The 46th General Assembly proposed seven amendments to the Book of Church Order (BCO). To date, 19 presbyteries have reported their votes.

The 46th General Assembly proposed seven amendments to the Book of Church Order (BCO), the most put forward since 1996. 

Below is a summary of some of the votes taken by the 46th General Assembly on Thursday, June 14.

Below are the recommendations issued by the Overtures Committee on June 13.

Below is a summary of the decisions made by the Overtures Committee of the 46th General Assembly on June 12. The committee will reconvene on Wednesday, June 13, at 8 a.m. 

In addition to the business of General Assembly, commissioners participate in seminars and corporate worship and strengthen personal relationships.

Kevin Smith, chairman of the study committee, hopes that the report will help congregations begin to see racism as a moral issue, like abortion. And as with other moral issues, Smith notes, refusing to talk about the issue will not make it go away.

“[Children] are members of the covenant community and members of the church. It makes me sad to think that often we ship them down the hall and they don’t participate in the great event of the gathered church,” said Jason Helopoulos.

“This revised definition reminds us elders to be outward-facing, to be concerned for those beyond the walls, to be approachable, and to be always mindful that there are people on the fringes of our churches who need to be invited in.”

While it is assumed that the leadership and members of this congregation will play a role in observing the elder and providing feedback to the presbytery (“court”) that will make the decision to remove the censure or not, drafters of the overture believe congregation’s role is not clearly laid out in the current language.