Presbyterians Calling for a Special Session of the 216th General Assembly

To:  The 542 GA Commissioners at the 216th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA)

Whereas, on July 1, 2004 Commissioners at the 216th General Assembly voted (431-62) to direct the Mission Responsibility Through Investment Committee (MRTI) initiate a process of phased selective divestment in multinational corporations operating in Israel, in accordance to General Assembly policy on social investing, and to make appropriate recommendations to the General Assembly Council for action;

And, whereas many in the worldwide Judeo-Christian community of faith have been deeply offended and have denounced this action. (The denouncements can be read at http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?presby2 or www.presbyweb.com or www.pcusaelders.org or http://home.comcast.net/~jat.action/#PCUSA );

And, whereas the General Assembly will not have a regular meeting until the summer of 2006;

And, whereas the Presbyterian Church (USA) Book of Order provides for Special Sessions through concurrence by 25% of the Commissioners.

Now therefore, we, the undersigned members, elders, and ministers of Presbyterian Church (USA), respectfully request the 216th General Assembly Commissioners re-examine the Biblical implications of their divestment actions and re-consider them in a fair and balanced forum by immediately calling a Special Session. We make this request knowing the General Assembly Council, which is charged with carrying out the will of the General Assembly, must proceed with selective divestment.

Furthermore, we call for the Commissioners to a Special Session of the 216th General Assembly to limit the purpose to the following order of business:
1. The Commissioners to the 216th Special Session shall suspend the rules for secret balloting and require all votes be recorded in an effort to restore confidence in the representative structure of the governance of the Presbyterian Church (USA).
2. The Commissioners to the 216th Special Session shall vote on a motion to rescind in its entirety the resolution to divest in multinational corporations operating in Israel.
3. The Commissioners shall call upon the Judeo-Christian community of faith and the Islamic community of faith to seek a peaceful resolution of issues that have led to violent conflict in the Middle East region and beyond.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

The Presbyterians Calling for a Special Session of the 216th General Assembly Petition to The 542 GA Commissioners at the 216th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) was created by and written by Larry Rued (presby1368z@yahoo.com).  This petition is hosted here at www.PetitionOnline.com as a public service. There is no endorsement of this petition, express or implied, by Artifice, Inc. or our sponsors. For technical support please use our simple Petition Help form.

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