News from the Executive Presbyter/Stated Clerk

AMENDMENTS TO THE BOOK OF ORDER
 
The last time the Book of Order was amended was at the 2018 General Assembly, which met in St. Louis.  The 2020 GA was completely virtual, and a decision was made to refer all amendments to the Book of Order to the 2022 GA.  That GA met this past June (in-person committee meetings) and July (virtual plenaries).  Our commissioners sent reports on the meeting to the September Stated Meeting.  Those reports are available in the packet of reports for the meeting.
 
The General Assembly approved 33 amendments to the Book of Order, with at least two amendments in each of the four sections of the book, and an entirely new Rules of Discipline (the 33rd amendment).  The booklet containing these amendments is now available online (English only; Spanish and Korean are on the way).  Minister members of presbytery and sessions should download this booklet and begin to familiarize themselves with these amendments.
 
Presbytery must vote on these amendments prior to July 9, 2023, but the Office of the General Assembly appreciates receiving vote results a month earlier so they can get the new Book arranged and printed.  We have three stated meetings between now and the deadline, December 2022, and March and June 2023.  We will likely handle half of the amendments in December, and the other half in March.  Council will plan the strategy for how to address these votes.
 
The booklet follows a similar format from previous years.  Each amendment is presented, with information from the rationale section of the original overture that proposed the change.  The advice of the Advisory Committee on the Constitution is given next, and then advice and comment from various committees and entities: Committee on the Office of the General Assembly, the Presbyterian Mission Agency, and the social witness policy, women’s concerns, and racial advocacy committees.
 
What follows is my opinion on items presbyters should consider when deciding how to vote on these amendments.  Because it is my opinion, you can take it or leave it!
  • Does the amendment add anything new to the Book of Order, or is it merely cross-referencing material that is already presented elsewhere?
  • Does the amendment rise to the level of a constitutional issue, or is it proposing matters that are largely procedural, and thus, more appropriate for a manual of operations rather than a constitutional document?
  • Does the amendment attempt to introduce a political position that is not a decided issue within the denomination into the Book of Order?
  • Does the amendment fall into the trap of creating a list, which may lead others to conclusions about other items that may be missing from the list?
For these and other reasons, my basic approach to considering amendments to the Book of Order is to vote “no” unless there is an overwhelming reason to vote for approval.
 
Twelve years ago, the Foundations of Presbyterian Polity were created, and the Book of Order was revised to make them less lengthy and more flexible. The attempt tried to limit what is in the Book to the “what” instead of the “who” and “how.”  The responsibilities of each Council are spelled out, without getting into issues like which group is to carry out the responsibilities, and what are the procedures to be followed to accomplish them.  Unfortunately, my first reading of the pending amendments largely reverses this direction.
 
Dan Williams
Executive Presbyter/Stated Clerk
 
OCTOBER 2022
Rev. Dr. Dan Williams