Response to Criticism of J. Herbert Nelson's Hobby Lobby Statement

The PC(USA) Office of Public Witness (OPW) is encouraged by the diverse dialogue that is occurring in response to the Reverend J. Herbert Nelson’s statement with respect to the Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby ruling. The OPW gives thanks for the words of support as well as the expressions of disagreement.  It is through dialogue and engagement that we may begin to break down the walls of ideology and see Christ in and through each other.

Much of the criticism of Rev. Nelson’s statement has been to point out his lack of specificity as to the particular contraceptives challenged in the Hobby Lobby case. Access to reproductive health care is an essential human right affirmed by Presbyterian General Assemblies, many of which have reaffirmed the historic Presbyterian commitment to accessible, comprehensive health care that should be equal, accessible, affordable, and high quality for all persons. (214^th General Assembly, Minutes, 2002, p.634)

But more than a ruling related to available contraception, Rev. Nelson and the Office of Public Witness wished to express in his statement a concern about religious liberty. The Hobby Lobby decision establishes a precedent that sets the conscience of employers over and above the conscience of workers. Further, the decision grants first amendment liberties to for-profit corporations, which, no matter how closely they are held, are not people.  Allowing corporations, whose primary function is profit, the freedom to impose religious values on employees is fundamentally un-American and contrary to the values upon which this nation was founded.

As always, the Office of Public Witness represents the actions approved by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assembly and its predecessor bodies, which have affirmed that God Alone is Lord of Conscience and that individuals must make decisions in personal and public life that are consistent with their own values, without seeking to coerce others. National policy that allows employers and the owners of corporations to coerce employees with respect to their moral decisions undermines our churches and the nation.

The Reverend Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II, is Director for Public Witness in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Office of Public Witness in Washington, DC.

World Council of Churches Statement on Economic Measures and Christian Responsibility toward Israel and Palestine

Our hearts are heavy. Too many people, both Israeli and Palestinian, have died already in this latest eruption of violence. In recent weeks, the level of tension and violence in Israel and Palestine has again reached frightening proportions. We bear witness to the senseless deaths of young people and the suffering visited on Israeli and Palestinian families. On the 1 July 2014, the World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary expressed deep sorrow over the suffering and loss of life in the region. He affirmed that “collective retribution is not justice, nor will it lead to peace”. Unfortunately and sadly, we are still witnessing demolition of Palestinian homes, acts of revenge and collective punishment measures by the Israeli army against Palestinians, dangerous threats of increased Israeli military attacks against Palestinians in Gaza, and rocket attacks from Gaza. The current violence comes with the failure of the latest round of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and the loss of prospects for a political solution.

Following the many calls issued by Palestinian Christians - most directly and succinctly in “A Moment of Truth,” the Kairos Palestine document issued in December 2009 – churches around the world are deeply concerned by these recent, highly destructive developments. It is the call of the churches to seek for Jerusalem “the things that make for peace” (Luke 19.42). Seeking peace for both Palestine and Israel is a longstanding commitment of member churches of the WCC.

As we face the possibility of yet another escalation in violence, we are called to consider again what actions churches around the world may take to help reduce the violence and promote peace for both peoples. As the WCC Central Committee noted in 2005, several churches have undertaken “initiatives to become better stewards of justice in economic affairs which link them to on-going violations of international law in occupied territory.” Initiatives that manifest solidarity with those who are oppressed are clearly the kind of actions which should govern the lives of people in covenant with God. In the present context of growing violence, such economic measures offer hope for promoting peace. In the spirit of promoting healthy Jewish-Christian relations in which we speak honestly and forthrightly with one another, we affirm the Central Committee’s statement of 1992 that “criticism of the policies of the Israeli government is not in itself anti-Jewish” any more than criticism of Palestinian Authority policies is anti-Palestinian;

We note the actions taken recently by the Presbyterian Church (USA) to divest from corporations that profit from Israel’s illegal military occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. The United Methodist Church has also sold the shares of a corporation that provided equipment for prisons in the West Bank. These decisions were taken after long and careful deliberations which took into account all factors and perspectives. We also note actions by churches which work closely with their national governments so that goods produced in all Israeli settlements be labelled as manufactured in occupied Palestinian territories. These efforts are bearing fruit especially within the European Union. We also note the actions of those member churches that have voted to boycott goods produced in the Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian lands. As we said in 2005, these actions are “commendable in both method and manner,” using “criteria rooted in faith.” The purpose of these actions is to bring a just peace which will benefit both Palestine and Israel, peace that will save lives of Israelis and Palestinians and their families from grief.
We have been called by Palestinian Christians to stand with them in this moment of deep pain. In faith, hope, and love, we are called to join creative peaceful resistance to illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine. While we seek peace with justice for all persons and communities affected by this conflict, we also acknowledge the profound imbalance of power in Israel’s favour. We are confident that might will never make right, and with Martin Luther King Jr. affirm that the “moral arc of the universe is long but it bends toward justice”.

