This resolution is the result of a development process that included wide consultation and participation throughout the church, drawing upon biblical sources and insights from the Reformed tradition in giving renewed definition to Presbyterian understandings concerning immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers.
This resolution is presented for the guidance and edification of the whole Christian Church and the society to which it ministers; and will determine procedures and program for the ministries divisions and staff of the General Assembly.
The Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy (ACSWP) recommends that the 211th General Assembly (1999) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) do the following:
1. Commend the United Nations and the International Conference in Rome for the drafting and adoption of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
2. Affirm the need for international judicial mechanisms for the administration of justice capable of addressing major categories of crime with consistent application for all countries.
3. Call upon all governments to be diligent in the conduct of affairs, preventing those acts that might constitute offenses of international character as defined …
The General Assembly took several actions to implement the use of "Life Together in the Community of Faith." Though it was not the first action taken, the action that is perhaps of the most interest to you is that the General Assembly commended the Standards, as a model, to presbyteries and synods for study, approval, and inclusion in manuals of operations, and to congregations, as a model, for study, approval, and use with sessions, new member classes, adult education classes, personnel committees, and in contracts.
This policy statement presents a theological understanding for our activities in the complex world of international economics, touching upon issues of economic justice for all persons, concerns about population, and ecological degradation. It calls for a renewed emphasis on the Reformed norm of frugality and presents the norm of sufficiency, so that all may participate with abundant living in caring communities that are less materialistic and more frugal.
The Special Committee on the Nature of the Church and the Practice of Governance was charged with the responsibility of producing a thorough study of the nature of the church. The enclosed document represents the committee's efforts to fulfill that directive. The report begins with an assessment of our denomination's current situation and contains fifty statements that explore the biblical nature of the church, examine the Reformed tradition, consider the history of the church in North America, inspect the confessions, and search its polity.
The 200th General Assembly (1988) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), meeting in St. Louis, Missouri, was asked to respond both to ever-increasing public turmoil over the issue of abortion and to turmoil within our own denomination, including numerous overtures in recent years asking that the General Assembly change, reconsider, or reaffirm the abortion policy expressed in the 1983 document, Covenant and Creation. The response of the 200th General Assembly (1988) was to mandate: 1. That the Moderator of the 200th General Assembly (1988) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) select a Task Force to conduct a study, to be completed within …
Concern about an epidemic of spouse, child, and elder abuse led the committee of Women of Color and the Women's Ministry Unit to recommend to the 203rd General Assembly (1991) a paper on domestic violence for study throughout the church.
The assembly urged churches to study the paper on family violence and to establish programs that respond to domestic abuse in their communities. It also instructed me to print the domestic violence paper and to distribute a copy to each church.
La Asamblea General 203 (1991) continuó dándole un gran énfasis al evangelismo en la vida de la iglesia. Una de las acciones tomadas por la Asamblea fue la adopción de el documento "Vuelva al Dios Vivo: Un llamado al evangelismo a la manera de Jesucristo", el cual articula nuestro compromiso a la evangelización mundial.
This resolution calls upon congregations and presbyteries to a new commitment to evangelism.