Category Archives: General Assembly

81st General Assembly Of The Orthodox Presbyterian Church

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I apologize for falling behind here, but I got so focused on following the PCI General Assembly that I did not keep up with the others. There are some very interesting dots to connect from that one, but that is for another time. But the GA season is about to get very busy — and you thought it was busy before. So here we go…

The 81st General Assembly of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church began on 4 June in Grand Rapids, Michigan, at Kuyper College and will conclude this Tuesday, 10 June.

This GA does not have live streaming but we have the next best thing:
There is a tradition of very well done running daily reports for the OPC
GA and this year is no exception. So our thanks to the team of Daniel F. Patterson, Linda Foh and Stephen Pribble that are making it happen again this year.

The agenda and reports are not posted on line but you can access the Book of Church Order and the Standing Rules and Instructions of GA if you need background material.

Earlier this week one of the individuals following the GA, Chortles Weakly, tweeted “#OPCGA may be the twitterverse’s loneliest hashtag.” Well, it may be lonely but it is still worth following for this Assembly. Besides Chortles Weakly (@ChortlesWeakly) – who I should warn you has his own unique perspective (UPDATE: he has suggested that a better description is uniquitude) – I would also suggest tracking Camden Bucey (@CamdenBucey) and Muddy Gravel (@MuddyGravel).

Business so far includes the election of TE Craig Troxel (I believe of Bethel OPC of Wheaton, IL) as the Moderator and the statistical report which noted the slow but steady gains in membership (30,758 in 2013 from 30,555 in 2012).

Maybe the headline making the biggest news is an arrangement with the United Reformed Churches in North America for the OPC GA to meet jointly, or at least in close proximity, with the URCNA 2016 Synod to afford the opportunity to celebrate the publication of their joint Psalter and Hymnbook.

So we will keep watching and enjoying the tweets and the running updates from the OPC. But use this week to get your rest and take advantage of only one GA or Synod at a time. A week from today begins the peak week for American Presbyterians with five GA’s simultaneously in session on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week. Stay tuned…

2014 General Assembly Of The Presbyterian Church In Ireland

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Just as the Assembly in Canada is wrapping up we shift our sights eastward again to Belfast and the 2014 General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. The Assembly convenes at 7:00 PM local time today, 2 June, and runs through Thursday 5 June.  Some items to help you follow along.

There are plenty of social media contact points for the Assembly, beginning with the official Twitter account @PCIAssembly which in the past has provided a very helpful and comprehensive news feed on the actions of the Assembly. The outgoing Moderator, Rev. Dr. Rob Craig, has been tweeting at @PCIModerator. We will see if the new Moderator, the Rev. Dr. Michael Barry, assumes the account. (And look for Mr. Craig on his personal account @RobCraig54) The official hashtag for the Assembly is #pciga14 but the church has been promoting the hashtag #lifeinpci for dialogue and sharing about the life and work of the church.

Others to watch for interesting and useful updates include Alan in Belfast (@alaninbelfast), William Crawley (@williamcrawley) of the BBC Northern Ireland and I will add Rebecca McConnell (@PurpleRainPR). If you want an account with a little more, shall I say, bight, you can find some humor, satire and parody mixed with a bit of serious commentary at Presbyterian Ireland (@pres_church). UPDATE: Missed the announcement of the end of this account – see their announcement or Alan in Belfast for more.

Finally, I want to highlight PCI SPUD (@pcispud), the Youth Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. In addition to their report to the Assembly, they will have a SPUD Space in the Assembly building where they will be hosing their Fringe Event. In addition to being a conversation space, it will include events on Wednesday and Thursday and prayer space and prayer boards. I will be watching their Facebook page for updates and to see how this new initiative develops.

So our prayers are with the Assembly this week and Moderator Barry. Best wishes in your discussions and discernment.

140th General Assembly Of The Presbyterian Church In Canada

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As I finish writing this the 140th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Canada is getting under way. The Assembly will run from today ( 30 May ) through Monday 2 June, 2014. The meeting is being held in Waterloo and Kitchener, Ontario, with business meetings and most activities at Wilfrid Laurier University.
The Assembly can be followed on social media through the PCConnect Facebook page and through their official Twitter feed @PCConnect. The hastag for the meeting is #ga140.

