All proposed constitutional amendments have been ratified

New provisions take effect June 25, 2017

APRIL 10, 2017

Jerry Van Marter

OFFICE OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY COMMUNICATIONS

All sixteen constitutional amendments proposed by the 222nd General Assembly (2016) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) have received the 86 affirmative votes from among the 170 presbyteries needed for ratification.

The new provisions will take effect on June 25, 2017—one year from the adjournment of the assembly that proposed them. Presbyteries have until that date to vote on the proposals and are encouraged to do so.

The amendments (descriptions provided by the Association of Stated Clerks) and the voting tallies as of April 10, 2017:

• 16-A: to require all councils to adopt and implement a child and youth protection policy. (107-3)
• 16-B: to create flexibility in filling the membership of committees above the session by not requiring “at least one-half being members of congregations,” instead requiring “in numbers as nearly equal as possible.” (98-11)
• 16-C.1–8: to change ordered ministry titles back to their form before the Book of Order was amended in 2014—“teaching elder” changed back to “minister of the Word and Sacrament”; “ruling elder” changed back to “elder”; and “commissioned ruling elder” changed back to “commissioned lay pastor.” The eight amendments change this wording in eight different places in the Constitution.
• 16-C.1. (98-12)
• 16-C.2. (98-12)
• 16-C.3. (99-11)
• 16-C.4. (98-12)
• 16-C.5. (98-12)
• 16-C.6. (88-22)
• 16-C.7. (95-15)
• 16-C.8. (98-12)
• 16-D.1: to remove a permanent ban—the result of a 2014 amendment to G-2.0509—on teaching elders who had renounced jurisdiction while in the disciplinary process from working in or for a church under the jurisdiction of the PC(USA) in either a paid or volunteer position. The new provision removes this restriction by requiring the former teaching elder to rejoin the church and to resubmit to the original disciplinary process. (86-22)
• 16-D.2: to remove any statute of limitations regarding the alleged prior offense cited in 16-D.1. (87-21)
• 16-E: to remove the requirement in G-2.1101 that all certifying bodies must have a “handbook.” (108-1)
• 16-F: to add the phrase “caring for God’s creation” to the “Ministry of Members” listed in G-1.0304. (104-5)
• 16-G: to make the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper available to developing Christians who have not yet made the baptismal declaration. (97-3)
• 16-H: to replace the current Directory for Worship with a new Directory for Worship. (94-6)

Read more.

PC(USA) Stated Clerk endorses new resource on immigration and sanctuary

Please click here to download the "Welcome and the law" resource.  

Tall Timber Youth Summer Camps

From Tall Timber:

If you’re still searching for the right summer camp where your kids can be surrounded by fresh air, many laughs, great friends, majestic mountains, and serene rivers, look no further – Tall Timber (in Leavenworth, by Lake Wenatchee) is in its 60th year, and planning a great season of summer camps and expeditions. Tall Timber offers summer youth camps for all ages (and family camps, too) in its beautiful location bordering Glacier Peak Wilderness. Just some of the fun and life-changing (and safe!) activities include rock climbing, hiking, archery, music, arts and crafts, bible studies, team games and sports, the high and low ropes courses, mountain biking, group prayer, lots of cookouts, and so much more. Tall Timber offers a rich environment for campers to get outside, disconnect from the screens, and reconnect with Self, Nature, Friends, Community, and Creation. www.talltimber.org/youth-camps

Free Articles for Churches on Child Abuse Prevention

How can churches raise awareness around the issue of child sexual abuse—and take steps to prevent it?

In recognizing National Child Abuse Prevention Month, Church Law & Tax is offering free access to five articles on this topic throughout the month of April. Additionally, any orders placed for our newly-revised awareness training program Reducing the Risk on ChurchLawAndTaxStore.com will receive free shipping with the coupon code "rtr417" (coupon expires at the end of April).

Read more.

PC(USA) Launches Abuse Prevention Hotline

Presbyterian News Service April 3, 2017

Toll-free number to help families and churches prevent child sexual abuse

by Rick Jones | Presbyterian News Service

LOUISVILLE – The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), A Corporation, has teamed with the Insurance Board and Praesidium to help PC(USA) church councils and members of churches prevent child sexual abuse. The partnership has launched a toll-free Abuse Prevention Helpline (866-607-SAFE) to provide assistance to church councils and church families in their efforts to keep predators away from children.

“Statistics show that one out of four girls and one out of six boys will be abused before the age of 18,” said former Stated Clerk Gradye Parsons, who worked to make the helpline a reality. “We know that sexual predators seek out trusting environments where children are present and churches are vulnerable because of close relationships and immediate access to children.”

Read more.

Seattle Presbytery HR Minister in Alaska for Mission Service

Rev Bob Nicholson will be the volunteer resident pastor at the Ketchikan Presbyterian Church, a congregation of the Presbytery of the Northwest Coast, for 2 + months starting April 1.

Read more.

