The Overtures Committee reconvened and made recommendations on the following overtures:
Overture 7, Amend RAO 4-21.d for Committees of Commissioners to Review Committee and Board Compliance and Policies, in the affirmative as amended. The vote was 122-12. The OC assumed jurisdiction of the overture, though it was not referred to the committee by the Stated Clerk.
The amended language is the following addition:
A recording of information sufficient to demonstrate the Committee’s or Board’s implementation of instructions received from General Assembly and of material policies and material policy changes adopted by the Committee or Board in that year.
Overture 25, Amend BCO 31 to Require Expedited and Conflict-free Investigations of Cases Involving Moral Failure or Victim(s), by referring it back to Arizona Presbytery without prejudice. The vote was 116-10.
Overture 8, Amend BCO 31-10 for Non-censure Suspension Option During Investigation, by referring it back to Arizona Presbytery without prejudice. The vote was 120-4.
Overture 23, Amend BCO 8-2 and 9-3 to Require Officers’ Conformity to Biblical Standards for Chastity and Sexual Purity in Self-description, in the affirmative as amended. The vote was 99-38. Read the amended overture.
Overtures 24, 17, and 16 by reference to the answer to Overture 23. The vote was 113-17.
Overture 9, Amend BCO 7 to Codify the Biblical Standard for Church Officers Related to Human Sexuality, with reference to its answer to Overture 23. The vote was 101-21.
Overture 12, Petition Government to End Sex-change Procedures for Minors, by empowering the Moderator to appoint a commission to draft a humble petition (WCF 31-4), which the PCA Stated Clerk shall send to the President of the United States; the majority and minority party leaders in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives; and the Chief Justice of the United States and recommend the Presbytery Clerks to send the petition to the Governors; the majority and minority party leaders in the State Legislatures; and the Chief Justice of the State Supreme Courts in their regions, condemning the practice of surgical and medical gender reassignment, especially of minors. The vote was 72-50.
Overture 18, Affirm Christ-Centered Racial Reconciliation and Reject Secular Social Justice and Critical Theory Ideology, in the negative. The vote was 91-39.
Overture 28, Declare Message to All Nations a Faithful Expression of Biblical Polity Shaping the PCA, in the affirmative as amended. The vote was 92-37.
The amended language is as follows:
Therefore, be it resolved that the 50th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America declare the “Message to All Churches” a faithful expression of Biblical polity which shaped the founding of the PCA in 1973. And
Therefore, the General Assembly directs its Stated Clerk to send the “Message to All Churches” to the Presbyterian Church (USA) via its Stated Clerk as a communication from a loving daughter to a prodigal mother.
Overture 13, Amend BCO 35-1 and 35-7 to Allow All Persons as Witnesses in Cases of Process, in the negative. The vote was 66-56. An elder indicated he will try to form a minority report.
Overture 21-41, Amend BCO 35-1 to Expand Potential Witness Eligibility, with reference to its action on Overture 13. The vote was 96-13.
A group of Overtures Committee members met to draft grounds for overtures they recommended answering in the negative.