PASTORAL LETTER INTERIM COMMITTEE

SUMMARY OF WORK

1. The committee completed the penultimate draft of the Pastoral Letter on Racial Lament and Hope.

2. The committee submitted the penultimate draft to the National Leadership team for comment.

3. The committee made revisions, approved a final draft, and submitted to GA office for distribution.

4. The committee filmed an introductory video for presbyteries.

5. The committee made plans for members to visit as many spring 2024 presbyteries as possible.

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RECOMMENDATIONS

44-11 The Ad-Interim Committee recommends that the 44th General Assembly approve the Pastoral Letter on Racial Lament and Hope for distribution to EPC teaching and ruling elders.

Pastoral Letter of Racial Lament and Hope

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WORK OF THE COMMITTEE

June 21-22, 2023: All but one committee member attended GA. Several led networking lunches. The committee appeared on stage during a business meeting. We introduced ourselves and our progress. On Thursday, the committee led a networking lunch with 75-100 persons in attendance.

August 14-15, 2023: The committee met in person at Hope Church in Memphis. We read aloud and discussed, in turn, the revisions of the three sections of the letter. We also fellowshipped and prayed together often. We spent an afternoon on a private tour of the National Civil Rights Museum, including an hour of debriefing.

September 27, 2023: The committee met by Zoom to read aloud the latest drafts, discuss and make suggestions.

October 15, 2023: The three writing teams submitted fresh drafts adopting committee comments. These latest section drafts were sent to Carol Williams and Ken Chang to serve as editors in combining the three sections into a smooth whole.

December 5, 2023: The committee met by Zoom to review the edited draft of the whole paper. The committee discussed the reality of copyrights and permissions involved in using photographs, as well as noting that photos have not been used in pastoral letters before. It was agreed that photos, if proper permission can be obtained, could be used as tools for teaching in the supplemental materials.
Chang and Dawson were tasked with adjusting the document so that one more draft of the whole could be sent to the committee.

December 13, 2023: After incorporating final committee suggestions into the paper, chairman Dawson submitted the penultimate draft to the NLT via stated clerk Dean Weaver and chair of NLT Brad Strait.

January 16, 2024: Chairman Dawson met with NLT by Zoom. Committee members McDaniel, Annie Rose and Joe Kim were also present as members of the NLT. The NLT offered mainly affirmation, with some questions related to the use of the term “systemic racism” and the details of the George Floyd example.

February 1, 2024: The committee met by Zoom to consider suggestions from the NLT and approve a final draft of the letter.

March 19, 2024: The committee met via Riverside.fm to record a video introduction to the pastoral letter for spring presbytery meetings.

April/May 2024: Committee members attended presbytery meetings and led discussions about the letter, soliciting feedback from presbyters.

June 2024: The committee will meet in order to evaluate feedback from presbyteries and plan for the General Assembly.

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RECOMMENDATIONS (DETAILED)

RECOMMENDATION 44-11

The 42nd General Assembly (2022) voted to create a moderator-appointed ad-interim committee to write a pastoral letter on racial lament and hope for the teaching and ruling elders of the EPC.

The ad interim committee met, prayed, researched, interviewed, invited comments, wrote, re-wrote, revised, and finally completed the pastoral letter.

We believe the letter represents the teaching of Scripture and the Westminster standards well.
We believe the letter reflects the perspectives of both the majority and minority ethnicities in our denomination.

We commend this letter to our teaching and ruling elders for study, prayer, conversation, and implementation in worship and practice.

Pastoral Letter of Racial Lament and Hope

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COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Joe Kim (Co-Chairman)
TE, Presbytery of the East

Ken Chang
RE, Presbytery of the West

Marcos Ortega
TE, Presbytery of the East

Annie Rose
TE, Presbytery of the Rivers and Lakes

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MEETING DATES

August 14-15, 2023: Hope Church (Memphis, TN)
September 27, 2023: Video Conference
October 15, 2023: Video Conference
December 5, 2023: Video Conference
February 1, 2024: Video Conference
March 19, 2024: Video Conference

Joe Kim, Co-Chairman
June 2024

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