Highlights of the 180th General Assembly of the United Presbyterian Church U.S.A, side 1.

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    God, our father, judge, and you have chosen us to do your work
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    in the world, but we have been lazy, impudent and proud.
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    We have power, yet we claim to be helpless.
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    We are prosperous but reluctant to give.
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    We seem pious, but we will not listen to your word.
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    Forgive us, for we are unworthy servants who have not done what you command.
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    Lord, have mercy on us.
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    And forgive our sins.
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    The one hundred and eighty at the General Assembly, like all others,
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    began with worship, confession and communion.
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    Lord, have mercy and forgive our sins.
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    The first order of business for any assembly is to elect itself
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    a moderator, the 180 of chose John Gov.
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    Smith on the second ballot.
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    Having read these rules according to order.
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    This is this is the way we rapidly do things.
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    Are your instructions moderator and for the direction all the members in the management
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    of business bring, the Almighty God made direct and bless
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    all the deliberations of this General Assembly for the glory of his name
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    to the United Presbyterian Church, United States of America.
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    I resign my place in office as moderator.
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    I'd like to not only like I'm very happy.
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    They've been crampon you.
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    Symbols of this office, I kind of feel
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    like this is the wrong way around the installation bestowing is
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    what we wanted to have.
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    We've got Meghan on the line.
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    I'd like to think.
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    Thank you.
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    I think you better sit down while I say something about this man.
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    I think that this assembly would want the first words
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    of the new moderator to be an expression on
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    your behalf of our appreciation for Jean Smathers.
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    If the people of
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    big like Tennessee are as anxious to have him back as he is to get there,
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    Eugene Smathers should live happily ever after.
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    Minister appeared as a guest of the assembly.
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    His name, the Reverend Ralph Abernathy, leader of the Poor People's March
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    on Washington, president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the man
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    who inherited the ministry of the late Martin Luther King.
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    What we are demanding is massive and comprehensive and expensive.
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    It will require many new laws and many new appropriations
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    resources we are demanding look large compared
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    with what is now being spent in these areas.
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    But let me remind you, my Christian friends, that they do not look large
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    compared to what is being spent on the occupation
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    and bombardment of a small Asian country
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    with which we no longer which we have had no historic
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    nor political or economic ties in the past.
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    What I am actually saying is that instead of
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    us spending billions of dollars to carry on an
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    unjust and ungodly world 6000
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    miles away in Vietnam, killing brown children
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    and dropping napalm and dropping bombs and destroying
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    life, now we ought to be spending those billions of dollars
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    to make life a reality for all American citizens right here
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    home.
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    In fact, what I'm actually saying is that we are tired
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    of sending our son, our black sons,
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    to die in Vietnam, and yet when they come back
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    to the United States of America, they are certain areas in
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    the vast cities of this country where they cannot buy a home,
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    even if they have the money to do so.
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    These look like large figures compared
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    to what we are spending now in these areas,
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    they do not look large compared with what is being spent to send weapons
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    to control to countries all over the world that have
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    nothing to fear so much as their own armies.
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    They do not look large compared to what is being spent to keep
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    an American army in Europe on the theory that
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    they are defending our former allies, our former enemies,
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    against attack from our Russia that no longer
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    even controls most of the communist government of Eastern
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    Europe and the resources we demand and don't look so
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    large compared with what is being spent in the exploration
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    of space or the building of superhighway.
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    We are spending twenty five billion dollars to put a man
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    on the moon. Surely if we can spend 25 billion
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    dollars to put a man on the moon, then why can't we spend billions
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    of dollars to stand on our feet right here in the United
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    States of America?
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    Mr. Abernathy went on to solicit the aid of the Presbyterian Church
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    for the Poor People's March.
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    He asked for one hundred thousand dollars AutoReader.
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    In response to reference sex from the 180s General Assembly,
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    the general counsel challenges the General Assembly
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    to recede during this assembly.
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    A substantial offering at a time to be determined
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    by the poor people's campaign to be sent on at once
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    to noting that in 1967,
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    an inadequate response to the fund of our freedom appeal
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    from some 1000 churches realized less
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    than 100000 dollars.
