For the last two and one-half days the Assembly has met in several committees to consider the business before the Assembly. In the Committee meetings the items were handled with care. Not everybody agreed on everything. We would not expect them to. Issues from the situation in Iraq, mission funding, abortion, procedures, changes in the Book of Order, and celebrating the new church school curriculum were among those before the committees. Most of the Committees completed their business by dinner on Tuesday. This provided the Commissioners with an evening for recharging their batteries for the plenary meeting running from Wednesday afternoon through Saturday morning.

The Assembly moved with dispatch through the initial business before the Assembly the first afternoon of reconvening in plenary session. By the time they broke for dinner the Assembly was about two hours ahead of the projected docket. (I would bet that by tomorrow evening that cushion will have disappeared.) Actually, it is gone now that the dinner break if completed due to an early recess for dinner.

This evening Erin and I hosted our delegation for dinner. It was a good time of reflecting on the progress of the Assembly, telling some stories on ourselves, and enjoying the fellowship of the table. Those at dinner were our YAD, Tim King, our Commissioners Gary Lyon and Roy Tomb, Mary Marks King, Erin and myself.

I thought for a while the Assembly was just going to breeze through the reports of the committees with little debate. Then came the report of the Evangelism and Higher Education Committee. One recommendation, in response to an overture from the Presbytery of Inland Northwest, was to "…to direct the General Assembly Council, Congregational Ministries Division, to explore the appropriateness of recommending the Alpha Program as a congregational resource for evangelism [and to supplement as necessary to reflect the Reformed tradition and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)]. It was interesting to note that the Assembly seemed willing to be more eclectic in the source of evangelism resources.

After an extended debate the Assembly voted to affirm the decision of the Assembly last year to move to Biennial Assemblies. The vote was not over-whelming in the weight of the vote. The affirmation passed on a 56% vote.

As was expected there were a series of substitute nominations of people to serve on the General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission. Dissatisfaction with some of the recent decisions of the GAPJC brought forth a concerted effort by some factions of the denomination to insure the GAPJC will be peopled with those they feel will more accurately reflect their views. Only one such proposed substitution was elected by the Assembly.

With the decision to affirm the biennial meetings of the Assembly and the adoption of a new formula for determining the number of Commissioners the Youth Advisory Delegates rose up in dismay that the ration of YADs to Commissioners would be reduced. The YADs were advocating an increase in their number. It seemed to me that the "entitled generation" was whining. Each presbytery will still get one YAD each, as it has been for many years.

Concerns about significant social and missional issues came before the Assembly through the Global Ministries Committee. Concerns ranged from the Mid-east, to Cuba, to Taiwan. It was out of compassion for people in desperate situations and how we can demonstrate the love and justice of Jesus to them. The Assembly is deeply bogged down in these issues and concerns. Any and all time ahead of docket which the Assembly enjoyed yesterday is long gone (as I predicted).

Upon returning from dinner this evening (Thursday) the Assembly took up the very controversial issue of late term abortion. The was a majority report and a minority report. The two reports were very much the same with a few significant differences. A Commissioner asked that the debate be respectful and avoid emotionally graphic descriptions. The significant difference in the two reports is a requirement of for "moral" counseling to the mother prior to final decisions on a late term abortion. Both reports maintain the proviso for an abortion in the case of rape, insect or to protect the life of the mother. One Commissioner offered an amendment to seek options which would provide for the life of both the mother and fetus in the case where the mother’s life is endangered. The Assembly voted, after a tired debate, not to substitute the minority report for the main motion. The Assembly voted to adopt the main motion by a 77% affirmative vote. The debate, even though tired was decorous and the Commissioners felt good about how they handled this sensitive issue.

Moderator Susan is doing a very good job in the chair. She is very careful and respectful of all commissioners. She has allowed the Vice-moderator Easley more time moderating the Assembly than several past Moderators have done.

I have been wonderfully pleased with the number of people to have said to me, or to Erin in my hearing, how much they appreciate her writing and her service on the Mission Initiative Steering Committee. People from across the denomination know what we know. We are blessed to have Erin serving with and among us. John Detterick, Executive Director of the General Assembly Council, was one of many to comment about Erin’s wide range of talents and gifts which are being used in the more inclusive governing bodies.

Mary Marks King, our representative on the General Assembly Council, is having an opportunity to see how the Assembly deals with various actions she has encountered on the GAC. I imagine that sometimes she is pleased and at others disappointed. It will be interesting to hear how the GAC responds to many of the missional and programmatic decisions of the Assembly.