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08-09 On Referring “Christians and Jews: People of God” and “Understanding Christian-Muslim Relations”
Source: Presbytery Sponsor:
San Francisco Presbytery
Committee:
[08-09] Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations
Type:General Assembly Full Consideration
Topic:Unassigned
http://www.pc-biz.org/Explorer.aspx?id=3287
ASSEMBLY ACTION
On this Item, the General Assembly, acted as follows:
Approve as Amended with Comments
[Insert comment here.]
Electronic Vote - Plenary
Affirmative: 529
Negative: 135
Abstaining: 9
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
On this Item, the Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations Committee, acted as follows:
Approve as Amended with Comments
The committee 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.
[Counted Vote - Committee]
Affirmative:54
Negative:1
Abstaining:0
Final Text:
Amend Recommendations 1 and 2 as follows: [Text to be deleted is shown with brackets and with a strike-through; text to be added or inserted is shown with brackets and with an underline.]
“1. [Postpone the reports] [Refer the report]from the Offices of Interfaith Relations and Theology and Worship entitled: ‘Christians and Jews: People of God[,]’ [and “Understanding Christian-Muslim Relations” until such time as funding is provided by the General Assembly for the appointment of a special committee of the church, to be appointed by the moderator, [back to the Office of Interfaith Relations and Theology and Worship]to rewrite [both] [the]report[s] 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.
 “2. That correspondence about [these two] [this]report[s] between the National Middle East Presbyterian Caucus and the General Assembly Mission Council, and between the Israel-Palestine Mission Network and the General Assembly Mission Council be sent to [this special committee] [these offices and committee working on the revised paper].”
RECOMMENDATION

The Presbytery of San Francisco respectfully overtures the 219th General Assembly (2010) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to:

1.   Postpone the reports from the Offices of Interfaith Relations and Theology and Worship entitled: “Christians and Jews: People of God,” and “Understanding Christian-Muslim Relations” until such time as funding is provided by the General Assembly for the appointment of a special committee of the church, to be appointed by the moderator, to rewrite both reports 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.

2.   That correspondence about these two reports between the National Middle East Presbyterian Caucus and the General Assembly Mission Council, and between the Israel-Palestine Mission Network and the General Assembly Mission Council be sent to this special committee.
RATIONALE

In 2009, the Office of Interfaith Relations (OIR) contacted certain entities and individuals in the PC(USA) asking them to read and make comments on these papers. Those receiving these early drafts were asked not to share them, even with members of the groups they represented, because they were considered drafts and therefore confidential. At least some of the groups and individuals asked to review the papers were told that the OIR had reached out to other PC(USA) entities for the same kind of input.

An unknown number of these groups and individuals submitted comments and suggestions. In at least one case (regarding the Israel-Palestine Mission Network), the moderator of the IPMN contacted the OIR months later to learn the status of the report, and request a copy of the final draft that was soon to be presented to the General Assembly Mission Council.

In the case of theIsrael-Palestine Mission Network, there was evidence in the final draft that a number of its comments about problems with “Christians and Jews: People of God” were taken seriously and addressed.

What also became evident was that there were many important Middle Eastern entities and individuals in the PC(USA) who had not been contacted at all. They were unaware that these papers were being written—meaning that those who will be most affected by these reports were shut out of the closed and secretive process of writing and vetting these reports.

The leadership of the Israel-Palestine Mission Network, upon learning that such entities had not been invited to participate in this process, expressed its concern to the Office of Interfaith Relations. The issues raised in the following critique of “Christians and Jews: People of God” by the IPMN in its memo of February 18, 2010 to the General Assembly Mission Council have not yet been addressed, and need to be—in a substantive manner. (See attached background materials for text of this memo.)

It has been the traditional practice of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), with regard to important theological and ecclesiastical papers impacting the future practice and policy of this denomination, that the vetting process be open to the whole church before final approval is given by a meeting of the General Assembly. The purpose of this overture is to make sure that the Offices of Interfaith Relations and Theology & Worship abide by these standards with regard to these important papers.

[Background material, including the IPMN memo referenced above is found under “Additional Resources.”]
COMMENT
COMMENT
ACREC Advice and Counsel

      The Advocacy Committee for Racial Ethnic Concerns advises that Item 08-09 be approved.

Rationale

      Please see Advice and Counsel on Items 08-03 and 08-04.
GAMC Comment

The General Assembly Mission Council (GAMC) advises the 219th General Assembly (2010) to disapprove Item 08-09 and approve the two reports, “Christians and Jews: People of God” and “Understanding Christian-Muslim Relations” that they may serve the church as the basis for study by congregations and individual Presbyterians, and as grounding for further conversation and consultation among the many constituencies of the PC(USA) and its partners.