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    We challenged all our local churches to at least
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    double such contributions. On June the 2nd, 1968,
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    it being understood that the second one hundred
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    thousand dollars realized from such a response
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    will permit the Council on Church and Race to allocate
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    initial funds demonstrating the United Presbyterian Church's
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    participation in the ten million dollar development
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    fund of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
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    Three. A temporary advance of fifty thousand dollars
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    be made by the Council on Church and raised BRAMICH funds
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    budgeted in 1968 in order that the
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    council may present to the Southern Christian Leadership Conference leaders
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    on May the 30th, 1968.
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    This first evidence of the desire of the United Presbyterian
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    Church to participate in its development fund.
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    It is understood that this fifty thousand dollar advance
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    will be repaid by the Council on Church and raise from
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    the funds received in response to the 1968 appeal
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    in behalf of the Fund for Freedom.
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    And failing this, the general counsel will determine
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    appropriate budgeting adjustment.
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    Mr. Moderator, I move that we approve this reply.
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    General Counsel to reference number six.
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    The Commissioners and their guests contributed 4000
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    187 dollars and twenty cents when the collection
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    was taken.
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    That was a gift.
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    Charities still later the General Council
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    took another action, neither charity nor precisely sound
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    economic practice.
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    Until someone comes up with a better word, we'll call it service.
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    Christian Service.
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    Mr. Moderator, members of the 188 General Assembly
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    on the action to modify the General Council's proposal regarding
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    investment in housing and in other businesses in low and middle income
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    areas. I should like to share with you the background of information
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    that I believe to be important to a necessary understanding of what
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    is involved.
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    First, the purpose is to release funds already
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    invested, otherwise are becoming available for investment
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    so that they can be placed in housing or in business ventures
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    needing capital, which is not available or not obtainable from usual
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    sources.
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    Second, we should keep in mind that the capital is debt, capital
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    and not venture capital.
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    We are not proposing that the church should go into these businesses, housing
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    or other types of businesses, but rather that it should lend money to such
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    businesses as may be located, recommended and accepted
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    according to procedures yet to be worked out in detail.
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    Third, we expect to be furnishing debt capital that is making
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    investments at greater than usual risk and
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    lower than usual return in many cases than is customary
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    for the use of the general and special funds to which we refer.
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    These funds have been acquired over many years in a variety
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    of ways and subject to numerous and varied restrictions as to how
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    they may be used.
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    Some of these restrictions have been imposed by the donors, other
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    restrictions are imposed by statute or other legal requirements growing
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    out of the manner of their acquisition and yet others by the
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    contractual nature of the uses to which they already have been committed.
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    The only funds we can deal with in a general action of this kind are those
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    found to be relatively free of restrictions as to investment
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    and these we are speaking of as general funds or special reserves.
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    And these terms are in contrast to such terms as trust funds or
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    actuarial reserves or the general category of restricted funds
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    as a whole.
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    Another point as reported previously.
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    The total of all funds invested are available for investment
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    approximates 446 million dollars.
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    This includes some 233 million dollars invested
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    to assure the soundness of the pension plan and significant
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    lesser amounts representing totals under the jurisdiction
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    of one or two of two other boards Christian
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    Education and National Missions, the Commission and
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    the United Presbyterian Foundation, as well as the seven seminary's
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    related to our church.
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    Thus, there are a dozen independent boards from home
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    and through whose authorities funds must flow into this common venture
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    for a new and different investment opportunities.
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    Seventh point, a preliminary but educated estimate of the amount of funds that
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    can be called reasonably unrestricted from the standpoint of the action
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    here being contemplated places their total at 42 million
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    dollars. This is divided among the program boards and agencies
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    30 million and the seminaries 12 million.
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    In the case of the Board of Pensions only reserves associated with
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    its Department of Welfare, roughly 890000 billion
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    are counted in this total of 42 million or the
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    30 million portion of that 42 and
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    eight point if 30 percent as now proposed in the amendment
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    you have in paragraph B of the white sheet before you.
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    If 30 percent of these relatively unrestricted funds were made available
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    as rapidly as suitable, housing or business ventures could be located,
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    screened and found to be appropriate, some twelve and a half
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    million dollars would become so invested.
