Category Archives: Moderator

Moderator Nominee For The Presbyterian Church In Canada 2018 General Assembly

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Yesterday the Presbyterian Church in Canada announced the results of balloting for the Moderator Nominee for the 144th General Assembly (2018) to convene in early June. In a moment, the results of that balloting…

But first, a quick introduction to the three candidates on the ballot, in alphabetical order:

The Rev. Daniel Cho, B.A., M.Div. is the pastor of Rexdale Presbyterian Church in Toronto and the Moderator of the Presbytery of West Toronto. He emigrated from South Korea with his family and grew up in Toronto before attending college in Tulsa and Chicago. He returned for ministry training at Knox College and began his service to the church as a youth minister at that time. He has served on boards and committees at all levels of the church and currently serves on the Board of Knox College. In his Q&A section on the candidates page he speaks of the core of the church being Jesus’ teaching of the commandments, reducing them down to two. (But it is worth reading his account of one of his earliest memories of the church.)

The Rev. Peter S. Han, B.A. (Hons), M.Div. is the pastor of Vaughan Community Church, Thornhill, Ontario, where he has served for the last 28 years. He has served the church at all levels including as the Moderator of the Presbytery of Eastern Han-Ca and on the Knox Board. He was a founding member of the Asian Centre at Knox College.  He has structured his current church around a church-wide cell group system that has over 650 adults currently participating. In the Q&A section he singles out refugee work as an area the PC Canada should be more involved in. His bio notes a particular work of his and the singular recognition:

Peter is an advocate for justice. He led a coalition representing Chinese, Filipino, Dutch and Korean-Canadian communities. They successfully petitioned the Canadian House of Commons which unanimously passed Motion 291 to urge the Japanese government to officially acknowledge and apologize for the systematic sexual abuse and slavery against 200,000 women during the Second World War. He received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012 for his contributions to the wider Canadian society.

The Rev. Mark R. McLennan, B.A., B.Th., M. Div. is currently the pastor of Knox Presbyterian Church in Woodstock, Ontario, but has served the church widely, in a geographic sense, including in Alberta, Labrador, Quebec, Nova Scotia and at the far western edge of Ontario in Thunder Bay. With that wide placement comes service as the clerk of one synod and multiple presbyteries, as well as serving as Moderator of three presbyteries and two synods. His bio says that “Ministry and mission are at the heart of his church work…” and that includes getting out into the community where he has helped with many community organizations where he has been like the Y and a museum board. He has also written resources for the national church. In the Q&A he has a nice concise statement of the most important features of faithful discipleship: “Compassion for others, Passion for the Gospel, Dirty hands, Open arms, Smiles, Honesty, Integrity. To be the eyes, ears, hands and voice of God in this world.” (And the chuckle I got in his Q&A was in his list of what he is currently reading that includes the book Why Dogs are Better Than Cats.)

For the last three months the elders and ministers of the church have been looking at these three men and discerning God’s call.

Yesterday the Principal Clerk The Rev. Stephen Kendall announced that through the balloting process The Rev. Daniel Cho has been called to be the nominee for Moderator of the 144th General Assembly. The info in that announcement includes the previously published Bio and Q&A that I reference for him above.

From the bio, I would add that he is already scheduled to be the main preacher at Canada Youth 2018. I was also struck in that bio by a paragraph talking about a spiritual mentor and some related writing he has done:

Daniel is blessed to have known the spiritual writer, Henri Nouwen, as a personal mentor. He has been profoundly shaped and impacted by Henri’s teachings which he shares with others. Daniel has written on spirituality in a book chapter and for the Henri Nouwen Society. He also wrote on the intercultural church in the Presbyterian Record and has led seminars on this subject.

And in the Q&A he says he would recommend to everyone in the PCC any book by Henri Nouwen and recommends several specific titles.

