Guide to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Church Records

Descriptive Summary

Title

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Church Records

Inclusive Dates

circa 1953-2006

Bulk Dates

2001-2006

Call Number

RG 536

Creator(s)

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Church.

Parsons, Gradye.

Quantity

3.50 cubic feet (4 boxes)

Language

Materials in English.

Restrictions on Access

Records created within the past 20 years are restricted; contact PHS staff for details. Medical, educational, and psychological records of living people are closed.

Digital Content

To browse this collection's digitized content visit Pearl.

Materials marked "Digital" in the Collection Inventory may not have been digitized in their entirety.

Repository

Presbyterian Historical Society, 425 Lombard Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147-1516 USA

Biographical Note / Administrative History

Administrative History

In 2001, the 213th General Assembly created the Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Church (TTF PUP) to lead the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (PC(USA)) in spiritual discernment of Christian identity in and for the 21st century. Comprised of twenty members, the task force sought to discover ways that the church could live more faithfully in the face of conflicts and disagreements around the issues of biblical authority and interpretation, Christology, ordination standards, and power. The General Assembly charged the task force to set its meetings, deliberations, and conclusions in a theological frame through an ongoing process of biblical study, theological reflection, and spiritual discernment. The task force was co-chaired by Gary W. Demarest and Jean (Jenny) S. Stoner.

Through their meetings from 2001 to 2006, task force members sought to deepen their understanding of their Christian and catholic identity and clarify key themes of the Reformed theological and constitutional heritage; study and evaluate the sources of health and promise as well as the causes of dissension and unrest in the church; recommend ways for the church to move forward, furthering its peace, unity, and purity; study theological issues and Presbyterian polity; and consult with governing bodies and other groups in the church. Before approaching mandated topics, task force members studied resources from scholars and earlier committees and commissions of the church. They conducted Bible study, prayer, and worship at every meeting.

The task force's subcommittee on communication held focus discussion groups at the 214th General Assembly in 2002. The task force adopted a preliminary report to the 216th General Assembly in 2004. During its meeting in Chicago, Illinois from August 24 to August 25, 2005, the task force adopted its final report, "A Season of Discernment...," for the 217th General Assembly. While the task force did not take a position on human sexuality and ordination, it did reach agreement on several points in its final report: "It is a grave error to deny baptism or church membership to gay and lesbian persons or to withhold pastoral care to them and their families...Those who aspire to ordination must lead faithful lives. Those who demonstrates licentious behavior should not be ordained...Sexual behavior is integral to Christian discipleship, leadership, and community life. it is not a purely personal matter...Sexual orientation is, in itself, no barrier to ordination" (page 20). The task force also wrote, "Many of us came to understand how alienating it is for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender persons to be so regularly identified as a major threat to the peace, unity, and purity of the church" (page 12). The task force also recommended its authoritative interpretation of section G-6.0108 of the "Book of Order" to the 217th General Assembly (page 35), stating the "authoritative interpretation would restore a greater degree of both rigor and flexibility in ordination decisions" (page 36).

Collection Overview

The collection contains correspondence, meeting files, questionnaires, resources, and other records that document the creation and activities of the PC(USA) Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Church, including the drafting and publication of its final report "A Season of Discernment...," which was submitted to the 217th General Assembly. Meeting files make up the bulk of the collection and show the task force's progress through its studies and ultimate conclusions.

The Meeting Files and Other Task Force Materials series, circa 1953-2006, contains files of correspondence, meeting materials (including agendas, communications, drafts, minutes, publications, reports, and study materials), questionnaires, and other resources created and collected by the task force in preparation of and during its scheduled meetings. Meeting files are arranged by the dates that the task force held its meetings. Also included are completed questionnaires from congregations, ministers, and other church constituents recording what they hoped the task force to accomplish during its work.

The Gradye Parsons Files series, circa 1964-2006, contains a separate set of records maintained by Gradye Parsons, Office of the General Assembly (OGA) staff liaison to the task force and director of operations of the Office of the Stated Clerk. Materials include a binder containing meeting minutes and a published copies of the task force's preliminary report and final report; meeting files containing agendas, communications, drafts, minutes, publications, reports, and study materials; and a file on the task force's working groups.

Organization and Arrangement

The collection is arranged as follows:

SERIES I: MEETING FILES AND OTHER TASK FORCE MATERIALS, CIRCA 1953-2006

SERIES II: GRADYE PARSONS FILES, CIRCA 1964-2006

Alternative Formats

To browse this collection's digitized content visit Pearl.

Materials marked "Digital" in the Collection Inventory may not have been digitized in their entirety.

Related Material

Administrative Information

Acquisition Information

Transferred from the Office of the General Assembly (OGA), Department of the Stated Clerk, Director of Operations (Louisville, Ky.) in 2009 and from OGA (Louisville, Ky.) in 2018.

