The theme for the General Assembly was Rivers of Living Water, taken from John 7:38: “… and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.’”

O VERVIEW Met in Minneapolis July 3-10 Addressed 245 items of business “Hot” Issues Belhar Confession Revised Form of Government Ordination standards Marriage and Civil Unions Israel/Palestine and Jewish-Christian relations Middle governing bodies

Moderator Election Moderator of the 219 th General Assembly, Elder Cynthia Bolbach (National Capital Presbytery) installs the Vice moderator - The Reverend Landon Whitsitt (Heartland Presbytery)

T HERE ARE FOUR SOURCES FOR BUSINESS WHICH COME BEFORE THE G ENERAL A SSEMBLY Referrals from past assemblies Reports, recommendations and minutes from General Assembly entities and governing bodies Reports, recommendations and minutes from General Assembly entities and governing bodies Overtures from presbyteries and synods Commissioners’ resolutions

F LOW OF G ENERAL A SSEMBLY B USINESS Business sent by past Assembly, an agency, overture or CR Assignment to Assembly Committee Open hearings, advocates and resource people heard Committee debate and recommendation Plenary (whole Assembly) debate (sometimes) Final action Presbytery action

C OMMITTEES 01 Business Referrals 02 Bills and Overtures 03 General Assembly Procedures 04 Middle Governing Body Issues 05 Church Polity 06 Church Orders and Ministry 07 Form of Government Revision 08 Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations 09 Mission Coordination 10 Social Justice Issues A: The Promotion of Social Righteousness 11 Social Justice Issues B: the Exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the World 12 Civil Union and Marriage Issues 13 Peacemaking and International Issues 14 Middle East Peacemaking Issues 15 Church Growth, Christian Education, and PILP 16 Theological Issues and Institutions 17 Review of GA Permanent Committees 18 Board of Pensions, Foundation, and Presbyterian Publishing 19 Health Issues

B ELHAR C ONFESSION The Special Committee on the Belhar Confession unanimously recommends that the 219th General Assembly (2010) approve the inclusion of the Confession of Belhar in The Book of Confessions, and that the amendment be sent to the presbyteries for their affirmative or negative votes by June Scripture references should be added by footnotes, using those references found in earlier versions of the Belhar Confession published by the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa. The “Accompanying Letter” customarily included with the Belhar Confession should be printed in the Book of Confessions as a background document without confessional status. To direct the Office of Theology and Worship to create a fully inclusive language version of the Belhar Confession for the web similar to the inclusive language version of the Confession of 1967.

THE FORM OF GOVERNMENT REVISION  Efforts began in 1993  Proposal: 1.Replace Chapters 1-4 with a revised “Foundations of Presbyterian Polity” 2.Replace Chapters 5-18 with 6 chapters More to come!

M ARRIAGE AND C IVIL U NIONS Report calling for status quo while we seek God’s will Eleven other items of business seek some modification or interpretation of marriage, as defined in W were in effect answered by the report. These overtures range in effect from: proposed amendments that would change the definition of marriage to include same-sex couples, to...

M ARRIAGE AND C IVIL U NIONS overtures asking for a reaffirmation of the definition of marriage as it currently exists, to... a group of overtures seeking an authoritative interpretation of W to allow ministers of the Word and Sacrament and Commissioned Lay Pastors to officiate at ceremonies for couples who have obtained a civil marriage license and would allow sessions to permit the use of church property for such ceremonies.

M ARRIAGE AND C IVIL U NIONS But, the Assembly urged the Board of Pensions to extend equal spousal and dependent benefits to same-gender domestic partners as it does to married plan members.

O RDINATION S TANDARDS 2010 Actions : Assembly Rejected: 1. Proposals to reinstitute those authoritative interpretations withdrawn by the 218th General Assembly (2008) regarding ordination and installation that were in place prior to the adoption of G b. 2. A proposal to replace the authoritative interpretation of G approved by the 217th General Assembly (2006), as amended by the 218th General Assembly (2008), with language limiting the use of G b in ordination and installation decisions.

O RDINATION S TANDARDS 2010 Actions: Assembly Rejected: 3. A proposal to amend G b in order to clarify and strengthen its prohibitions on the ordination or installation of persons not meeting prescribed standards of sexual ethics, and to expand the responsible governing body’s oversight over ordained and installed officers with respect to such standards.