UNITE 2017 Youth Winter Retreat

More than 120 youth from all over the Puget Sound gathered at the beautiful Tall Timber Ranch near Leavenworth for the 5th Annual UNITE winter retreat last December. The theme of the retreat was “Reconciliation” with Tali Hairston from the John Perkins Center for Reconciliation, Leadership Training and Community Development at SPU as the speaker.

Reconciliation was not only preached by Tali, sung during worship, and discussed in depth in small group settings. It was also experienced in a very real way as this very diverse group of young people of multiple race, age (middle school-college) and economic background drew closer to each other, to God, and to God’s beautiful creation.      

HUGE thank you to Seattle Presbytery, North Coast Presbytery, and Tall Timber Ranch and Seattle Community Church for making this amazing experience possible for so many years!

UNITE 2017 has already been set for December 26-29th. Please join us, if you can!

For more information, please contact HT Lee at htl@seattlechurch.org.   

Facing Racism: A Vision of the Intercultural Community Antiracism Study Guides

Presbyterian Mission Agency Resources Available

This series of six antiracism study guides is appropriate for an hour-long conversation among adults or teens. They provide a pedagogical tool for empowering church communities to have important conversations about race and racism in relation to Christian faith. The study guides are based on topics and concepts covered in the church-wide antiracism policy “Facing Racism: A Vision of the Intercultural Community.” The topics of the six guides are:  Biblical Imperatives to Antiracism, Envisioning a New Way of Life Together, PC(USA) and Racial Reconciliation, Racism 101, Enduring Legacy of Racism in the U.S., and Responding as a Community of Faith. This training tool includes a list of antiracism resources for congregations or presbyteries desiring further information.

Download PDF

Dennis Hughes reflects on love, loss and all the saints

Presbyterian News Service    March 16, 2017

Dennis Hughes with the author, who were ‘in the pink’ at the 221st General Assembly (2014). (Photo provided)

Cancer diagnosis illumines pastor-scholar’s life, end of life

by Emily Enders Odom | Presbyterian News Service

LOUISVILLE – Dennis Hughes has always known that in life—and in death—he belongs to God. But in 73 years of living, he has known the latter all too well.

As a newlywed in his early 20s, Hughes was thrust too soon into the role of family patriarch following the premature death of his beloved in-laws. It was a role, he says, “to which I had not aspired, nor thought I would be cast into.”

Then, as a pastor for nearly 50 years, Hughes was an unfailing source of comfort to grieving families even as he bore faithful witness to the resurrection. At the font, he steadfastly proclaimed baptism as a dying and rising with Christ. And—as one of the foremost writers and interpreters of Reformed liturgy—Hughes crafted resources for the Book of Common Worship (1993) and articles for Reformed Liturgy & Music that continue to inform Presbyterian practice around death and dying.

And now—at the end of his own life—Hughes has yet another gift to share with the Presbyterian and ecumenical church that he loves.

Read more.

Church Financial Officers Forum Resources

Recordings and links of webinars hosted by the Presbyterian Foundation are available below. Check our events page for upcoming webinars. Register in advance: Rob Hagan, Presbyterian Foundation Ministry Relations Officer.

Best Stewardship Practices

Best Financial Stewardship Programs: View the webinar recording
Planned Giving Best Practices: View the webinar recording
Narrative Budget Template Instructions: PDF Handout
Narrative Budget Sample: PDF Handout

Making Readable Finance Reports

View the webinar recording
Making Readable Financial Reports: PDF handout

Creating Endowments

View the webinar recording

Payroll Issues

View the webinar recording

How to do a Financial Review

View the webinar recording

Online Giving

View the webinar recording

NEXT Church National Gathering Live Stream

The 2017 NEXT Church National Gathering live stream will begin at 11:00 am CDT on Monday, March 13th. Don’t see anything? Check the schedule to be sure a plenary event is happening. If you think there’s an issue, please send us a tweet or an email!

Seattle Presbytery will make a donation on behalf of presbytery members who would like to use this resource.

Watch now.

Charlie Scoma (Validated Ministry, Seattle Presbytery) & Glenn McCray (Mt. View PC) speak @ the 2017 NEXT Church National Gathering.

Proposed Amendments to the Constitution

The presbytery will be voting on the proposed amendments to the constitution at the meeting on April 18. Please review the document linked here before the meeting. There will be a few hard copies of the amendments at the meeting, but it would be great if commissioners would download them to their laptop or tablet.

Karen Breckenridge, Stated Clerk

PC (USA) Stated Clerk opposes order banning refugees' entry into U.S.

Stated Clerk opposes order banning refugees’ entry into U.S.

JANUARY 28, 2017

Office of the General Assembly

J HERBERT NELSON II

Stated Clerk of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A)

LOUISVILLE

Yesterday President Donald Trump signed an executive order to allegedly protect the nation from terrorists entering the United States. In practice, however, this order serves to further harm those who are the very victims of terrorism, genocide, religious and gender-based persecution, and civil war.

