“I contacted Cokesbury and was advised that a Common English Bible (CEB) translation to which you (PCUSA Stated Clerk) referred does not exist.”

Lloyd Meyer’s e-mailed request was simple: “What translation of Scripture did you use?”

That question, originally sent to the Rev. Gradye Parsons, stated clerk of the Presbyterian Church (USA) General Assembly, ricocheted through a denominational labyrinth.

It bounced from the Office of the Stated Clerk, to the Moderator of the General Assembly, to the United Methodist Publishing House, to a lobbyist for Domestic Poverty & Environmental Issues at the PCUSA Washington Office, to the Executive Director of the General Assembly Mission Council, to the director of Compassion, Peace and Justice, to the Volunteer Public Witness Representative in the Office of the General Assembly, to the Manager of Immigration Issues in the Department of Constitutional Services.

A week passed without a word from headquarters.

Meyer tried again. Reminding the stated clerk that he, the General Assembly moderator and the General Assembly Mission Council executive director had quoted the Bible in a letter they sent to Congress and the President opposing Arizona’s new immigration statute, Meyer said, “I would like to locate the Biblical Scripture to which you referred and would be most appreciative if you could provide that.”

Meyer tagged an additional motivator to his message: “I will also copy the Rev. Reyes-Chow [moderator of the General Assembly] on this e-mail and ask him to respond if you are not able.”

Parsons responded this time with a one-sentence reply.