1.   The mandate for a new report on Christian-Jewish Relations was given by the 216th General Assembly (2004) to staff of the Theology and Worship, Interfaith Relations, and Evangelism Offices. The mandate for a new report on Christian-Muslim relations was given by the 218th General Assembly (2008) to staff of the Theology and Worship and Interfaith Relations Offices. These requests for documents to be created by staff for review and action by a future assembly are not unusual, as this overture suggests, but are increasingly common in this era of limited funds. The fact that these reports were to be written was made known to all in press reports, through summaries of General Assembly actions, as well as in the Minutes of the assemblies involved.

2.   The process of consultation undertaken by staff in relation to both documents involved many Presbyterians of varying perspectives. Those Presbyterians and Jews involved in the more formal consultations that informed the writing of “Christians and Jews: People of God” are noted in Appendix A. The request for discretion re: the sharing of drafts, while suggesting an untoward “secretive process” to the writers of this overture, was intended as a means to keep drafts of the documents from public scrutiny before they were completed.

3.   The General Assembly Mission Council must approve reports written by GAMC staff before sending them on to the General Assembly for action. Both GAMC approval and General Assembly consideration are public processes, with agendas and papers posted on the Web in advance of the meetings. Advisory Committees and other bodies of the church will make the comments they deem appropriate during this process. The General Assembly is itself representative of the whole church, but it is able to hold hearings if its commissioners deem more input is needed for responsible decisions to be made.

4.   The GAMC considered the concerns of the National Middle Eastern Presbyterian Caucus, and the letter from the Israel/Palestine Mission Network when it voted at its February, 2010, meeting to forward these reports to the General Assembly for approval. On February 10, the GAMC Executive Director requested the Caucus to provide its critique of, and input to, “Christians and Jews: People of God,” but no comment has been received from them to date. World Mission sent this document to partners in the Middle East on March 16, asking for comment and critique of it, but has not yet received any responses.

5.   In regard to “Toward an Understanding of Christian-Muslim Relations”, which calls for further study by the denomination, the GAMC took specific action to ensure that this process included broad consultation including representatives of the national Middle Eastern Presbyterian Caucus and partner churches in majority Muslim countries.

6.   The reports in question provide an urgently needed and clear basis for further discussion of issues involved in Christian-Jewish and Christian-Muslim relations. They can serve well as grounding documents for any further consultation deemed necessary, and can be clarified by future assemblies.

Appendix A

The following persons were involved in one or more of the consultations between Presbyterians and Jews that informed the staff writing team of “Christians and Jews: People of God.”

Presbyterians and other Christian participants
Fahed Abu-Akel, Atlanta Ministry with International Students
P. Mark Achtemeier, Dubuque Theological Seminary
Deborah A. Block, Immanuel Presbyterian Church
Robert Brashear, West Park Presbyterian Church
Anna Case Winters, McCormick Theological Seminary
Cecil Corbett, Scottsdale, Arizona
William Borror, Media Presbyterian Church
Sherri Hausser, Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church
Pauline Haynes, New York, New York 
Stephen Haynes, Rhodes College
Jin S. Kim, Church of All Nations
Christopher Leighton, Institute for Christian and Jewish Studies
Eugene March, Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary (Emeritus)
Jerry Tankersley, Laguna Presbyterian Church
James Thomas, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (former staff)
Michael Trice, Ecumenical Formation and Interreligious Relations, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Leanne Van Dyk, Western Theological Seminary
Byron Wade, Davies Street Presbyterian Church
Rebecca Weaver, Union Theological Seminary and Presbyterian School of Christian Education
Rob Weingartner, The Outreach Foundation
Doug Wilson, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (former staff)

Jewish participants
Fred Benjamin, Milton, Massachusetts
Alvin K. Berkun, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Harold J. Berman, Columbus, Ohio
Steven M. Cohen, New York, New York
Barry Cytron, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Lewis Eron, Cherry Hill, New Jersey
Ronne Friedman, Boston, Massachusetts
Reuven Hammer, Jerusalem, Israel
Richard Hirsh, Wyncote, Pennsylvania
Vernon Kurtz, Highland Park, Illinois
Shira Lander, Houston, Texas
Joel Meyers, New York, New York
Jonathan Miller, Birmingham, Alabama
Dan Polish, Poughkeepsie, New York
Gil Rosenthal, Needham, Massachusetts
David Sandmel, Chicago, Illinois
Robert Slosberg, Louisville, Kentucky
David Straus, Wynewood, Pennsylvania
Jeffrey A. Wohlberg, Washington, D.C.
Shawn Zevit, Wyncote, Pennsylvania

Staff Assigned to write paper:
Ray Jones, Office of Evangelism
Jay T. Rock, Office of Interfaith Relations
Joseph D. Small, Theology Worship and Education Ministry Area
Charles A. Wiley, Office of Theology and Worship
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES