8/9/2019 UPCUSA General Assembly minutes, 1965, p. 489-490.

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MINUTESOF THE

~ • l • GENERAL ASSEMBLY·

J_

. , ,

OF

THE UNITE.:D . . PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

i ~ THE UNITED STATES .OF AMERICA

PART IJournal

On e Hundr ed and S eve nty-Seventh General Assembly

i . .

Columbus , Ohio

May 20- May 26, 1965

SIXTH SERIESVOLUME VIII

1965

• •

Part I JournalPart II Annual Reports

Part III Statistics

OFFICE OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Wither spoon Building , Philadelphia, ~ e n n s y l v n i19107

August, 1965

PRESBYTERIAN }520 W I T H E R S ~ ~ ~ ~ R I C LSOCIETY

P 1 H u . ... . BUILDING

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1965] GENERAL COUNCIL 489

t has come to our attentio n that some United Presbyterian congre-gations are disturbed · because their pastors are participating in ·thecurrent voter registration drive in Selma, Alabama. ·

We would remind our members, through you, that these men aredoing their Christian duty as they see it, and are carrying out theobligation that falls on all of us to be supportive of the efforts of NegroAmerican citizens who are seeking to gain, by nonviolent means , theirfull constitutional rights.

The attaChed resolution was adopted by the General Couhcil onMarCh .10, 1965. Copies were sent to the President and AttorneyGeneral and the statement released immediately to the press. ·Werequest that you do everything you can to call this resolution to theattention of your constituency.

Resolution o the General Council o the General ssembly o TheUnited Presbyteri n Church in the United States o merica

The issues in Selma, Alabama, are clear.

Shall qualified American citizens be denied the right to register tovote?

Shall American citizens be denied the right peaceably to assembleto petition for the redress of their grievances?

Shall any state or local government be allowed to continue to use itsforces of law and order against Negro citizens in the exercise of theirConstitutional rights? ·

Shall any state be allowed to treat citizens of other states as outsiders,denying them adequate police protection when they stand with Negroesin their just protests?

Have not recent events in Alabama proved that the local forces oflaw and order are either unwilling or unable to keep the peace?

- The General Council of the General Assembly of The UnitedPresbyterian ChurCh in the United States of America believes that themembers of our ChurCh ought now and requests them to petition thePresident of the United States , the Attorney General, and their repre-sentatives in the Congress to act promptly under the powers ·of t h ~Federal Government to establish law .and order in Alabama and inany other state where locat government fails to protect the exerciseof the constitutional rights of all United States citizens, to these ends :

1. That all qualified citizens may be enabled to register to votenot later than November, 1965, and;

2. That local government shall be prevented i ~ aiding andf abetting the violent d enial of full Constitt1tional right s of Negro and· white citizens. · ·

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490 MINUTES [May 26

The General Council commends those white citizens of Alabamawho have demonstrated their concern for racial justice by publiclysupporting the struggles of their Negro brethren.

The General Council equally commends those clergy and membersof our Church and of our sister denominations who have respondedto the call of Dr. Martin Luther King to support with their physicalpresence in Selma the efforts to secure full Constitutional rights forall citizens.

The General Council asks the members of our Church and all othercitizens 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 afree nation and as those whose faith in God requires at the very leastthis minimum duty to fellow human beings .

The Church should now as always seek reconciliation. It musl con-tinue its efforts to be an .agent of reconciliation but reminds all thattrue reconciliation is never possible when injustice is condoned.

The General Council of the General Assemblyof The United Presbyterian Church in theUnited States of America

REV. EDLER G HAWKINS , ChairmanREv. THEOPHILUS M. TAYLOR, PH.D. , Secfetar; ·

D. The General Council reports for the approval of the .GeneralAssembly that upon the hearty recommendation of its Personnel Com-mittee, the General Council re-elected the Rev. Theophilus M. Taylor ,Ph.D., as Secretary of the General Council for the term 1965-1968. Inso doing , the General Council expresses its high appreciation for theservices 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 ofthe Rev . Eben. Cobb Brink on June 1, 1964 is recorded. Dr. Brink servedas a Secretary for Interpretation (National Missions) in the Department

o f Interpretation and Stewardship. He was succeeded in this capacity.on an interim basis by the Rev. Archibald K Stewart until Dece I).ber1, 1