Women's Ministries Program Area review to go beyond survey responses
By JOHN SNIFFEN, Outlook Associate Editor
Concerned that a "normal" review of the Women's Ministries Program Area (WMPA) will not fulfill the implied mandate of the 211th General Assembly, the General Assembly Council's executive committee voted Friday to ask a task group to do further review of the program area.
After about 90 minutes of discussion the executive committee voted to have its task group -- executive committee members Doska Ross, Peter Pizor and Joanne Hull -- continue and review the program area's publications and programs, and all comments the task group has received.
The latter will include a survey done by the interest group Voices of Orthodox Women, which has been critical of WMPA and refused to participate in a GAC-sponsored survey about the program area.
The task group will report back to the GAC executive committee in June prior to the start of the 212th General Assembly in Long Beach, Calif.
"I believe that will complete the process as requested," said Ross, who wrote most of the report.
Survey summary is not enough
Meeting in Washington, D.C., the executive committee received the task group's summary of the results of a scientific survey done by the PC(USA) Office of Research Services.
That report concluded, in part, that "those who are familiar with the WMPA give high ratings to the work being done" by the body. It added, however that "Those who are less involved show lower rates of approval; for this group the programs offered are not relevant and responses are negative."
The report added that the council "sees this as a wonderful opportunity for the Women's Ministries Program Area to challenge itself to expand the services offered to all women in the church, attempting intentionally to reach out to those who currently are not involved."
The survey results were released during the GAC's February meeting and the task group was appointed then to write a summary for approval by the council and presentation to the 212th General Assembly. Copies of the proposed report were circulated for comment prior to this week's meeting of the executive committee.
Council member Jeff Bridgeman, who participated in and supported last year's review and critique of the National Network of Presbyterian College Women, wrote in response to the proposed report that if the NNPCW review group had depended on "survey responses, questionnaires and the review of correspondence we received, we would not have been able to take any corrective steps, nor seen the truth of that ministry at all.
"It is not enough to be able to say 'The majority of people think things are going already,' a review team must review the ministries, the materials and the affects they have on the church," added Bridgeman.
211th Assembly ordered early review
Responding to criticism of the program area, the 211th General Assembly asked the GAC to expedite its normal review process of the WMPA. It was to give special emphasis to "the theological balance of [its] programming and material."
GAC Executive Director John Detterick said the survey process was the same as used for all GAC program areas, "but in greater depth." He added, however, that it "does not accomplish what we need to do."
Assistant GAC Executive Director Kathy Lueckert said the situation also illuminated another problem the GAC is trying to solve.
"We're still learning how to do program area evaluations. We have a good survey process, but we need more evaluation skills. We don't ask the 'so ' questions: So, what does it mean? So, what should we do differently?" she said.
While most executive committee members were agreeable to receiving the report as a preliminary part of the review process, there was more dissent when it came to ordering further review.
Tom Fisher said the council had given the Assembly what it wanted and noted that the survey gave the WMPA high marks from those active in its programs.
"We can go on forever trying to satisfy the critics . . . I'm not sure that's our job, to please everyone."
Hull disagreed. She said the council would be "remiss if we don't give [the Assembly] what they want. I think they intended that we do more than this survey."
Back to 2000 News
Top