We refuse to stand by silently and let baseless incitement and religiously-sanctioned extremism take even one more Israeli or Palestinian life. In this particular situation, we are convinced that targeted economic measures are an important nonviolent strategy for promoting peace and abating violence. We are called to take action in support of peaceful solutions to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Economic pressure, appropriately and openly applied, is one such means of action. However, recognizing that different churches have complex relationships with Israel and Palestine, the WCC Central Committee acknowledges that the outworking of this statement will be different for individual churches in their own contexts.
In addition to the important policy approaches outlined in the 2005 minute, which we reiterate today, the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches, meeting in Geneva, Switzerland from 2-8 July, 2014 therefore:

1. Reminds churches with investment funds that they have an opportunity to use those funds responsibly in support of peace with justice for both Israelis and Palestinians.
2. Requests the wide ecumenical family to accompany individuals and churches singled out for criticism because they seek to provide prophetic leadership to end the occupation of Palestine and to build a just peace;
3. Encourages its member churches to make investments that also help maintain a vibrant Palestinian Christian presence and witness in Israel and Palestine;
4. Encourages its member churches to engage in dialogue with Palestinian churches, civil society actors, and Jewish partners. Rather than reacting to the political controversies around economic measures, churches should thoughtfully and prayerfully consider how they might respond from the foundation of their faith;
5. Stands in solidarity with all who are working for peace with justice in Palestine and Israel.

Help Unaccompanied Children and Prevent Cuts to Refugee Services

“Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it” Heb. 13:2

In spite of recent reports that there is no hope for comprehensive immigration reform in our Congress, there is still a chance to take action to protect the basic needs of unaccompanied children crossing the border. Many of these children are fleeing increasing violence, poverty, and hunger as they come to the United States with hopes of a better future.

 The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) provides services to resettle refugees, asylees, Iraqi and Afghan Special Immigrant Visa recipients who assisted in U.S. Efforts, Cuban and Haitian entrants, victims of human trafficking, and survivors of torture. The ORR is also responsible for providing services to unaccompanied children from Central America. The office is in desperate need of substantially increased funding in order to meet the needs of unaccompanied children, without having to decrease services to refugees and other asylees under ORR’s care. The Administration has requested a $3.7 billion Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Bill.  In the bill, ORR will receive $1.83 billion for Fiscal Year (FY) 2014. In addition, ORR will need at least $3.167 billion in FY 2015 to continue to adequately provide refugee services.

Click here to write to your Member of Congress in support of these emergency funds.

The ORR is a crucial instrument in our call to love the stranger among us. Without the additional funding for FY 2014, they have announced plans to reprogram $94 million from refugee services to serve the increasing numbers of unaccompanied children. Both of these populations deserve to be served and not at the expense of each other. Refugee services are already inadequately funded and further cuts would create detrimental consequences for refugees and the communities that welcome them.

 The action of the PC(USA) 220^th General Assembly (2012) expressed our scriptural call to provide hospitality to strangers, to advocate for justice for immigrants regardless of status,  and to advocate actively for legislation that provides hope for young immigrants. Taking action to increase ORR’s funding is a chance to embody the ideals grounded in the love of Jesus Christ to welcome the traveler, and to respect the basic rights of all people, especially the needs of unaccompanied children, refugees, and asylees.

Click here to take action by reaching out to all members of Congress about this crucial issue.

The Stated Clerk, Rev. Gradye Parsons, released this statement on the crisis of unaccompanied minors along the U.S.-Mexico border.

