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Congressional Record—House H5644 H5644 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE June 24, 2014 public information campaigns to help PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH USA into question both in the larger culture promote changes in attitudes and poli- GENERAL ASSEMBLY MEETING and increasingly in the legal frame- cies. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The work which governs this land. But per- FRAC helps frame the debate in Con- Chair recognizes the gentleman from haps the most striking and troubling is gress and State legislatures, educating Virginia (Mr. WOLF) for 5 minutes. that increasingly this is happening elected officials and their staff, and Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I rise today within the church itself, which has his- they help implement antihunger pro- as a follower of Jesus and a lifelong torically served as a bulwark against grams at the local levels. FRAC does member of the Presbyterian Church the cultural whims of the day. everything but literally hand food to USA who is deeply grieved by what In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus says: hungry Americans. The work they do transpired at last week’s gathering of Haven’t you read . that at the beginning has resulted in stronger programs and PCUSA’s General Assembly. I feel in- the Creator ‘‘made them male and female,’’ and said, ‘‘For this reason, a man will leave more eligible people receiving food as- creasingly alienated from this rich faith tradition, which includes John his father and mother and be united to his sistance. wife, and two will become one flesh’’? So Witherspoon, the only active clergy- Mr. Speaker, the Federal antihunger they are no longer but two, but one. There- man to sign the Declaration of Inde- safety net is excellent, but it is not fore, what God has joined together let man pendence, and submit for the RECORD a perfect. It is vast, but it is not com- not separate.’’ statement of protest by the Pres- prehensive. FRAC works with policy- This passage and others like it re- byterian Lay Committee Board of Di- makers and government officials to mind me of Reverend Billy Graham’s rectors, which expresses a similar sen- make these programs better, to ensure comments and the lead-up to the 2012 timent. that no hungry person is left without North Carolina ballot initiative regard- food. [June 19, 2014] ing marriage, when he remarked: PRESBYTERIAN LAY COMMITTEE BOARD OF DI- FRAC was a leader in our fight to The Bible is clear—God’s definition of mar- RECTORS REPUDIATES ACTION OF PCUSA riage is between a man and a woman. save the Heat and Eat program in the GENERAL ASSEMBLY In addition to marriage, I was also recently enacted farm bill. It has stood (By Carmen Fowler LaBerge) troubled by the PCUSA’s action on strong in the fight to ensure that ev- DETROIT, MI.—A statement of protest by eryone gets breakfast at school and the Presbyterian Lay Committee repudi- Israel. I submit for the RECORD a Wall food during the summer, and FRAC has ating the action of the General Assembly of Street Journal piece which ran yester- also fought back on antinutrition rid- the Presbyterian Church USA to redefine day regarding the vote to divest the de- ers that House Republicans have at- marriage. The 221st General Assembly of the nomination stock from three American tached to the Agriculture Appropria- Presbyterian Church (USA) has approved companies that do business with Israel both an Authoritative Interpretation of the tions bill. in the West Bank citing their ‘‘involve- Constitution and an amendment to redefine ment in the occupation and the viola- FRAC has stood with me from day marriage. In the name of 1.8 million Pres- tion of human rights in the region.’’ byterians nationwide, the General Assembly one of my End Hunger Now campaign. [From the Wall Street Journal, June 22, 2014] Like me, they believe that hunger is a has committed an express repudiation of the PRESBYTERIANS JOIN THE ANTI-ISRAEL CHOIR political condition, that it is solvable. Bible, the mutually agreed upon Confessions of the PCUSA, thousands of years of faithful- FRAC has been invaluable in this fight. DIVESTING FROM COMPANIES LIKE MOTOROLA ness to God’s clear commands and the de- SOLUTIONS TO SHOW SOLIDARITY WITH THE They have organized countless num- nominational ordination vows of each con- PALESTINIANS bers of food stamp challenges, includ- curring commissioner. This is an abomina- (By Jonathan Marks) ing the two food stamp challenges that tion. The Presbyterian Lay Committee I participated in; and they work with mourns these actions and calls on all Pres- The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is bleed- ing members. Between 2000 and 2013, almost important local antihunger groups like byterians to resist and protest them. You should tell your pastor and the