18-01 National Capital Overture on the Confession of Belhar

The National Capital Presbytery overtured the General Assembly to amend The Book of Confessions to include the Confession of Belhar.

On Amending The Book of Confessions to Include the Confession of Belhar—From the Presbytery of National Capital.

The Presbytery of National Capital overtures the 220th General Assembly (2012) to begin the process of amending The Book of Confessions to include the Confession of Belhar, as provided in G-6.03.
Rationale

The recommendation to include the Confession of Belhar in the PC(USA) constitution, The Book of Confessions, was approved by the 219th General Assembly (2010) and was sent to the presbyteries for approval and fell only eight votes short of the two-thirds necessary for ratification.

The Reformed Church in America, which is in full communion and fellowship with the PC(USA), adopted the Confession of Belhar as its fourth doctrinal standard at its 2010 General Synod. The Christian Reformed Church of North America proposed at its 2009 General Synod, for vote in 2012, the adoption of the Confession of Belhar as its fourth confession of faith, the first since its founding in 1857.

The Presbytery of National Capital, a multiracial inclusive presbytery with a history of activism in civil rights, voted on June 28, 2010, in favor of inclusion of the Confession of Belhar, in spite of knowledge that the denominational vote had already failed. The action taken now represents the presbytery claiming its prophetic voice.

Links:

• Overture Submitted (see above)
• Overture on PC-Biz