The official publication, the Presbyterian Record, is posting updates on their Facebook page.

Based on the first few minutes of the Assembly on Twitter I would suggest following Knox College (@KnoxCollegeCA), Jeff Loach (@passionatelyhis) and Matt Brough (@mbrough) for live updates. And I would expect comments from John Borthwick (@jborthwik) although he is not at the meeting.

A couple interesting items from about this Assembly I would like to highlight.

First, they have a program I don’t remember seeing before in any Assembly and that is a mentoring program for first time commissioners. This program, arranged by the Elders Institute, has designated tables that commissioners can sit at with an experienced teaching or ruling elder at the table to answer questions.

Another important event will be the commemoration on Saturday morning of the 20th anniversary of the church’s Confession of 1994 to “God and Aboriginal peoples for its involvement in the Indian Residential School system.” The event will include a keynote address by Phil Fontaine who received the confession in 1994 as grand chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs. He has since served as the National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations. His address is scheduled for 11 am Eastern Time.

Best wishes and prayers to the Assembly and the Moderator, the Rev. Dr. Stephen Farris, for their meeting and we look forward to their discussions and deliberations.

2014 General Assembly Of The Presbyterian Church Of South Australia

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Coming up on Monday 26 May 2014 the Presbyterian Church of South Australia will convene their Assembly in North Adelaide. Typically the meeting would conclude the following day.

UPDATE: The incoming Moderator was to be The Rev. Chris ten Broeke, pastor of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in North Adelaide. From Gary Ware’s blog we learn that just before the Assembly was to start he indicated that circumstances had changed and he would not be able to serve.

If you happen to remember from last year, the outgoing Moderator is The Rev. Gary Ware, the pastor at Mount Gambier Presbyterian Church
and one of the more prominent, prolific and entertaining Presbyterian
bloggers in Australia. For reflections on the Assembly keep an eye on
his blog – mgpcpastor’s blog – as well as his Twitter handle @gjware.

UPDATE: Due to Rev. ten Broeke’s inability to take the role of Moderator it was the recommendation of the clerk and the will of the Assembly that Rev. Ware should continue in that office.

The
Assembly convenes on Monday 26 May 2014 and will adjourn when they have
concluded the business, typically the next day.

After the Assembly check the PCSA News for a report on the Assembly.

For the Presby Geeks and Polity Wonks you can check the PCSA Rules and Regulations as well as the Presbyterian Church of Australia Code Book.

I will update here if I see new information or related content.

We offer our best wishes and prayers to Rev. ten Broeke, Rev. Ware
and the whole Presbyterian Church of South Australia for their Assembly
this week.

2014 General Assembly Of The Free Church Of Scotland

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In just about an hour from now on Monday 19 May, the Free Church of Scotland will convene their 2014 General Assembly in St. Columba’s Free Church in Edinburgh. The meeting will run until Friday 23 May. Lots of interesting items going on with this meeting so here is some of the info to help you follow along.

To follow along in social media you should be checking the official Free Church Facebook page as well as their Twitter feed @freechurchscot. The host church can be followed at @stcsfreechurch and the hashtag will be #fcga14.

I am trying to figure out where to begin in recommending personal Twitter feeds as there are a number of individuals with interesting ones at the meeting. I will begin with Iain D. Campbell at @revdridc. Maybe the most high-profile minister in the Free Church of Scotland, at least in the public eye, is David Robertson who you can follow at @theweeflea. Let me start there and add others as the Assembly gets going.

Two items of business are getting a bit of publicity. The first is the transformation of the Free Church College into the Edinburgh Theological Seminary. A program marking the launch of the new seminary will take place on Wednesday evening at the Assembly with the Rev. Sinclair Ferguson preaching. The Principal’s Report in the Report of the College Board talks about the nature of this change:

This year, in accordance with a decision at the 2013 General Assembly, the Free Church College will be renamed as Edinburgh Theological Seminary. Some may see this as a mere external facelift but the whole process has encouraged the staff and Board to actively explore ways of making the College more accessible to the wider church. Already, not only has there been substantial interest from various parties but the Free Church itself has become more aware of and excited about our training institution as a vital and indispensable resource. The key to the Seminary’s future is its attachment to a vibrant confessional church which will support its work and ensure its stability. To this effect, the Principal is gratified at the encouragement he has received from the Free Church at large.