Processing Information

Collection processed and guide prepared in 2022 by Nicholas Skaggs, Processing Archivist, as part of the Pam Byers Memorial Collection.

Preferred Citation

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Church Records, RG 536, Presbyterian Historical Society, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Catalog Headings

The following headings have been used to index the description of this collection in the society’s electronic catalog.

Personal Name Subject

Jesus Christ--Person and offices.

Corporate Subject

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). General Assembly (213th : 2001 : Louisville, Ky.)

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). General Assembly (216th : 2004 : Richmond, Va.)

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). General Assembly (217th : 2006 : Birmingham, Ala.)

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Church.

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)--Doctrines.

Title Subject

A season of discernment : the final report of the Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Church to the 217th General Assembly (2006) with study guide.

Topical Subject

Discernment (Christian theology)

Homosexuality--Religious aspects--Presbyterian Church (U.S.A)

Jesus Christ--Person and offices.

Ordination--Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

Theology, Doctrinal.

Genre-form

Agendas (administrative records) aat

Correspondence. aat

Essays. aat

Minutes (administrative records) aat

Press releases. aat

Printed materials (object genre) aat

Publications (documents) aat

Reports. aat

Questionnaires. aat

Personal Added Name

Parsons, Gradye.

Uniform Title Added Entry

A season of discernment : the final report of the Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Church to the 217th General Assembly (2006) with study guide.

Collection Inventory

Box	Folder	Description	Alternative Formats

		SERIES I: MEETING FILES AND OTHER TASK FORCE MATERIALS, CIRCA 1953-2006

1	1	Correspondence, circa 2002-2005
1	2	Meetings (held from 2001-February 2002), circa 1982-2002
1	2	Meetings (held from 2001-February 2002) - Pamphlet, circa 2002	Digital
1	3	Meetings (held from 2001-February 2002), circa 1982-2002
1	4-21	Meetings (held from March 2002-March 2005), circa 1953-2005

2	1-2	Meetings (held from May-July 2005), 2004-2005
2	3-5	Meetings (held in August 2005) [includes final report drafts], 2004-2005
2	6-8	Meetings (held in 2006) [includes final report copy], circa 1961-2006
2	9-10	"Ordination Standards: Biblical, Theological, and Scientific Perspectives" (by North Como Presbyterian Church; pre-publication version), 2004
2	11	Questionnaires / Surveys, circa 2001-2002
2	12-15	Resources, circa 1994-2005

		SERIES II: GRADYE PARSONS FILES, CIRCA 1964-2006

2	16	Agendas (regular and annotated) [chiefly for 2002 meetings], circa 1992-2002
2	17	Binder - Final report and meeting minutes [for 2001-2006 meetings; includes published final report "Season of Discernment..." and resource CD], circa 1985-2006
2	17	Binder - Final report and meeting minutes - "Guidelines and Definitions on Inclusive Language" (copyright date 1985), 2001	Digital
2	17	Binder - Final report and meeting minutes - "Preliminary Report from the Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Church to the 216th General Assembly...," 2004	Digital
2	18	Binder - Final report and meeting minutes, circa 1985-2006
2	19	Consensus articles, 1997-2002

3	1	General Assembly (217th, Birmingham, Ala.), 2006
3	2	General Assembly (217th, Birmingham, Ala.) - Pre-Assembly Conference [includes task force packet], 2006
3	3	Meetings (held in 2001) [includes task force creation / formation materials], circa 1997-2001
3	4-11	Meetings (held from February 2002-Februrary 2004), circa 1964-2004
3	12	Meetings (held in August 2004) [includes Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) materials], 2002-2004
3	13-15	Meetings (held from October 2004 to July 2005), 2002-2005
3	16-17	Meetings (held in August 2005) [includes final report drafts], circa 2004-2005
3	18-19	Meetings (held in 2006), circa 2004-2006
3	20	Member listings, 2002-2006
3	21-22	Resource book (hard copy) [includes compact disc (CD)], 2006

4	1	Resource book - CD project, circa 1996-2006
4	2	Resources [includes diversity materials], 2002-2006, undated
4	3	Working groups, 2002
4	4	Video series [includes 2 videocassettes (VHS)], 2003-2004
4	4	Video series - "Seeking Peace, Unity, and Purity : Video One," 2003	Digital
4	4	Video series - "Seeking Peace, Unity, and Purity : Video Two," 2004	Digital
4	5	Volume - "A Season of Discernment..." (bound final report), 2006
4	6	Volume - "Sing the Faith" (Pew Edition), 2003
4	7	Volume - "The Presbyterian Hymnal...," 1989

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Guide to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Church Records

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