Right now, across the globe, there are families grabbing their bags and clinging to each other as they tearfully flee the home they love, the home they never wanted to leave, because home is no longer safe. And many, after being fully vetted by a legal refugee entry process, are not being allowed to enter the U.S. and are being wrongfully detained at airports across the country.

This is a miscarriage of justice and goes against everything we stand for as a country shaped and formed by people who emanated from other lands.

As the top ecclesial officer of the nation’s largest Reformed body, I urge the president and his administration to reverse this very harmful decision regarding refugees. Presbyterians are not afraid of this so-called terror threat. We are not afraid because we profess a faith in Jesus, who entered the world a refugee.

Read more. 

Colombia Mission Trip 2017

In continued missional partnership with the Presbytery of the Coast of the Presbyterian Church in Colombia, the Presbytery of Seattle is sending a team of 13 ruling and teaching elders to Barranquilla on Jan. 23.

Participants will be spending time and working alongside displaced campesinos that the church has helped relocate to new farmlands. The team will also visit missional communities that local presbyterian churches have established to serve those in need and participate in several workshops at the Reformed University (led by professors Tali Hairston and Lindy Scott) on the role of the church in the peace process and reconciliation within latin american politics.

Please keep the following mission team members in your prayers.

Staci Imes                 Woodland Park Presbyterian Church

Renee Notkin           Union Church

James B Notkin        Union Church

Ben McConaughy    Mercer Island Presbyterian Church

Alex Maxim              Mercer Island Presbyterian Church

Chris Pritchett          John Knox Presbyterian Church

Doug Early               Queen Anne Presbyterian Church

Mark Zimmerly        Madrona Grace Presbyterian Church

Tali Hairston             John Perkins Institute, Seattle Pacific University

Lindy Scott               Whitworth University

Eliana Maxim            Seattle Presbytery

Photos and updates will be posted on the presbytery Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/SeaPres/ as well as the presbytery website.

January 17 Meeting Photos

Thank you, Northminster PC for hosting the January stated meeting!

For sale from Southminster PC

Southminster Presbyterian Church has received a donation of two outdoor mausoleum crypt spaces at Evergreen Washelli Cemetery in north Seattle.  The spaces are in an above ground tandem crypt (two spaces end to end), and the church would like to sell both spaces together for $4000, less than half the retail price.  To find out more or to arrange an opportunity to see the crypt, contact Bill Gwyn at 206-349-2968.

An Invitation from Seattle Presbytery

Many thanks to Rev. Dani Forbess, Coastland Commons, and Northminster Presbyterian Church for their gracious and warm hospitality last night at our presbytery meeting. We also wish Rev. Kevin Nollette a fruitful and blessed retirement. 

As we look forward, I want to take this opportunity to invite you to Leadership for Healthier Churches on Saturday, January 28 at Seattle First Presbyterian Church. There is no end to the challenges that church leaders face on a day to day basis. Pastors, elders, sessions, staff members -- all of us -- face difficult decisions about the future and the need to change. Underneath this all lay the relationships that bind us together as one. 

Ron Richardson has dedicated much of his life helping church leaders navigate the personal and the professional aspects of leadership. If you are looking to grow in your ability to serve the church in a healthier, more productive way, please join us for this special leadership event. 

In Christ, 

Scott Lumsden

Proposed Amendments to the Constitution

Download the proposed amendments to the Constitution approved by the 222nd General Assembly (2016) and recommended to the presbyteries for their vote.

Read more.

Puget Sound Interfaith Network for Public Theology

Center for Religious Wisdom & World Affairs Call for Participants:
Puget Sound Interfaith Network for Public Theology

Now, more than ever, strong and unified religious voices are needed in public life. The Center for Religious Wisdom & World Affairs is committed to helping religious leaders gain the resources and tools they need to effectively address issues of social justice and the common good.

To that end, the Center is seeking to engage Puget Sound religious leaders from a variety of faith traditions that are interested in: 1) articulating interfaith positions around homelessness; 2) reimagining the role of religion in public life; and 3) enhancing their skill set to serve as public intellectuals.

If selected, you will:

•  Participate in an all-day forum at Seattle University in April 2017 and 2018

• Periodically meet with network members from your geographic area for a one-year period

• Receive travel compensation and have access to relevant resources

Deadline: February 27, 2017

Read more.

Way Forward Commission Needs Your Input

Way Forward Commission establishes process to encourage engagement

JANUARY 9, 2017

PC(USA) News Release

The General Assembly Way Forward Commission of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has released its process for receiving initial communications and suggestions from any interested PC(USA) groups or individuals. The online form is designed to assist the commission in identifying areas for continued discernment about the ministries and structure of the national denomination.

The form is available in English, Korean, and Spanish, although the commission will accept submissions in any language. Recognizing the timeframe and scope of their work, the commission has set February 28 as a deadline for submissions, which are limited to 2,000 words.

Read more.