The second item is the discussion of the future of Scotland leading up to the independence referendum. This will come up in the Report of the Communications Committee which has arranged for four papers from Free Church pastors addressing the issues of independence from the perspective of the church. While the Committee report provides summaries of the papers links to the full papers can be found under the news item announcing their release.

I also found it interesting that the Free Church of Scotland, like many other Presbyterian branches, is reviewing how they structure their Assemblies. The proposal that comes to the 2014 Assembly in the Assembly Arrangements Committee Report is this (Deliverance item 6):

6. The General Assembly authorise the Committee to make arrangements for the 2015 General Assembly to meet over three whole days, the evenings to involve shorter business sessions and to include worship items. The General Assembly approve the Committee’s recommendation that invitations to other Churches and organisations to send representatives be issued only every third year, phased over a three-year period so that representatives do not all attend in the same year. They also authorise the Committee to examine how more powers may be given to the Commission of Assembly and report to the next General Assembly.

Finally the Report of the Board of Trustees will be bringing an extensive report that deals with two current issues. The first is a new plan for the church boards and committees “related to ordering the Church’s activities in such a way as to bring finances back into balance” based on the charge from the last General Assembly. The second is a Policy for the Admission of Congregations.

I am struck by how they are dealing with issues that are being examined by other Presbyterian branches around the world, including ministerial training and the structure and nature of their Assemblies. We look forward to seeing how the Free Church considers and decides on these pressing issues.

2014 General Assembly Of The Church Of Scotland

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Tomorrow afternoon the 2014 General Assembly of the Church of Scotland will convene in Edinburgh and will meet for the following week. This promises to be an interesting Assembly with issues important to the church and to Scotland on the docket.

Here is helpful information to follow along with this assembly.

  • There will be live streaming of the proceedings and you can connect to the stream appropriate for your device from the media page.

  • Most of the Documents pertaining to the Assembly are linked from the General Assembly Publications page. This includes the three Reports volumes, known as the Blue Book but with a nice graphic cover this year. In addition to the traditional PDF the reports are also available in MOBI and EPUB formats for your eReaders. There is also an Order of Proceedings as well as the Daily Papers which will contain late-breaking changes. And there is an option to subscribe to notifications of new documents being posted. In addition, there is a General Assembly App with versions for Apple iOS and Android.

  • If you need to refer to the documents about how they do this decently and in order most of those are linked from the Church Law page.

  • A brief order of the docketed events and reports can be found on the General Assembly 2014 page.Also note that sessions start 15 minutes earlier than in past years so those of us on the other side of the world will have to adjust.

What we all want to know of course is how to follow along on social media. You can begin with the Church of Scotland’s official Facebook page.

On Twitter the starting point is the Kirk’s main feed at @churchscotland and the hashtag #ga2014. The church’s official publication, Life and Work, is also a good source for information on the web, on Facebook and on their Twitter feed @cofslifeandwork. In addition, while it is a personal account, you can follow the editor, Lynne McNeil, at @LifeWorkEditor. Similarly, the Church of Scotland Youth will be tweeting at @cosy_nya and you also might want to follow along with their incoming clerk, John Haston (@johndhaston).

UPDATED 18 May: In suggesting personal accounts to follow, let me start with three individual accounts that are probably worth watching as the Assembly gets rolling. The first is the outgoing Moderator of the Assembly, the (soon to be) Very Reverend Lorna Hood who has just switched from an official to a personal account @revlornascot. We can only hope that the incoming moderator has as great of a change in heart as she had and begins tweeting, but don’t look for that this week. The second person is Seonag MacKinnon, the head of communications for the Kirk, who tweets for herself at @seonagm. Finally, even though he may not actually be at the Assembly in person, the Rev. Peter Nimmo of Inverness is at the Assembly and is a good source of information at @peternimmo1. I will expand this list as the week progresses.

UPDATED 18 May: If you are now checking after the opening weekend I would suggest you can get caught up with the daily updates from the Church of Scotland website as well as updates from Life and Work on their General Assembly page. In addition, the Photo Gallery on the Kirk website is now active.