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    In addition, we should remember that about eight point nine million
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    already has been invested for related purposes.
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    This total appears on the Blue Book page 238 through
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    normal investment procedures of the same three boards, the commission and the foundation.
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    The action you now are considering would enable us to reach
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    a combined total in the range of 20 to 25 million dollars of investment.
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    A ninth point. The real effect, however, and one we should
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    constantly keep in mind, is that our new money, potentially
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    the twelve and a half million dollars that I have mentioned is STADA money
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    or seed money, which we confidently expect will attract other
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    money and much larger sums to those ventures which we as a church
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    decide to invest in.
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    This additional money should be forthcoming from other judicial authorities,
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    Senate Presbytery, local congregations
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    from other churches or councils of churches from private sources,
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    according to the forms of business enterprise that will be set up in a multitude
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    of individual local situations.
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    And this may lead to supplementation by government funds or insurance
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    by government to attract other funds as might be appropriate
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    in any of these situations.
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    One other effect, also important to keep in mind
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    is the relationship of all this to the financing of current programs of the church.
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    Through these same boards and agencies, plus the Council on Theological
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    Education and the General Council, neither of these last two has funds
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    available for investment in 1967,
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    as Dr. Hudnut reported Friday morning, about two and a quarter million
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    dollars of General Assembly general mission of a General Assembly
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    general mission budget of forty five point eight dollars million had
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    to be met by appropriations of general funds
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    in 1968.
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    Pay up thus far to the end of April suggests a similar
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    amount will have to be appropriated this year.
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    Now, to the extent that investment return on
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    some twenty, some twelve and a half million dollars is reduced
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    to a lower than customary rate, and to the extent that these general
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    funds are committed to investment rather than appropriated
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    for a program, the difference must come
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    from increased giving by the churches.
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    If we are to maintain the level of program work now being done
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    and budgeted in 68 and to be budgeted by your
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    action Monday and 69 with General Assembly general mission
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    funds, it therefore behooves us to keep in mind that our
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    zeal must not end with an action here this morning
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    in Minneapolis.
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    We shall have to work and we shall have work to do back home in and
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    out of the church to make certain that what we decide must
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    be done is communicated to every possible person who might be able
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    to have a hand in doing it.
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    Our concern here should be to set the right direction, provide a vigorous
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    start for work that is that's succeeding.
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    General assemblies can build upon according to the successes that are achieved.
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    It is with this kind of background information that the general counsel has recommended
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    the substitution of the 30 percent figure as contained in the white sheet
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    that you have. Thank you very much.
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    Former moderator Ed Hawkins spoke for the Committee on Church and Race
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    as the Council on Church and Race stands in these very
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    early days of its task.
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    We trust that we will be guided and sustained
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    and supported by what has gone on before us,
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    but that beyond that, we might be able
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    to respond to the
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    two pronged hope of that commission's report
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    that the time has come not only to end
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    the destruction and the violence in the streets of our ghettos, but the destruction
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    and the violence in the lives of people.
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    This means that beyond what we say
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    we are going to do, we must be caught
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    doing the things that represent our obedience to him,
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    who came to bind up the wounds
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    that. Venomously gave to us on Saturday in
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    the investment portfolio situation,
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    we must be caught in the act of spending
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    those funds on the economic development
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    of our ghetto areas in relation to the mandate
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    that you gave earlier today.
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    We must be caught in the act of being in
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    Washington with the Poor People's Campaign,
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    with a substantial amount of money and resources
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    to meet some of the immediate and desperate needs
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    of this present moment, while at the same time a
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    substantial amount to the long range need
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    through the development fund.
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    These are the kind of things that will remain
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    our task as we are at these
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    early days.
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    And this will represent for us not only
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    the crisis that exists in our cities, but this
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    will represent the crisis of faith in which we
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    are involved.
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    And somehow we believe that the church will be really
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    wise if it will take that faith
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    at its word and act on it
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    and become partners with all those who
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    desire to build a better world.
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    This will catch us
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    as we are in the act of building this massive
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    will, that we may end
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    the tensions between man and man and begin the reconciliation
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    that under God must take place if any of us
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    are to survive at all.

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