Report on Spring PASTCF Board Meeting

The Board of the Presbyterian Association on Science, Technology and the Christian Faith met in Chicago, April 23-25. The meeting was held at the headquarters of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), in conjunction with the annual gathering of the Ecumenical Roundtable on Science, Technology, and the Church.

The Roundtable came together in 1990, as a meeting of representatives of various denominations’ science and Christian faith initiatives. Denominational representation has waxed and waned over the years and is currently comprised of only the ELCA’s Lutheran Alliance for Faith, Science, and Technology and PASTCF. For the last two years, though, representatives from the Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology (ITEST), a Roman Catholic-related initiative, participated as observers. Looking ahead, ITEST’s involvement in the Roundtable will likely increase and that group plans to host the 2027 Roundtable, to be held in St. Louis.

PASTCF’s 2026 Board meeting was lively, engaging, and productive. Several of the Board’s decisions, recommendations, and actions are noted below. The Board welcomes comments and questions from PASTCF members. Communication may be addressed to PASTCF’s president, Mark Douglas, other PASTCF officers, or other PASTCF Board members.

• New Board Members: Two new Board members were introduced: James “Jim” E. Bidlack and Joseph “Joe” W. Shane. Jim is professor of biology at the University of Central Oklahoma and Joe is professor of chemistry and science education at Shippensburg University, Pennsylvania.
• Awards/Recognitions: The Board chose 2026 recipients of the Daniel W. Martin Science as Christian Vocation recognition and the Kenneth E. McCall Excellence in Science, Technology, and Christian Faith Ministry recognition. Both will be announced during September’s online meeting.
• PASTCF Archives: PASTCF is working to establish an archive of the organization’s documents by donating them to the Presbyterian Historical Society site at Columbia Theological Seminary. Following the signing of a formal agreement to that effect, the first set of documents is anticipated to be delivered in the fall of 2026.
• Domiciling: PASTCF was originally incorporated as a non-profit in Pennsylvania but has not had a corporate office there since 2007. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between PASTCF and Union Presbyterian Seminary, Richmond, VA, is being reviewed that would locate PASTCF’s corporate address at Union.
• Nominating Committee: Arnold Rots will be asked to chair the 2026 PASTCF Nominating Committee and to work with the Board to identify the two additional Committee members.
• Advisory Board Members: Participation by our collegiate and seminary advisory members in Board meetings has been irregular and identifying successor advisory members has been difficult. No decision was made and discussion of advisory Board members will continue.
• Treasurer’s Report: While PASTCF remains financially solvent, transition to the new website has led, in part, to a reduction in renewals of PASTCF membership in 2026. PASTCF Secretary, Jim Miller, reported that only about 20% of current members have created profiles on PASTCF’s website. Currently, members who have profiles receive a notice, 30-days in advance, that their renewal will soon be due. PASTCF’s webmaster will add online ways for members to change their level of membership and opt-in for auto-renewal of membership dues. Members could also cancel online auto-renewal.
• Presently, members can make two kinds of donations beyond membership dues: to the organization’s general fund or to the PASTCF endowment. The endowment is maintained in two PC(USA)-related accounts: the New Covenant Trust account and the PC(USA) Foundation Trust account. Funds in the former account are accessible, while those in the latter account were given in perpetuity; that account’s interest may be used by PASTCF but the principal is not accessible.
• Secretary’s Report:
  • Of the 131 total current PASTCF members (including all membership categories), only 28 have established profile pages and renewed their membership on the website. That constitutes approximately 20% of the members.
  • The Board adopted a motion to establish a Membership and Publicity Committee. An initial task for the Committee will be to review the role and selection of advisory board members (see above).
• Conversation with Aimee Moiso of the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy (ACSWP): Points of common interest were noted, between ACSWP’s concerns for public policy and PASTCF’s position that advocacy for such policies include not only theological and ethical considerations but also the established scientific and technological dimensions of the policies and information related to them. Conversation also included the mutual interest both ACSWP and PASTCF have in matters of congregational-level education within the denomination. PASTCF may explore ways it can interact with the Association of Partners in Christian Education (APCE), and other denominationally-related groups, about possibly collaborating on developing science, technology, and Christian faith educational materials.
• Conversation with Teri Ott, Editor of Presbyterian Outlook: Contributions of articles to the Outlook, written by PASTCF members, would optimally be focused on specific issues rather than the broader topic of science and theology/religion. The Outlook website needs online content and articles for the print version.
• Discussion with PASTCF’s Webmaster: Topics included technical matters related to the ongoing development and implementation of PASTCF’s website, including the process of online membership renewal, possibly adding a planned giving webpage, and introducing specific donation amounts with named levels of contributions (e.g., Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum).
• SciTech†: Full access to online versions of the four most recent issues of SciTech† is available exclusively to PASTCF members; earlier online issues are available to the public. One or two “teaser” articles from each new online issue of SciTech† is open to the public.
• PC(USA) General Assembly: Because of the post-pandemic structuring of General Assembly meetings, there is no longer a means by which PASTCF can be present there in any formal capacity. The only way PASTCF can address issues is to communicate with a commissioner, who sits on the standing committee to which an issue is assigned, or participate in the online public hearing of a Standing Committee. General Assemblies were one of the main ways that PASTCF publicized itself to the denomination. Thus, a primary opportunity for bringing PASTCF to the attention of a larger audience is now lost.
• Facebook/Instagram Pages: In addition to the Facebook PASTCF group, a Facebook PASTCF page will be created and paired with a PASTCF Instagram page.
• Webinars: The board agreed that PASTCF should plan two or three webinars each year.
• Fall PASTCF Annual Membership Meeting Public Lecture: Several names were suggested as possible lecturers. The Board will follow up on the suggestions and extend an invitation.