Two less-business related highlights of the Assembly caught my attention. The first is the annual festival, Heart and Soul, that the Kirk sponsors on the Sunday afternoon of the Assembly week that will again be happening in Princes Street Gardens near the Assembly Hall. For those of us not in Edinburgh we look forward to seeing pictures, probably on the Church of Scotland Facebook page. The second item is that the Lord High Commissioner this year will be a member of the Royal Household, Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex.

And now what we all really came here for, the business of the Assembly. Here are a few of the business reports that may be of interest and will probably attract attention within and outside the church.

  • On Tuesday afternoon there will be a special session to discuss the Scottish Independence Referendum. This is not a business item in the sense that the commissioners will vote on a resolution one way or the other on independence. Rather it will be a time of public discussion with featured speakers followed by comments from the floor.

  • On Wednesday the Legal Questions Committee will bring their report regarding Ministers and Deacons in Civil Partnership. The report includes an overture in response to the direction of the 2013 Assembly to affirm the Kirk’s historical position while providing a path for churches and sessions to follow their conscience in the employment and ordination of same-sex partnered individuals. The legislation that is passed will then be sent down to the presbyteries for their concurrence under the Barrier Act. Before this report the Theological Forum will report on related discussions that have been held in the past year.

  • As always, the Church and Society Council, to report on Thursday, has a long report with a deliverance that takes up a wide range of relevant issues in 73 different points. Among the many topics covered in these points are Competitiveness in Sport, Families and the Church in the 21st Century, Food Security, Funeral Poverty and Living a theology to counter violence against women. And that is just a few of the topics the commissioners will consider.

  • The Youth Assembly will bring their report on Tuesday.

  • The Ministries Council will report on Monday. A centerpiece of their report is the shortage of ministers and those training for the ministry to meet future needs of the church. As their report says: 80% of the parish ministers are due to retire in the next 15 years. A variety of options will be discussed.

So there is a taste of the line-up for the next week. With the challenges facing the Church of Scotland and the Scottish people at this time it will be interesting to see what the commissioners think and what decisions they make. I will try to update throughout the week as the Assembly progresses.

So this is not just Stay Tuned, but Tune In…

A Trio Of Vice-Moderator Candidates For The 221st General Assembly Of The PC(USA)

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As we hit the one-month mark before the 221st General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) this is a good time to profile the three individuals that the candidates standing for Moderator have asked to join them on this journey. At the onset we can make one very sweeping generalization and say that the next Vice-Moderator will be a female teaching elder. There is also a certain unique symmetry in the choices with the candidate now from North Carolina, but with strong ties to Virginia, picking a New Yorker, the New Yorker joining with a Virginian, and the Texan running with, well, another Texan. It makes one wonder if there is a Presbyterian Camps and Conference Centers thing going on with a Stoney Point/Montreat/Mo Ranch association here, but that would beg the question of where is Ghost Ranch in this and how Virginia fits in? (Makemie Woods? Massanetta Springs? Or we could do it with Presbyterian seminaries…) But I am probably starting to go down a line that is correlation without causation, so let me return to the matter at hand.

I will take these in chronological order of announcement.

MaryAnn McKibben Dana was the first announced Vice-Moderator candidate standing with TE John Wilkinson. Teaching Elder McKibben Dana is pastor of Idylwood Presbyterian Church in Falls Church, Va. and a member of National Capital Presbytery. She has her undergraduate degree from Rice University and her M.Div. from Columbia Theological Seminary. She had a previous call as an associate pastor at Burke Presbyterian Church in Burke, Va. TE McKibben Dana has served the church in a number of areas including the current adventure of co-chairing NEXT Church. She is also author of Sabbath in the Suburbs with another book on the way.

In her regular blog, The Blue Room Blog, Ms McKibben Dana talks a little bit about this call. She is quoted in the PC(USA) press release as saying:

It is a joy and an honor to stand with John at this pivotal time in the
life of our denomination. I look forward to helping articulate a vision
for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) that is grounded in our tradition,
yet infused with the Holy Spirit’s power to speak a vibrant word for
the current and future church.

