Dates: July 18-22, 2015
Location: Columbus, Ohio
Theme: “Soar!” based on Isaiah 40
Order of Business and Resources
All documents are provided as PDF files, unless otherwise indicated.
Resolutions
| GA-1540 (emergency) | adopted | Support for Agreement with Iran: If adopted, the General Assembly would express affirmation to President Obama by letter from the General Minister and President as well as encouraging members in the U.S. to communicate with their elected representatives. |
| GA-1538 (emergency) | adopted | Election of Moderator for 2015-2017 Biennium: If adopted, Antonio “Tony” Rodriguez will be moderator of the General Assembly for the next biennium. |
| GA-1539 (emergency) | adopted as revised | Charleston and Beyond: Terror, Intimidation and the Burning of Black Churches: If adopted, the General Assembly will support the General Minister and President’s continued condemnation of the massacre of the Charleston Nine; call on the regional ministers to commit to ongoing pastoral care needs of Disciples ethnic minority congregations; asks the General Minister and President to write a letter of partnership and solidarity to the African Methodist Episcopal Church as expressed in this resolution; and that the Office of General Minister and President report the actions taken in response to this resolution at the 2017 General Assembly. |
| GA-1518 | adopted | Black Lives Matter: A Movement for All: If adopted, this resolution would be a call from the General Assembly to all expressions of the Church to consider being a safe haven for conversations about race, a place of prayer and sanctuary for those working peacefully for reconciliation. |
| GA-1519 | adopted | Commemorating 100 Years since the Armenian Genocide: If adopted, this resolution would be a call from the General Assembly to all expressions of the Church to recognize the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide in Anatolia (modern day Turkey) and to call on the U.S. and other governments to acknowledge the events that still affect the descendants today. |
| GA-1520 | adopted | Concerning Environmental Racism: If adopted, the General Assembly would invite congregations and other Disciple entities to educate themselves about instances of further marginalization of communities of color through the degradation of their nearby environment and for Disciples to take prayerful action to care for the earth and work for justice for all God’s people. |
| GA-1521 | adopted as revised | Substitute Resolution from the General Board on Gun Violence: If adopted, this resolution would be a call to all expressions of the Church to promote dialogue, cooperation, advocacy and action that moves toward a reduction of gun violence through methods such as non-violent conflict resolution and reconciliation across cultural divides. |
| GA-1522 | adopted | A Call for Peace, Justice and Reunification in the Korean Peninsula: If adopted, the General Assembly would ask the General Minister and President and other leaders of the church to notify the U.S. and Canadian governments that Korean reunification is a priority and would also institute a Sunday of Prayer for reunification on or around Aug. 15. |
| GA-1523 | adopted | Becoming a People of Welcome and Support to People with Mental Illness and/or Mental Health Issues: If adopted, this resolution would call all expressions of the Church to be supportive of individuals who struggle with mental health challenges, as well as their loved ones and caregivers. It would also call on Disciples Home Missions to provide information to help regional and congregational leaders create a place of welcome. |
| GA-1524 | adopted | Call for a Church Wide Task Force on the Sense of the Assembly Resolution Process: If adopted, the Office of the General Minister and President, Disciples Home Missions, and the Division of Overseas Ministries would be jointly empowered to convene a broad-based task force composed of representatives from diverse ministries to bring to the 2017 General Assembly a jointly sponsored process for discussion of and education about important important religious, ethical and social issues. |
| GA-1525 | accepted | A Call to End Solitary Confinement: If adopted, Item for Reflection and Research calls on the Administrative Committee of the General Board to explore ways for all the expressions of the Church to study the effects of solitary confinement on incarcerated individuals and help find alternatives to the practice. |