members of 765,000 members left the organization, a loss Project Bread and the Massachusetts of nearly 30%. Last week the church’s leader- Law Reform Institute, along with the your session that you disapprove of these ac- tions. You should refuse to fund the General ship met in Detroit for crisis talks. Northeast Regional Anti-Hunger Net- Assembly, your synod, your presbytery and No, not about the emptying-pews crisis. work. even your local church if those bodies have The Israel-Palestinian crisis. On Friday, in a close vote (310–303), the FRAC is one of the leaders in the not explicitly and publicly repudiated these unbiblical actions. God will not be mocked General Assembly of the Presbyterian fight to end hunger now. Every single Church (U.S.A.)—the largest of several Pres- person who works at FRAC is com- and those who substitute their own felt de- sires for God’s unchangeable Truth will not byterian denominations in America—re- mitted to a shared vision of a hunger- be found guiltless before a holy God. The solved to divest the organization’s stock in free America. Whether it is working to Presbyterian Lay Committee will continue Caterpillar, Hewlett-Packard and Motorola expand the number of kids getting food to call for repentance and reform: repentance Solutions. The church’s Committee on Mis- during the summer or fighting against of those who have clearly erred at this Gen- sion Responsibility Through Investment said cuts to SNAP, the people who work for eral Assembly and reform of the PCUSA ac- the companies have continued to ‘‘profit cording to the Word of God. Presbyterian from their involvement in the occupation FRAC are doing everything they can to and the violation of human rights in the re- end hunger. Lay Committee Board of Directors, June 19, 2014. gion,’’ and have even ‘‘deepened their in- I want to commend Jim Weill and his volvement in roadblocks to a just peace.’’ Mr. WOLF. I will begin with mar- Israel’s counterterrorism and defense meas- team at FRAC for everything they do. riage. After several years of internal Not only are they true professionals, ures have included razing Palestinian houses discussion and debate, the assembly (with Caterpillar equipment), operating Gaza they care about their work. I want to voted overwhelmingly to take a posi- and West Bank checkpoints (with Hewlett- thank everyone at FRAC for fighting tion which runs counter to the counsel Packard technology), and utilizing military to end hunger now. of Scripture, which defines marriage as communications and surveillance (with Mo- I hope, Mr. Speaker, as they continue the divinely inspired joining of one torola Solutions technology). their important work, we in Congress man and one woman. The church signaled its antipathy for Israel earlier this year by hawking a study will be inspired to do more. It is It has long been clear that our cul- guide called ‘‘Zionism Unsettled’’ in its on- shameful that this Congress has been ture is in the throes of a seismic shift line church store. In the 76-page pamphlet, so clueless when it comes it ending on this issue. While the current mar- Zionism—the movement to establish a Jew- hunger. We and the White House need riage debate is centered around the no- ish homeland and nation-state in the his- to develop a comprehensive plan with tion of same-sex unions, in reality toric land of Israel—is characterized as a ‘‘a benchmarks and timetables to end hun- there has been a decades-long assault struggle for colonial and racist supremacist ger now and then enact it. Indifference on marriage, such that what was once privilege.’’ and making believe that the problem almost universally recognized as a In a postscript to ‘‘Zionism Unsettled,’’ Naim Ateek, a Palestinian priest and mem- will go away on its own is not a policy; God-ordained and created institution, ber of the Anglican Church, explains the it is an excuse to do nothing. Let’s in- the fundamental building block of any meaning of the charges in the pamphlet. ‘‘It stead follow the example of FRAC and society and the nexus of procreation is the equivalent of declaring Zionism heret- End Hunger Now. and childrearing, has now been called ical, a doctrine that fosters both political VerDate Mar 15 2010 01:45 Jun 25, 2014 Jkt 039060 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 4634 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\K24JN7.002 H24JNPT1 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with HOUSE June 24, 2014 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE H5645 and theological injustice. This is the strong- leaders here are now warning of a re- and charged him with the May killings of est condemnation that a Christian confes- cent and fundamental shift tied to a four people inside a Jewish museum in Brus- sion can make against any doctrine that pro- spurt of homegrown anti-Semitism.’’ sels.
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