Similarly, TE Wilkinson talks about his Vice-Moderator choice on his Moderator candidacy blog:

MaryAnn brings a welcome voice and perspective as we envision the future
of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), and I am grateful for her
willingness to serve and the leadership that she will bring to our
shared journey. MaryAnn is creative, thoughtful, hopeful, relational –
her strength in written and verbal communication is built upon a deep
faith and considerable pastoral giftedness.

Teaching Elder Larissa Kwong Abazia was chosen by Moderator candidate RE Heath Rada as his running mate. Ms Kwong Abazia currently serves as pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Forest Hills in Queens, New York, in the Presbytery of New York City. The PC(USA) press release describes her church as “a multicultural, multiethnic congregation.” She is a native of New Jersey, did her undergraduate work at Rutgers and her M.Div. is from Princeton Theological Seminary. She has done additional post-graduate studies at the University of Sussex. Her previous calls were in Chicago and Manasquan, N.J. Among her denominational work she has served as co-moderator of Racial Ethnic Young Women Together. The PC(USA) press release quotes her as saying “I believe that we need one another to embody the fullness of the
Church,” and “Our ability to live in fellowship will
define our faithfulness to God’s call to beloved community.” In the Presbyterian Outlook’s Moderator candidate article RE Rada describes her like this:

Her experiences as a Chinese American, young adult pastor and serving a
smaller congregation in New York City have exposed her to the positive
and negative effects that others can have on one’s sense of identity.
She is passionate about God’s call to a beloved community where
individuals are invited to bring all that they are to the Table.

[As an editorial comment I would point out that I was unable to find any substantial source information on TE Kwong Abazina from RE Rada’s web site hence no references back to that source.]

Our final candidate is Teaching Elder Leslie A. King of Waco, Texas, where she pastors the First Presbyterian Church, a congregation in Grace Presbytery. Her previous call was at Osawatomie Presbyterian Church in Osawatomie, Kansas. She holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Kansas, her M.Div. from McCormick Theological Seminary and a D.Min. from the Saint Paul’s School of Theology (a UMC school in Overland Park, KS, in case you don’t recognize it). From the available information, principally her biographical sheet on Kelly Allen’s Moderator candidacy web site, there is no information on service to the wider church, but see Kelly’s comment below.

On the bio sheet TE King talks about her ministry:

My inexhaustible interest is in working alongside a local congregation toward the discovery of clues. Clues often begin as mysterious experiences that can frustrate or confound. Those same clues are often the catalyst for the discovery of program, ministry and mission in Christ’s name. Discovery is at the heart of redevelopment. I am passionate about church’s clues.

In the Outlook article, TE Kelly Allen says of TE King:

When I met Leslie, I had the immediate sense that she is a leader who
could enter the most complicated situation and offer creative,
reconciling leadership. Leslie is a “rooted” pastor who describes
herself as “first and foremost a student in the classroom of the local
congregation.” Leslie is a committed presbyter. She chaired the
Administrative Commission for churches seeking separation for five years
in Heartland Presbytery. She served Committee on Ministry in two
presbyteries and on a Vision Planning Task Force. In her ministry,
Leslie works toward a “consistent integration (in pulpit, classroom and
idle conversation) of all the disciplines of hard and soft sciences,
local and global politics, literature and the arts into conversation
with Scripture.”

[Another editorial comment: For TE King I could not find a PC(USA) press release for her, probably because she is the most recent to be announced and it is still in the works.]

So there you have a rundown on the three Vice-Moderator candidates. It looks like the final count is five teaching elders and one ruling elder. Their present geographical locations are a bit limited with New York and Texas figuring prominently in the count bolstered by TE McKibben Dana being a Texas native. Of the Vice-Moderator candidates I have only found a Twitter feed for TE McKibben Dana (@revmamd). UPDATE: I now see that TE King has a new Twitter handle (@WacoPastor) and in doing so found an older existing one (@leslie66064) that I missed.

For consolidated information on all the candidates you can check out the Outlook article or the official Moderatorial Candidates Handbook which was released last week.

The 221st General Assembly convenes one month from today, June 14th, with the Moderator Elections that evening. It will be interesting. Please join me in praying for all the candidates as the GA approaches. And stay tuned…

General Assembly Season 2014

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As the First of May rolls around we mark the start of the 2014 General Assembly Season.

