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6where potential new church development leaders would consult with missional leaders, PAS and seminary students, currentpastors and lay leaders to equip them for new church development.New academic initiatives include a new degree program, the Master of Arts in Christian Ministry (2-year program),designed for persons who are called to ministries other than ordained pastoral ministries.RECOMMENDATION 4: That Recommendation 3 of the Report of the Board of Trustees of MemphisTheological Seminary, “that the General Assembly urge all probationers to consider Memphis Theological Seminaryand the Program of Alternate Studies as their first options for meeting educational requirements for ordainedministry,” be adopted.RECOMMENDATION 5: That Recommendation 4 of the Report of the Board of Trustees of MemphisTheological Seminary, “that the third Sunday in August, (August 21, 2016 and August 20, 2017) be included in theGeneral Assembly Calendar as Seminary/PAS Sunday, and that the General Assembly encourage all churches toshare information about MTS and PAS and receive a special offering on that day, or a more convenient day of thesession’s choosing,” be adopted.IV. THE REPORT OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF BETHEL UNIVERSITYAugust 2016 to July 2017 marks the Bethel Seminary/College/University’s 175th Birthday. The full report of thehistory of Bethel University is included in the preliminary minutes, page 116.RECOMMENDATION 6: That the General Assembly encourages all Churches and Presbyteries celebratethe accomplishments of Bethel University’s 175 years of education and service to the Cumberland PresbyterianChurch and the world. Bethel Forevermore!Bethel University asks for your continued prayers and support, and asks that we recommend students to Bethel.RECOMMENDATION 7: That the General Assembly encourage all Churches and Presbyteries to continueto support Bethel University through prayer and financial assistance and to encourage those pursuing highereducation to seek information about what Bethel University has to offer.V. THE REPORT OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEESOF THE CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIAN CHILDREN’S HOMECurrently endowment distributions constitute 23.1% of the operating income for the Children’s Home. The marketdetermines income of the endowment based on investments made by the managing company. There is concern that thispractice is unsustainable. The committee recognizes a significant need to increase funding to sustain the operation of theChildren’s Home.There are other opportunities to help the Children’s Home in addition to giving money. Each congregation shouldemphasize opportunities to help. For example, Red River Presbytery is sponsoring a youth convocation Labor Day weekendwhere youth 4th grade through High School will come to the campus to perform interactive ministry and service at theCPCH. This type of project promotes team building, but also provides opportunities for mentoring and role modeling withthe clients at CPCH. The committee endorses efforts of this nature and encourages more interaction with the CP Children’sHome.RECOMMENDATION 8: That the third Sunday in March (March 19, 2017) be included in the GeneralAssembly Calendar as Children’s Home Sunday, and that the General Assembly encourage all churches to shareinformation and a video about Cumberland Presbyterian Children’s Home and receive a special offering on that day,or a more convenient day of the session’s choosing.The video can be seen and downloaded at the Cumberland Children’s Home Facebook page.Respectfully Submitted,The Committee on the Children’s Home and Higher Education

7REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ONTHEOLOGY AND SOCIAL CONCERNSI. REFERRALReferrals to this committee are as follows: The Report of the Unified Committee on Theology and Social Concerns,The Report of the Unificaition Task Force, the Memorial from Covenant Presbytery Regarding Church World Services, andthe Memorial from Covenant Presbytery Regarding Homosexuality.II. PERSONS OF COUNSELAppearing before this committee were: Reverend Mitchell Walker (CPCA) and Reverend Joy Warren (CPC),representatives of the Unification Task Force; Reverend Shelia O’Mara, representative from the Unified Committee ofTheology and Social Concern; Reverend Michael Qualls, Director of Program of Alternate Studies; Reverend Jay EarhartBrown, President of Memphis Theological Seminary; Reverend Michael Sharpe, Stated Clerk of the CPC; Reverend PerrynRice, Pastor of Lake Highlands Presbyterian Church; Reverend Byron Forester, member of the Permanent Committee of theTheology and Social Concern; Elder L. Leon Cole, Jr., Moderator of the 141st General Assembly of the CPCA; Rex Hayes,Hunter Hughes, Ethan Kohrs, Will Lombard, Micah Warren, Maggie McClung, Hayden Hughes, Max Moore, Gavin Kohrs,Ana Montaño, and Ariana Hudgins, Kids Connect Commissioners in Training.III. CONSIDERATION OF REFERRALSA. REPORT OF THE UNIFIED COMMITTEE OF THEOLOGY AND