Did you see what happened at the General Assembly this year?

The 225th General Assembly of the PCUSA adjourned a couple of weeks ago, and many of us have taken a brief pause to refresh and to reflect.  PPF has a great deal to celebrate coming out of the assembly, including a significant step forward in the long movement to divest church funds from fossil fuel companies, important assembly actions supporting our gun violence prevention work, an assembly statement on the war in Ukraine, and GA action to include paid family leave in mandatory minimum terms of call. We share deep gratitude for the work of many PPF members in shaping overtures, organizing advocacy, prayerfully encouraging commissioners, and jumping on last-minute organizing threads throughout the lengthy assembly. We also thank the commissioners and GA staff and leadership for the countless hours of work and discernment this spring and summer.  As GA moderators often note when assemblies adjourn, the final gavel after these few weeks of decision may feel like the end of the work but, in truth, assemblies mark the beginning of faithful work renewed and reimagined. In that respect, GA is a sign along the road. In that vein, we share below a few “historical markers” from the 225th General Assembly. We will continue to be in touch about specific opportunities to support the work of the church living into these collective decisions made this summer. One place to look for those invitations will be our the GA225 facebook group - check it out!   With gratitude - David Ensign Interim Executive Director

Fossil Fuel Divestment

Many of us in the continental U.S. are suffering through extreme heat this week, as climate change threatens lives across the country and around the world. In that context, divesting from five of the worst offending fossil fuel multinationals may feel like a drop in an oil barrel. Indeed, in a statement released following the assembly’s action, FossilFree PCUSA noted, “we recognize that the time for urgent action is now and we lament that GA did not pass the visionary call to move toward categorical divestment. We will continue to hold our denomination to the highest standard of investing.” Still, given where the assembly was when FossilFree PCUSA began organizing almost a decade ago, the action taken by this assembly felt like a significant shift. At the assembly in 2014, overture advocates supporting divestment spent a great deal of time trying to convince commissioners that climate change is real. The assembly no longer argues about the threat of climate change. Disagreements now are around strategies for responding to the threat. The five companies the assembly agreed to divest from – Chevron, ExxonMobil, Marathon Petroleum, Phillips 66, and Valero Energy – shape much of the energy market globally and disproportionately influence energy and environmental policy, as well. ExxonMobil is the largest energy company in the U.S. and regularly among the 10 largest companies in the world. Chevron is the second largest energy company in the U.S.  The faithful work of many has brought the assembly to a deeper understanding of Jesus’ insistence that where our treasure is there are hearts shall also be. We celebrate this transformation.

Gun Violence Prevention

The tragic circumstances of everyday life in far too many places across the country compelled the assembly to organize work in a committee dedicated specifically to addressing violence in the U.S.A. The items of business that PPF encouraged commissioners to endorse included a 10-year project, the Decade to End Gun Violence, that includes creating resources for congregations and pastors at every level of the church. GA also commended congregations participating in Guns to Gardens, and recommended that all churches discern whether they are called to join the Guns to Gardens movement and dismantle unwanted guns to turn them into garden tools. This beating of swords into plowshares is a central piece of PPF’s gun violence prevention work with churches across the country. Sign up for one of two action circles in August where you can learn how to start hosting Guns to Gardens event in your community.

International Relations

PPF supported overtures related to peace on the Korean peninsula, and continued to witness for a just peace in the Middle East. The assembly affirmed these aims passing relevant overtures that were endorsed by the International Relations committee. Through its actions, the assembly recognized “that [the government of] Israel’s laws, policies, and practices regarding the Palestinian people fulfill the international legal definition of apartheid.” In addition, PPF helped lead the assembly to endorse a commissioners’ resolution to condemn the “Russian military invasion of Ukraine and crimes against humanity, and call for a cease-fire and the immediate resumption of internationally mediated negotiations.”  Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.

Paid Family Leave

PPF members also supported the organizing of the overture to add 12 weeks of paid family leave to the Book of Order mandatory minimum terms of call for pastors. The assembly endorsed that overture, which also requires support from a majority of the presbyteries in votes that will be cast in the coming months.  That piece of our polity underscores the reality that the general assembly is not the end of the work, but rather a hopeful step along the way toward a more just and peaceful world. We encourage you to speak to the importance of this issue in your Presbytery when it considers this change.