Are you ready for an interesting year of Assemblies?

Here is this year’s line-up as I know it now. I will update as I clarify additional Assembly meetings.

  59th General Assembly
Presbyterian Church in Taiwan

  22-25 April 2014
Tainan

  General Assembly
Presbyterian Church of Tasmania
  13 May 2014 (begins)

  General Assembly
Church of Scotland

17-23 May 2014
Edinburgh

  General Assembly
Free Church of Scotland Continuing
19-22 May, 2014
Edinburgh

  General Assembly
Free Church of Scotland
19-23 May 2014
Edinburgh

  General Assembly
Presbyterian Church of South Australia
26 May 2014 (begins)
North Adelaide, S.A.

  140th General Assembly

Presbyterian Church in Canada
30 May – 2 June 2014
Wilfrid Laurier University
Waterloo, Ontario

  General Assembly
Presbyterian Church in Ireland
 
2-6 June 2014
Belfast

General Assembly
United Free Church of Scotland
  4-6 June 2014
Perth

81st General Assembly

Orthodox Presbyterian Church
4-10 June 2014
Kuyper College
Grand Rapids, Michigan

Synod
Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland
9-11 June 2014
Dervock

210th Stated Meeting of the General Synod

Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church

10-12 June 2014
Bonclarken
Flat Rock, North Carolina

221st General Assembly (2014)

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
14-21 June 2014
Detroit, Michigan
(note this is a biennial Assembly)

139th General Assembly
Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America
15-18 June 2014
Chattanooga, Tennessee

184th General Assembly
Cumberland Presbyterian Church
16-20 June 2014
Chattanooga, Tennessee

42nd General Assembly

Presbyterian Church in America
17-20 June 2014
Houston, Texas

34th General Assembly

Evangelical Presbyterian Church
17-21 June 2014
Knoxville, Tennessee

  General Assembly
Presbyterian Church of Queensland

  30 June – 3 July 2014
Clayfield (Brisbane), QLD

  N.S.W. State Assembly
Presbyterian Church of Australia
in the State of New South Wales
 
30 June 2014 (begins)
Croydon, N.S.W.

  78th General Synod
Bible Presbyterian Church
31 July – 5 August 2014
Olympia, Washington

  National Youth Assembly

Church of Scotland

15-18 August 2014
Stirlingshire
(Technically not a governing
body, but still an Assembly I track)

  14th General Assembly
Presbyterian Church of Ghana

15-21 August 2014
Abetifi Kwahu

  General Synod
ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians
18 August 2014
Dallas, Texas

  6th General Assembly
Evangelical Presbyterian Church — Ghana
August 2014
Ho

  General Assembly
Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand

  3-7 October 2014
Saint Kentigern College
Auckland

  General Assembly
Presbyterian Church of Victoria
  6 October 2014

  General Assembly
Presbyterian Church in Western Australia
  24 October 2014

These are the ones that I am tracking at the moment.  I will update as
appropriate.  If I have missed one, or have information wrong or incomplete, please provide the appropriate information and I will update the list.

And, to make the GA season complete here are two more items…

The first is the series of articles I wrote as an introduction to Presbyterian General Assemblies six years ago.  My GA 101 series consists of the following

GA101: Preface
GA101: Introduction – Why in the world would anybody want to do it this way?
GA101: Connectionalism – The Presbyterian Big Picture
GA101: The Cast of Characters – A score card to identify the players
GA101: The Moderator – All Things In Moderation
GA101: Where does the GA business come from? – Incoming!
GA101: Doing the business of GA — Decently and in Order

Yes, what started as a six part series expanded into seven
completed articles with two more unfinished ones in the queue.  (Maybe
this will give me some motivation to finish those up.)

And finally, on to the ridiculous.  Lest we take ourselves too seriously, a couple years ago I had a little fun with the General Assembly and in the post passed along the GA drinking game and GA Bingo. Please play both responsibly.

So, for all the GA Junkies out there I wish you the best of GA
seasons.  May you enjoy the next few months of watching us do things
decently and in order!