SOCIAL CONCERNS1. Study PapersWe commend the Unified Committee on Theology and Social Concerns for their faithful work in preparing the studypapers entitled Homelessness as a Justice Issue – A Theological Response and A Confessional Approach to Discrimination.We encourage all ministers and presbyteries to study and discuss them among their members.The committee found two areas in these respective papers that needed amending. First, in the paper Homelessnessas a Justice Issue – A Theological Response, the committee amended the final paragraph before the study questions, secondsentence to read, “The scriptures of the Bible continually call us out for being complicit with those who possess all the powerand wealth and abandoning the marginalized people that God also loves.” Secondly, in the paper A Confessional Approachto Discrimination, the committee amended the quotation of the Confession of Faith, section 1.16, to read “God never leavesor forsakes his people. All who trust God find this truth confirmed in awareness of his love, which includes judgmentupon sin, and which leads to repentance, and to greater dependence upon divine grace. All who do not trust God are,nevertheless, under the same providence, even when they ignore or reject it. It is designed to lead them also to repentanceand to trust in divine grace.”.”RECOMMENDATION 1: That Recommendation 1 of the Report of the Unified Committee of Theology andSocial Concerns, “that the General Assemblies accept the papers, “Homelessness as a Justice Issue-A TheologicalResponse” and “A Confessional Response to Discrimination” as study papers and that they be used to initiatethought and discussion within the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and the Cumberland Presbyterian Church inAmerica,” be adopted.RECOMMENDATION 2: That Recommendation 2 of the Report of the Unified Committee of Theologyand Social Concerns, “that the Office of the General Assembly of both denominations make these papers available tochurches through the stated clerks of the presbyteries,” be adopted.2. Unification EffortsThe Committee affirms and supports the work of the Unification Task Force and any recommendation it may havefor delaying the timeline for unification and the need to revise the proposed plan for unification.RECOMMENDATION 3: That Recommendation 3 of the Report of the Unified Committee on Theology and

8Social Conerns, “that a Sunday be set aside as Unification Sunday and that all churches have a service geared towardunification, “be adopted.3. Church CalendarThe Committee supports the ongoing focus by the Women’s Ministry of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church ondomestic violence and would like to see an addition to the church calendar to give a denomination-wide focus on the topic.Nation-wide, October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.RECOMMENDATION 4: That Recommendation 4 of the Report of the Unified Committee on Theology andSocial Conerns, “that National Domestic Violence Awareness Month be added to the church calendar for the monthof October,” be adopted.B. REPORT OF THE UNIFICATION TASK FORCEThe Committee heard from Reverend Mitchell Walker (CPCA) and Reverend Joy Warren (CPC) from the UnificationTask Force. The Committee wishes to encourage and give great appreciation to the members of the Unification Task Forcefor their great faithfulness in pursuing the unification of the CPC and CPCA. The amount of work, time, and effort by eachmember is priceless and for their diligence, we praise Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior.RECOMMENDATION 5: That Recommendation 1 of the Report of the Unification Task Force, “that therevised Plan for Union of the CPC and CPCA be approved for study in the two churches, and that all ministers,sessions, presbyteries, synods, and members of the two churches be encouraged to study the document and providefeedback to the task force during the upcoming year,” be adopted.RECOMMENDATION 6: That Recommendation 2 of the Report of the Unification Task Force, “that theGeneral Assemblies of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America and the Cumberland Presbyterian Churchcommit to meeting concurrently in the same city during the same week for the foreseeable future,” be adopted.RECOMMENDATION 7: That Recommendation 3 of the Report of the Unification Task Force, “that thethird Sunday in February be recognized in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and the Cumberland PresbyterianChurch in America as Unity Sunday, and that all churches be encouraged to pray for our unity in Jesus Christ, andfor discernment as we seek to express our unity more fully in the future,” be adopted.RECOMMENDATION 8: That the Unification Task Force meet with representatives of MemphisTheological Seminary, the Program of Alternate Studies, and the School of Continuing Education and Certificationto discuss the pathways of education for clergy.C. MEMORIAL FROM COVENANT PRESBYTERY REGARDING CHURCH WORLD SERVICESThe Committee discussed the memorial from Covenant Presbytery regarding Church