| GA-1526 | adopted | Resolution to Celebrate and Reaffirm our Commitment towards the Vision of Planting 1,000 New Congregations by 2020: If adopted, the General Assembly would be asking all expressions of the Church to celebrate our new churches and recommit to support the efforts of church planting. |
| GA-1528 | adopted | Change in Regional Boundaries: Great River and Alabama/Northwest Florida: If adopted, these three resolutions would shift regional boundaries to better serve churches on the geographical edges of the Great River Region, Mid-America and Kansas by including the petitioning churches in Alabama/Northern Florida and Greater Kansas City (2) respectively. |
| GA-1529 | adopted | Change in Regional Boundaries: Mid-America and Greater Kansas City |
| GA-1530 | adopted | Change in Regional Boundaries: Kansas and Greater Kansas City |
| GA-1531 | rec’d | Report from the General Assembly Committee of the General Board: This document is a progress report on some of the items from the 2013 General Assembly, specifically GA-1322 Hearing Accessibility for Participants; GA-1323 Item for Reflection and Research: Incarceration Justice and Restoration in the United States; GA-1324 Reflection on Christian Theology, Polity, the Christian Doctrine of Discovery and the Indigenous Voice; GA-1328 Removal of Any Racist Language in Governing Documents; GA-1329 Supporting a Treaty for Prevention of Torture; and GA-1331 Resolution Condemning Drone Warfare. |
| GA-1532 | committed to Administrative Committee for further investigation | Report of the Time and Place Committee: If adopted, plans will proceed to hold the 2019 General Assembly in Des Moines, IA. |
| GA-1533 | adopted | Report of the General Nominating Committee: If adopted, the General Assembly will elect the First- and Second-Vice Moderators and Moderator-Elect for the 2015-17 biennium as well as confirm and elect members of several boards. |
| GA-1534 | adopted | Amendment to the Design for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ): Paragraph 82: adds Moderator-Elect to the list of Moderator, First-Vice Moderator and Second Vice-Moderator correcting an oversight when the Moderator-Elect was added to other parts of the Design. |
| GA-1535 | (withdrawn) | Ratification of Administrative Committee Action: In response to the action of the 2013 General Assembly to name a Moderator-Elect, the Administrative Committee named Paul Tche. This business item confirms that decision. |
| GA-1536 | adopted | Resolution Calling for a Study Document on Understanding Stewardship as a Spiritual Discipline and its Practical Application in the Early 21st Century: If adopted, the General Assembly would ask the Center for Faith and Giving to produce a study document on stewardship that includes a holistic perspective on stewardship as well as a means of engaging Disciples in a discussion about stewardship. The study document would be presented at the 2017 General Assembly. |
| GA-1537 | adopted | Regarding the Future Location of General Assembly, General Board and Administrative Committee Meetings or Their Successors: If adopted, the General Assembly would instruct the Administrative Committee to initiate a task force to produce guidelines for the site selection process for meetings of 25 participants or more that would include matters of faith to which the Church has spoken or is currently speaking. |
General Ministry Reports
| GA-1501 | rec’d | General Assembly including the Office of the General Minister and President |
| GA-1502 | rec’d | Central Pastoral Office of Hispanic Ministries |
| GA-1503 | rec’d | Christian Board of Publication |
| GA-1504 | rec’d | Christian Church Foundation |
| GA-1505 | rec’d | Church Extension Financial & Missional Resources, Inc./HOPE Partnership |
| GA-1506 | rec’d | Council on Christian Unity |
| GA-1507 | rec’d | Disciples of Christ Historical Society |
| GA-1508 | rec’d | Disciples Home Missions |
| GA-1509 | rec’d | Disciples Women |
| GA-1510 | rec’d | Division of Overseas Ministries |
| GA-1511 | rec’d | Higher Education & Leadership Ministries |
| GA-1512 | rec’d | National Benevolent Association |
| GA-1513 | rec’d | National Convocation |
| GA-1514 | rec’d | North American Pacific/Asian Disciples |
| GA-1515 | rec’d | Pension Fund |
| GA-1516 | rec’d | Council of Colleges & Universities |
| GA-1517 | rec’d | Council on Theological Education |