New Moderator Designate Of The Church Of Scotland 2014 General Assembly

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This post needs to be prefaced with the reminder that the Rev. Dr. Angus Morrison, who was chosen as the Moderator Designate last November, was forced to withdraw about a month ago due to health problems. Our prayers continue to be with Dr. Morrison and we wish him the best in the midst of his medical treatment.

About two weeks ago today the Committee to Nominate the Moderator of the General Assembly met, as the press release puts it, “in extraordinary circumstances” and presented the name of the Rev. John Chalmers as the new nominee for Moderator Designate of the General Assembly 2014 of the Church of Scotland.

Rev. Chalmers should be familiar to GA Junkies as he currently serves a the Principal Clerk of the General Assembly, a role that will make his transition to the Moderator’s seat a bit easier to accomplish with the short lead time.

Rev. Chalmers originally attended Strathclyde University to become a chemical engineer before shifting focus to divinity and transferring to Glasgow University. Early in his career he was the pastor at Renton Trinity Parish in West Dunbartonshire and later at Palmerston Place Church in Edinburgh. He had worked in the General Assembly offices before his selection as the Principal Clerk late in 2009 and confirmed by the 2010 Assembly.

Rev. Chalmers is quoted in the press release as saying:

I will want to tell the story of a Church which cares about the
values by which Scotland lives, which cares about the conditions in
which people live and which puts its money where its faith is, in the
work it does amongst the most vulnerable and marginalised.

Personally, he has been touched by, and involved with, those with special needs including a sister with Down’s Syndrome and a son injured in combat in Afghanistan while serving with the Royal Marines. He has supported the work of organizations that work with those with special needs throughout his career and hopes to bring attention to such organizations during his moderatorial year.

Including his son John-James who served with the Royal Marines, Rev. Chalmers and his wife Liz have three children and three grandchildren.

Speaking of his nomination Rev. Chalmers says,

It is an unexpected privilege and a real honour to be entrusted
with this role at this time. If the Assembly supports my nomination, I
will seek above all else to hold the people of the Church of Scotland
together in peace and unity.”

In the press release he continues on also saying

My focus will be on those things that unite us. Within the Church
we have to learn to live with our differences. We have an urgent need to
recruit women and men to train to be ministers and it’s time to let
society know that there is something very meaningful about living the
life of faith.”

Press coverage of his nomination includes articles from the BBC News, The Courier and The Scotsman.

Our prayers for Rev. Chalmers at this time as he assumes a new role with the Assembly and our best wishes for his moderatorial year.

Moderator Nominee Of The Presbyterian Church In Canada 140th General Assembly 2014

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I am running a bit late on this, but almost two weeks ago the Presbyterian Church in Canada announced the results of balloting for the Moderator Nominee for the 140th General Assembly 2014. From a slate of three candidates the presbyters of the church have selected the Rev. Dr. Stephen C. Farris to lead the upcoming GA.

Rev. Farris has spent the last decade at the University of British Columbia as the Dean of the Presbyterian theological college there, St. Andrew’s Hall. The college is also associated with the Vancouver School of Theology where Rev. Farris is the Professor of Homiletics.

He has had a long career in academia, having previously served for 17 years as the Professor of Preaching and Worship at Knox College, Toronto. He preaches regularly around Canada and began his career as the pastor of Trinity Church, Amherstview, Ontario.

His training is international with degrees from the University of Toronto, Union Theological Seminary, Virginia (now Union Presbyterian Seminary) and earning his Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge.

The press release notes work in two significant international posts. For the now merged World Alliance of Reformed Churches, he served on the Executive Committee and “helped negotiate the repudiation of apartheid by the Dutch Reformed Church of South Africa.” He has also served as the president of the Academy of Homiletics.

We are also told that Rev. Farris and his wife Patricia have two sons and two wonderful grandchildren.

The 140th General Assembly will convene on Friday 30 May at 1 p.m. at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo. The formal election of Rev. Dr. Farris as Moderator will occur later that day. Our prayers and best wishes for him during the Assembly and his whole moderatorial year.

[Ed. note: I see that the Academy of Homiletics will be meeting in San Diego in November. So. Cal. friends keep an eye out for where he might be preaching on Nov. 23 after the meeting. Or if he would like to preach in So. Cal. and does not have arrangements yet I am sure I can find a congregation that would welcome him.]