O RDINATION S TANDARDS 2010 Actions: Assembly Proposed to Presbyteries: Replace current G b with the following language: “Standards for ordained service reflect the church’s desire to submit joyfully to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in all aspects of life (G ). The governing body responsible for ordination and/or installation (G ; G ) shall examine each candidate’s calling, gifts, preparation, and suitability for the responsibilities of office....

O RDINATION S TANDARDS 2010 Actions:...The examination shall include, but not be limited to, a determination of the candidate’s ability and commitment to fulfill all requirements as expressed in the constitutional questions for ordination and installation (W ). Governing bodies shall be guided by Scripture and the confessions in applying standards to individual candidates.”

I SRAEL /P ALESTINE AND J EWISH -C HRISTIAN R ELATIONS Paper on Jewish-Christian relations sent back to our denomination’s Offices of Interfaith Relations and Theology and Worship. To rewrite the report after broader consultation to include the National Middle East Presbyterian Caucus, PC(USA) partner churches and agencies in the Middle East, relevant mission networks of the PC(USA), the Advocacy Committee for Racial Ethnic Concerns, and the Advisory Committee for Social Witness Policy.

I SRAEL /P ALESTINE AND J EWISH -C HRISTIAN R ELATIONS The Assembly added the comment that it “endorses the intent of ‘Christian and Jews: People of God’ of enhancing Christian and Jewish relationships. We also encourage PCUSA congregations to employ ‘A Theological Understanding of the Relationship between Christians and Jews’ (1987) as a resource until a better resource is perfected.”

I SRAEL /P ALESTINE AND J EWISH -C HRISTIAN R ELATIONS : C ATERPILLAR Caterpillar: Criticism but no divestment

I SRAEL /P ALESTINE AND J EWISH -C HRISTIAN R ELATIONS : M IDDLE E AST P OLICY P APER First comprehensive policy paper since 1997 calls for: An immediate cessation of all violence, whether perpetrated by Israelis or Palestinians; The reaffirmation of Israel’s right to exist as a sovereign nation within secure and internationally recognized borders; The end of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and relocation of the security “fence” (i.e., a return to pre-1967 borders);

I SRAEL /P ALESTINE AND J EWISH -C HRISTIAN R ELATIONS : M IDDLE E AST P OLICY P APER An immediate freeze on the establishment and expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, and on the Israeli acquisition of Palestinian land and buildings in East Jerusalem; Calls on the Israeli and Egyptian governments to limit their blockade of Gaza solely to military equipment/devices and to guarantee adequate levels of food, medicine, building supplies, and other humanitarian items, and to allow free commercial exchange in and out of Gaza, and calls on the U.S. government to end any support for the blockade that interferes with the adequacy of such items or such exchange.

C OMMISSION ON M IDDLE G OVERNING B ODIES Addressing an issue the denomination has wrestled with for at least a decade – the role of synods in our life – the Assembly voted to create a 21-member middle governing body commission with authority to act on the Assembly’s behalf in responding to realignment requests from synods and presbyteries: The commission will develop models that reflect the roles of middle governing bodies in our polity and the changing context of our witness in the United States and their relationships with other governing bodies;

C OMMISSION ON M IDDLE G OVERNING B ODIES The commission will prepare a report to the 220th General Assembly (2012) of its findings and any recommended Book of Order changes. The commission will have the authority granted to the General Assembly “to organize new synods and to divide, unite or otherwise combine synods or portions of synods previously existing” and “to approve the organization, division, uniting or combining of presbyteries or portions of presbyteries by synods.”

C OMMISSION ON M IDDLE G OVERNING B ODIES The commission can only act “upon a majority affirmative vote of the affected presbytery or presbyteries or a majority affirmative vote of the presbyteries in the affected synod or synods.” Further, all decisions of the commission must be approved by a two-thirds majority. Also assigned to the new commission is supervision of the work of the Assembly’s Special Committee on Administrative Review of the Synod of Boriquen in Puerto Rico.

SCIOTO VALLEY OVERTURES Item On the War in Afghanistan—From the Presbytery of Scioto Valley. Answered by the action on Item To see the action on this item in PC-biz, go to biz.org/Explorer.aspx?id= biz.org/Explorer.aspx?id=3201 Item On Partnering for Peace in Sudan—From the Presbytery of Trinity. Concurrence: Presbytery of Scioto Valley. Approved with amendment. To see the action on this item in PC-biz, go to biz.org/Explorer.aspx?id= biz.org/Explorer.aspx?id=2259