General Assembly Adventures and Misadventures
By Perry Chang
For 10 days in late June/early July, I served as our presbytery’s Ruling Elder Commissioner at the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assembly (GA). Some of the things I was involved in (during committee work on Zoom from home the first week and in-person in Salt Lake City for plenary) did not go as I had hoped, but plenty of other things went well. Here are a few highlights:
Moderator Election
I gave the nominating speech for our long-time friend Marian McClure Taylor and my new friend Danny Morales for the offices of co-moderators of the General Assembly. Taylor recently retired as pastor of South Frankfort Presbyterian Church, and Morales is a hospice chaplain and pastor of New Covenant Presbyterian Church in Liberty City, Florida. However, the other pair of candidates were elected. The new co-moderators are CeCe Armstrong and Tony Larson, both pastors in South Carolina. [Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) - Armstrong and Larson elected Co-Moderators of the 226th General Assembly (pcusa.org)
Divestment from Fossil Fuels
I was part of an informal team that tried to shepherd through GA a proposal that would have steered the denomination away from investment in companies that explore, produce, or develop fossil fuels. This proposal passed, and then failed, and then – ultimately – passed in a watered-down form. Before the divestment vote, I sat between two men who, it turns out, were both retired oil and gas company executives who opposed divestment. I did more listening than arguing, and I learned from our conversations. [Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) - General Assembly backtracks on complete divestment from the fossil fuel industry (pcusa.org)]
Engagement with General Electric and Palantir
The Assembly approved a proposal endorsed by the CHPC Session and Mid-Kentucky Presbytery that the denomination’s Mission Responsibility Through Investment Committee begin focused engagement with two companies heavily involved with the Israeli government’s occupation and policing of Palestinian lands. General Electric makes components for aircraft, etc., involved in the carpet-bombing of Gaza. Palantir Technologies helps target Palestinians for “preventive detention” (meaning they haven’t necessarily done anything wrong yet). This same technology is apparently used by some U.S. local law enforcement agencies. [PC(USA) to engage GE and Palantir on human rights concerns - The Presbyterian Outlook (pres-outlook.org)
Divesting from Bonds of Occupying Countries
The Assembly approved a commissioner’s resolution proposed by Hunter Farrell, a long-time friend of CHPC and commissioner from Pittsburgh Presbytery, that would steer the PC(USA) away from investment in government bonds from countries involved in long-term occupation of foreign territory. Farrell said the measure was aimed at the governments of Israel, Morocco, and Turkey.[PC(USA) investing agencies asked to sell bonds of occupying countries - The Presbyterian Outlook (pres-outlook.org)
Cash for Clean Energy
I joined a couple of colleagues in seeking permission for Ronald Newman, an official from the U.S. Treasury Department, to speak to the Assembly about a program to give congregations cash – instead of tax credits – for making investments in clean energy and energy conservation. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) temporarily allows nonprofits (who do not pay taxes) to get cash payments for investments in clean energy. For example, if a congregation bought a $100,000 electric-vehicle bus, the federal government could potentially give them a $40,000 or even $50,000 check. Publication 5817-D (Rev. 4-2024) (irs.gov).
Maximum Terms for Temporary Pastors
The Assembly approved a proposal from Mid-Kentucky Presbytery that would change the maximum amount of time that a “temporary pastor” (such as Pastor Tami) can serve without needing to be renewed (in other words, a “term”) from one year to three years. With a lot of congregations now calling temporary pastors, it doesn’t make sense to think of all these assignments as super-short-term, leaders of our presbytery argued. Three years is about the average time that temporary pastors serve. This change to the Book of Order must be approved by a majority of the PC(USA)’s 166 presbyteries before going into effect.
A Unique Worship Experience
For the first time, I got to worship at a Japanese American church. The bilingual (Japanese and English) Japanese Church of Christ is a joint PC(USA)/United Church of Christ congregation. Along with a nearby Buddhist temple, this church building is the last remaining landmark from the old inner-city Salt Lake City “Japan Town.” After worship and lunch, a young-adult-filled Japanese drum group associated with the congregation entertained us.
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