multi-year season of study and discernment on nonviolence was answered in an overwhelmingly positive move. The entire assembly approved, by voice vote, the Peacemaking and International Affairs Committee's unanimous recommendation to endorse the idea with support from the denomination's Peacemaking Program and the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship.

As Jan Orr-Harter wrote for the Peace Fellowship, "Rick Ufford-Chase, PPF's executive director, has been the chief advocate of a longer, more gradual period of reflection on this, including opportunities to engage in nonviolent actions and to reflect on them for a deeper, more fundamental shift in the church regarding war. The Presbyterian Peace Fellowship is specifically asked in the action to help in this process."

On one of the most contentious items the assembly considered, it endorsed a Middle East report calling for an end to the Israeli occupation of Gaza, a freeze on Israeli settlements, an end to violence on all sides, resumption of peace negotiations with help from the US and others and an end to the blockade of non-military items into and out of Gaza. The assembly also denounced Caterpillar but refrained from divesting.

In perhaps its most far-reaching decision, the assembly endorsed a new form of government for the denomination voting by a more than 2-to-1 margin to send the proposed Foundations of Presbyterian Polity and revised Form of Government to the presbyteries for ratification. The assembly voted 468 to 204 with 6 abstentions.

Elder Cindy Bolbach, newly elected moderator of the 219th General Assembly, had served as co-moderator of the Form of Government Task Force. After the vote, Bolbach called the assembly's action a "monumental day for the church." She said the revised form of government is a "step forward for the church to not just survive, but thrive."

The Rev. Gradye Parsons, stated clerk of the assembly, said the revised form of government will "reboot the constitution," adding that it will enable all bodies of the church to be "more responsive to their context."

All of the proposed changes to the book of order will be voted on by the presbyteries in the coming months.

(Portions of this article come from reports by the Presbyterian News Service.)

Cindy Bolbach, an elder at First Presbyterian in Arlington, was elected moderator by the 219th General Assembly and will represent the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) for the next two years as head of the assembly.

She was elected on the fourth ballot on the first night of the assembly. She was installed standing alongside John Calvin ... or, at least, alongside a life-sized cardboard cutout of Calvin!

Cindy has served National Capital Presbytery as moderator and as interim presbytery executive during the past eight years. She also served the denomination as co-moderator of the task force that developed the proposed new form of government that this year's assembly has endorsed.

 
Cindy has join us in worship at CPC several times in recent years, serving on the installation commission when David was installed as pastor in 2003, and participating in the More Light Presbyterian's sponsored conversations about ordination overtures.