J. Herbert Nelson Reacts to the Hobby Lobby Decision

The Reverend J. Herbert Nelson this week expressed dismay at the Supreme Court’s (SCOTUS) decision in the case of Burwell v. Hobby Lobby. The Presbyterian Church spoke to the question of access to contraception when the 205^th General Assembly (1993) called on Congress to provide funding that ensures access to contraception, at no cost, to any person who needs it. In the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), we affirm that each person is created in God’s image, and that each woman is endowed with God-given moral capacity and authority to determine whether or not to become pregnant. Denying any woman the right to exercise that moral agency is wrong.  It is because of our faith that we view access to contraception, and all forms of health care, as a human right. 

Further, in today’s workplace, "the 220^th General Assembly (2012) encourages the church's support for policies that strengthen families, support children's development, provide comfort to the elderly, and help to insulate decisions about family formation and child-bearing from undue economic stress." (Minutes, p. 246,Recommendation 3.b., italics added).

Presbyterians further profess that God Alone is Lord of Conscience and that individuals must make decisions in personal and public life that are consistent with their own values, without seeking to coerce others. We believe that the establishment clause in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution seeks to protect religious institutions from government infringement, and we are grateful for this protection.  But Hobby Lobby is not a religious institution.  It is a closely held corporation whose overriding objective is profit, not religious expression or evangelism.

In response to the ruling, the Rev. J. Herbert Nelson, PC(USA) Director for Public Witness, said --

“We are very concerned by the corporatization of the federal government, and we question the Supreme Court’s extension of personhood and freedom of religion to for-profit corporations. This move to treat corporations as people is a troubling trend in U.S. public life. We need to remember that it is people, not things, who have moral agency.

When discussing religious liberty in this case, we must also remember that it is the religious liberty of the workers that is infringed by the employer’s ability to express a religious view through its corporate policies. Indeed, because we view access to health care as a human right, both workers’ religious liberty and their human rights are in jeopardy. At its most extreme manifestation, an employer imposing religious views on unwilling employees begins down the path to slavery. The employees of Hobby Lobby are not mere extensions of its owners, but are endowed with their own moral agency and should not be imposed upon by the beliefs of their employer.

“In light of yesterday’s SCOTUS decision in the Hobby Lobby case, I urge Congress to take steps to make contraception available to all women and men, whether through federal appropriations, a re-classification of contraception as a prescription drug, or through private insurance requirements, such as the special “accommodation” for religious institutions with genuine objections based on conviction. Indeed, however Congress accomplishes this remedy, it is essential that all women and men have access to comprehensive reproductive health care.

“And while Congress must act to remedy this grave injustice perpetrated by our Supreme Court, it is incumbent upon all of us to challenge the shift in our society that endows corporations with rights that ought to be reserved for people. We could do so much better, if only we would create the political will.

The Reverend Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II, is the Director for Public Witness at the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Office of Public Witness in Washington, DC. 

More Time For Schools To Participate in Free Meal Program

USDA Extends Community Eligibility Deadline for Upcoming School Year

By Anne Fyffe

It is not too late for eligible schools in your community to notify their state agencies that they want to participate in Community Eligibility and provide free breakfast and lunch to all of their students for the 2014-2015 school year!

In mid-June, USDA Food and Nutrition Service announced an extension of the deadline for local educational agencies to elect to participate in Community Eligibility from June 30, 2014 to August 31, 2014!

Take Action: Find out if your schools are eligible here! For more links, scroll down.

Community eligibility is an opportunity for schools in areas that experience high levels of poverty to provide free breakfast and lunch to all of their students. A win-win for students and schools, community eligibility removes the families' and schools' burden of submitting paper applications to enroll students in school meal programs and works to ensure that all children in high-poverty communities receive two healthy meals a day, enabling them to pay better attention in class and perform better academically.

The PC(USA) is continuously a leader in the fight to end child hunger and has long recognized the "importance of federal nutrition programs as part of the path to ending hunger in our nation" (General Assembly Minutes, 1996, p.784). Community eligibility is one such program that will go a long way in providing healthy meals for children and ending hunger.

Take Action!

Here's what you can do now, before the August 31st deadline for school districts to notify their state agency that they want to participate in CEP for the 2014-2015 school year:

• Check out our original post: Community Eligibility can make a positive impact in your community by serving more meals to hungry kids.
• See if your School District is eligible: Check out the list of eligible schools in your state!
• Contact your school's Administration: If your school is eligible, contact the administrators in your school district and ask them if they plan to participate in CEP next year.
• Write an op-ed: Create some public discussion in your community around CEP by clicking here!
• Learn more about community eligibility: Utilize these CEP resources from FRAC.