A publication that seeks to understand the phenomenon of "professional misconduct through sexual abuse." Exactly what constitutes professional misconduct through sexual abuse? In the case of adults, why do pastors/counselors/supervisors become sexually involved with men and women in their congregations and workplaces? Where are the lines between an "ordinary" responsible relationship between two consenting adults, and "professional misconduct through sexual abuse?" Is the extent of the problem really so great?
One of the greatest challenges created by the new reality of building community among strangers is the acknowledgment that we are all indeed strangers who have something to give to each other. We are challenged to affirm each other even when we do not understand each other. There is no challenge facing our nation and, especially, our own church greater than the divisions based on racism… In the face of these challenges, we affirm that Jesus Christ has the power to overcome racism in our society and in our churches. We commit ourselves to wrestling with racism in the power …
As Presbyterians, led from worship into the world, we are guided by Scripture and act out our calling as disciples of Jesus Christ. In this time we are called to respond to the crisis of homelessness and affordable housing which, despite many programs and approaches aimed at ending homelessness, is still with us. Nevertheless, it is?at last becoming clear what is needed. Each person or family experiencing homelessness (1) must be treated with dignity and respect and offered hospitality and welcome to permanent housing, and (2) must have access to the necessary resources and services to enable them to meet …
This resolution, approved by the 218th General Assembly (2008), explores equal pay for comparable work concerns. What factors contribute to women's earning 78 percent of what men make, even in the church? This carefully researched report analyzes differences in education, skills and experience as well as gender and racial discrimination to back its recommendations for implementing equal pay for comparable work. Recognizing that ""the new reality in Christ"" should be reflected in the quality of the church's common life and witness,"" this resolution encourages all Presbyterians to uncover and correct unjustified pay disparities.
The Gospel from Detroit proposes measures to revive the church's urban mission - its vision of how to serve the cities as well as provide help to urban ministry.Detroit is a case study but the policy is for all urban areas.For further information, see description where product is posted for online download.
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), as represented by the General Assembly, opposes the economics and practices of exclusion that restrict people from zones of privileged access, whether by law or custom. How long will patterns of separation and segregation be allowed to replicate fear and prejudice? Recalling the Confession of 1967 as we come to Portland, Oregon, in 2016, forty years after that Confession was sent to the presbyteries, we lift up the phrase, "with an urgency born of this hope." May we share an urgency born of the hope that our cities may be places of healing more than violence, …
Both the UPCUSA and PCUS approached the Vietnam War from a Just War position. At the beginning of the war, both accepted that the U.S. entered the war to resist Communist aggression. They affirmed U.S. efforts at peace, but also counseled military restraint and negotiation. The denominations promoted the right of dissent and conscience regarding the war, and eventually came to call for U.S. withdrawal from the war.
Twenty centuries ago, "in the fullness of time," God sent Jesus the Christ. Now there is a special time in history-a season (kairos)- summoning the faith and obedience of God's people. For Christ has gathered and deployed his people around the earth, across political and economic lines, in places of powerfully protected affluence, and among the poorest of the poor. The body of Christ responds to the world's pain with empathy and anguish, one part for another, in our time. But we believe that these times, so full of peril and tragedy for the human family, present a special call …
We need to face our fears and insecurities honestly as pastoral issues of central significance. We need to develop the resources that will enable us through mutual support to venture in faith to enter new friendships with the confidence that God will continue to open the way for future steps. Let us challenge ourselves to trust in the promises of God that God's Kingdom will be on earth as it is in Heaven. The vision of God's Kingdom calls us to participate in God's work by breaking down barriers, healing divisions, guarding each person's dignity, advocating for the voiceless, and …
As the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) seeks to increase its diversity and expand its ministries to racial, ethnic, and cultural minorities, we find that increasing numbers of immigrant workers are present in our midst. Our friendship with these neighbors can become a window to a deeper realization of the cruelties and vulnerabilities many immigrants experience in the U.S. The church is called to witness to the reconciliation that Christ brings to the world. It is no cheap covering over?of divisions and differences. Instead, reconciliation points?to a dynamic unity of richly diverse humankind in which justice is established and each one is …