World Service, and wasunanimous in the following recommendation:“We, the undersigned, do petition the Covenant Presbytery to memorialize the 2016 General Assembly with thefollowing resolution:WHEREAS, Church World Services has an overall rating by Charity Navigator of 81.75; andWHEREAS, Church World Services is linked with Presbyterian Church USA, Presbyterian Church ofCanada, Reformed Church in America, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, EvangelicalLutheran Church in Canada, United Church of Christ, Disciples of Christ, Christian ReformedChurch, Church of the Brethren, Episcopal Church, Mennonites, Community of Christ, and theMoravian Church and others which accept the homosexual lifestyle as normal, ordain homosexualindividuals into the ministry, and/or promote or give acceptance to those who do; andWHEREAS, Samaritan’s Purse which has an overall rating of 96.17 rating by Charity Navigators, andWHEREAS, Samaritan’s Purse is not in league with any of the above organizations andWHEREAS, it behooves us to use our funds in a prudent, effective and righteous way; andWHEREAS, Samaritan’s Purse has a very evangelical approach to its mission: (see mission statement below)BE IT RESOLVED, that the 2016 General Assembly dissolve its relationship with Church World Servicesand join with Samaritan’s Purse by the 2017 General Assembly.

9Signed: the Elders of Bayou de Chine Cumberland Presbyterian ChurchDr. Kenneth G. Richards, Moderator and Pastor, Jim Crass, Mark Crass, Walter Lawrence,Baker Thompson and Larry Wooten, Treasurer.Samaritan’s Purse is a nondenominational evangelical Christian organization providing spiritual and physical aid to hurting people aroundthe world. Since 1970, Samaritan 1s Purse has helped meet needs of people who are victims of war, poverty, natural disasters, disease, andfamine with the purpose of sharing God 1s love through His Son, Jesus Christ. Emergency relief meets desperate needs of victims worldwide.Operation Christmas Child delivers more than 8 million shoebox gifts to poor children in more than 100 countries each year. World MedicalMission sends doctors, equipment, and supplies to underprivileged countries. Community development and vocational programs in impoverishedvillages and neighborhoods help people break the cycle of poverty and give them hope for a better tomorrow. Vulnerable children are rescued,educated, fed, clothed, and sheltered, letting them know that God loves them, Jesus died and rose again for them, and they are not forgotten.Covenant Presbytery at its Fall Meeting of Presbytery on October 3, 2015, passed this memorial to beforwarded to the General Assembly headquarters for consideration at the 2016 General Assembly.Signed Reese Baker, Stated Clerk, Covenant Presbytery,” be denied.D. MEMORIAL FROM COVENANT PRESBYTERY REGARDING HOMOSEXUALITYA memorial from Covenant Presbytery was referred to this committee:We, the undersigned, do petition the Covenant Presbytery to memorialize the 2016 General Assembly with thefollowing resolution:WHEREAS, in the beginnjng “God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created. them; maleand female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27) and called it “very good”; andWHEREAS, “That is why a man- leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.”(Genesis 2:24); andWHEREAS, nowhere in the Bible does it say God ever changed His mind or thought He made a mistake in creatinghumankind any differently or that marriage should be any different than between a man and a woman; andWHEREAS, Jesus said, “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and thetwo will become one flesh.” (Matthew 19:5); andWHEREAS, The Bible is clear that anyone who keeps “practicing” sinful ways in no way conforms to God’s plansfor humanity - “We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. We also know that the law is made notfor the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for thosewho kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality,for slave traders and liars and perjurers-and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine that conformsto the gospel concerning the glory of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me.” (1 Timothy 1:8-11); andWHEREAS, Paul admonishes the faithful - “Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even theirwomen exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandonednatural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful actswith other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error. Furthermore, just as they did notthink it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that theydo what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed anddepravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters,insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they have nounderstanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who dosuch things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those whopractice them.’’ (Romans 1:26-32) and “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousnessand wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is therebetween Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreementis there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. “As God has said: ’Iwill live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people. Therefore,‘Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.’ And,‘I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.’” (2 Corinthians6:14-18 andWHEREAS, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church is currently linked with many other organizations listed belowthat either accept the homosexual lifestyle as normal, ordain homosexual individuals into the ministry, and/or promote and/or give acceptance to those who do:BE IT RESOLVED, that the Covenant Presbytery of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church memoralize the 2016General Assembly to separate itself from the following in all areas by the time of the General Assembly of2017: Presbyterian Church USA, Presbyterian Church of Canada, Reformed Church in America, Evangelical

10Lutheran Church in America, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, United Church of Christ, Disciplesof Christ, Christian Reformed Church, Church of the Brethren, Episcopal Church, Mennonites, Communityof Christ, and the Moravian Church.Signed: the Elders of Bayou de Chine Cumberland Presbyterian ChurchDr. Kenneth G. Richards, Moderator and Pastor, Jim Crass, Mark Crass, Walter Lawrence,Baker Thompson and Larry Wooten, Treasurer.Covenant Presbytery at its Fall Meeting of Presbytery on October 3, 2015, passed this memorial to beforwarded to the General Assembly headquarters for consideration at the 2016 General Assembly.Signed Reese Baker, Stated Clerk, Covenant Presbytery,” be denied.We commend to General Assembly the official statement on homosexuality from the 166th General Assembly of theCumberland Presbyterian Church.In 1996 The General Assembly adopted the following statement on Homosexuality (GA Minutes, page 313):Whereas, in our society today, there are many issues which concern the people of God, one such issue being the rise inacceptance of and openness toward homosexual activity, and we, of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, believe there is aneed to state clearly our understanding of the Biblical teaching about homosexual activity, andWhereas, it is also our desire to set forth our position regarding the appropriate response of Christians and the church to thiscritical issue, especially in light of the trend in some Christian bodies toward the ordination of practicing homosexuals, andWhereas we believe the scripture of the Old and New Testaments to be the inspired word of God, the source of authority forfaith and practice, and therefore, contemporary sexual attitudes and behavior are to be judged in the light of the Bible ratherthan the Bible being reinterpreted, modified, or overturned by current cultural trends in thought and behavior.Be it resolved that the General Assembly of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church go on record affirming that Biblicalteaching makes it clear that the practice of homosexuality is a sin, yet with the understanding that while God loves the sinner,He hates the sin, and His grace is available to all “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, butto save the world through Him” John 3 17Be it further resolved, that since the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with a Christian life style and since officersof the church must be “examples to the flock.” the General Assembly go on record stating that the Cumberland PresbyterianChurch does not condone the ordination of practicing homosexuals as Deacons, Elders or Ministers of Word and Sacrament;andBe it further resolved, that the General Assembly state as its position that we, as Christians who are ourselves sinnersredeemed by the grace of God. must reach out to those persons who are struggling with homosexuality, offering themChristian love, education, friendship, therapy and intercession to the end that they and we may experience true wholenessthrough the freeing, renewing grace of God in Jesus Christ.E. RESOLUTION FROM JAPAN PRESBYTERYThe Committee discussed the Resolution from Japan Presbytery which states:

11Resolution Adopted by Japan Presbytery of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church,Meeting on 23 November 2015On the occasion of the 70th year after WWIIPraying to be used as peacemakers, an instrument for peace, at the time ofthe great crisis that would destroy the peaceOn the occasion of the 70th year after WWII, we, Japan Presbytery of the CumberlandPresbyterian Church, confess again our repentance to God for our nation’s wartimea

Theological Seminary, "that the General Assembly urge all probationers to consider Memphis Theological Seminary and the Program of Alternate Studies as their first options for meeting educational requirements for ordained ministry," be adopted. RECOMMENDATION 5: That Recommendation 4 of the Report of the Board of Trustees of Memphis