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MINUTES
OF THE
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GENERAL ASSEMBLY

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OF

THE UNITE.:D .. PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

i~ ; THE UNITED STATES .OF AMERICA

PART I
Journal

On,e Hundred and Seve'nty-Seventh General Assembly

Columbus, Ohio
i ..

May '20- May 26, 1965

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SIXTH SERIES
VOLUME VIII
1965

Part I

Journal

Part II Annual Reports

Part III Statistics

OFFICE OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Witherspoon Building, Philadelphia,

~ennsylvania

19107

August, 1965

PRESBYTERIAN }I
520 WITHERS~~~~RICAL SOCIETY
P1Hu
.,... .
BUILDING

GENERAL COUNCIL

1965]

'489

It has come to our attentio'n that some United Presbyterian congregations are disturbed because their pastors are participating in the
current voter registration drive in Selma, Alabama.

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We would remind our members, through you, that these men are
doing their Christian duty as they see it, and are carrying out the
obligation that falls on all of us to be supportive of the efforts of Negro
American citizens who are seeking to gain, by nonviolent means, their
full constitutional rights.
The attaChed resolution was adopted by the General Couhcil on
MarCh .10, 1965. Copies were sent to the President and Attorney
General and the statement released immediately to the press. We
request that you do everything you can to call this resolution to the
attention of your constituency.
Resolution of the General Council of the General Assembly of The
United PresbyteriAn Church in the United States of America

The issues in Selma, Alabama, are clear.

Shall qualified American citizens be denied the right to register to
vote?
Shall American citizens be denied the right peaceably to assemble
to petition for the redress of their grievances?
Shall any state or local government be allowed to continue to use its
forces of law and order against Negro citizens in the exercise of their

Constitutional rights?
Shall any state be allowed to treat citizens of other states as outsiders,
denying them adequate police protection when they stand with Negroes
in their just protests?
Have not recent events in Alabama proved that the local forces of
law and order are either unwilling or unable to keep the peace?
- The General Council of the General Assembly of The United
Presbyterian ChurCh in the United States of America believes that the
members of our ChurCh ought now and requests them to petition the
President of the United States, the Attorney General, and their representatives in the Congress to act promptly under the powers of th~
Federal Government to establish law .and order in Alabama and in
any other state where locat government fails to protect the exercise
of the constitutional rights of all United States citizens, to these ends :
1. That all qualified citizens may be enabled to register to vote
not later than November, 1965, and;

2.

That local government shall be prevented fi~m aiding and

f. abetting the violent denial of full Constitt1tional rights of Negro and

white citizens.

490

MINUTES

[May 26

The General Council commends those white citizens of Alabama

who have demonstrated their concern for racial justice by publicly
supporting the struggles of their Negro brethren.
The General Council equally commends those clergy and members
of our Church and of our sister denominations who have responded
to the call of Dr. Martin Luther King to support with their physical
presence in Selma the efforts to secure full Constitutional rights for
all citizens.
The General Council asks the members of our Church and all other
citizens of good will to act and to use their full influence to eliminate
injustice to racial minorities in our land, both as free citizens of a
free nation and as those whose faith in God requires at the very least
this minimum duty to fellow human beings.
The Church should now as always seek reconciliation. It musl continue its efforts to be an . agent of reconciliation but reminds all that
true reconciliation is never possible when injustice is condoned.
The General Council of the General Assembly
of The United Presbyterian Church in the
United States of America
REV. EDLER

G. HAWKINS, Chairman
M. TAYLOR, PH.D., Secfetar;,

REv. THEOPHILUS

D. The General Council reports for the approval of the . General

Assembly that upon the hearty recommendation of its Personnel Committee, the General Council re-elected the Rev. Theophilus M. Taylor,
Ph.D., as Secretary of the General Council for the term 1965-1968. In
so doing, the General Council expresses its high appreciation for the
services rendered by Dr. Taylor in this capacity during his term of office.
E. The General Council reports the following changes in executive:
staff personnel during the past year: It is with sorrow that the death of
the Rev. Eben. Cobb Brink on June 1, 1964 is recorded. Dr. Brink served
as a Secretary for Interpretation (National Missions) in the Department
of Interpretation and Stewardship. He was succeeded in this capacity.
on an interim basis by the Rev. Archibald K. Stewart until Dece!I).ber
1, 1<)64, when the Rev. Lawrence W. McMaster was appointed Secretary
for Interpretation (National Missions) . .The Rev. Andrew E. Kurth
joined the staff of this department as the Associate Secretary for Interpretation and Stewardship on September 1, 1964. Mr. Louis A. Petersen
and the Rev. Jay M: Logan joined the staff of the Department of 'Interpretation and Stewardship as Secretaries for Services to Synods and Presbyteries on September 1, 1964 and December 1, 1964 respectively. The
,Rev. Robert N. Allen resigned as a Secretary for Services to Synods and
Presbyteries in the Department of Interpretation and Stewardship as of