Also in the Q&A he talks about his vision for the church going forward. He speaks of spiritual renewal, one of the goals of the PCC Strategic Plan, as personally expanding capacities of faith beyond what is reasonable – like Jesus speaking of loving your enemies – and the church as the faith community through which this is developed for individuals. In another section, he touches on a related issue of what the church should make more time for. His answer is the involvement of the younger generation – their voices, their opinion, their particular wisdom.

The Rev. David Cho will be installed as the Moderator, should the way be clear, at the opening of the 144th General Assembly (2018) on 3 June 2018 in Waterloo, Ontario. Our prayers are with him as he guides what we anticipate will be a most interesting Assembly and best wishes for his moderatorial year.

[Programming Note: As you may have noticed it has been very quiet around here for the last several months. As we approach the GA Season I hope that will change dramatically. As mentioned previously there have been a number of things going on in my life but I believe I am on track for some of that to wind down and I fully anticipate that my blogging will be ramping up significantly. There is some exciting stuff coming in the next few months, which will be shared in due time. So I hope you will be joining me as the GA Season gets underway. Best wishes.]

Who Speaks For The Church – Or At Least The General Assembly?

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In my time doing this blog and watching global Presbyterianism, one of the things that has caught my attention has been the variation between different traditions about who speaks for the denomination.

Now, it is first worth noting that when it comes to pronouncements, particularly social witness stands, many branches recognize that a governing body (judicatory, council – whatever term you use) speaks only for itself and can not bind the next meeting of that deliberative body to that statement or commit other levels of the denomination to it. This is not necessarily the case in all branches, particularly those with strong national infrastructure and definitive decision making at the highest level, but it is true for the polity of many branches that have placed the presbytery as the fundamental governing body and the authority of the other bodies derives from the presbyteries.

The question of who speaks for the church has been an active one recently in the PC(USA) as the Way Forward Commission has wrestled with this. (See the section on Communications in the Outlook article in the link) While not decided yet, something may come out in their final recommendations for consideration by the 223rd General Assembly in June 2018, particularly in the area of communications and the various agencies and offices speaking with one voice.

Globally Presbyterian branches fall into two categories as to who is the voice of the denomination. In general, American branches tend to hand that responsibility to the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly. However, elsewhere in the world the Moderator of the General Assembly or the General Synod tends to be the voice of that body.

I have been working with a semi-quantitative analysis of this over the last few months, but over the last couple weeks I realized there is a reasonable metric to do a quick sort on this. So here are the lists of who provided the official Christmas messages from different branches this year.

Moderators of the General Assembly or the General Synod

Stated Clerks of the General Assembly or the General Synod

Web sites checked where I did not find Christmas messages include the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, CCAP Zambia Synod, CCAP Blantyre Synod, CCAP Livingstonia Synod, Presbyterian Church of Taiwan (English site), Presbyterian Church of Trinidad and Tobago, Free Church of Scotland (Continuing), United Free Church of Scotland, Nonsubscribing Presbyterian Church in Ireland, Presbyterian Church of Wales, Evangelical Presbyterian Church of England and Wales, Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster, Free Presbyterian Church of North America, Presbyterian Church in America (but see below), Orthodox Presbyterian Church, Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America, Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, Cumberland Presbyterian Church, Bible Presbyterian Church, Presbyterian Church in Australia, Presbyterian Church in Australia in the State of New South Wales, Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Australia, and the Presbyterian Church of East Africa. If I have missed any in this group, or other branches not listed please let me know and I will update.

So the obvious conclusion is that most Presbyterian branches don’t post a Christmas message on their web site. A number of explanations for this: A few of the branches still hold to the Westminster Directory for the Public Worship of God which has an Appendix against celebrating festivals or holy-days. For others, it is simply the expectation of the denomination – it is a nice idea but that is not what the GA or GS is really there for. And for others, the greetings are distributed in other forms and do not appear on the web site.

The other obvious conclusion is that while this quick analysis shows two obvious trends – Christmas messages are posted by the big institutional Presbyterian branches and they come from the Moderator unless you are an American branch – the other part is that a lot are left out. So back to the drawing board and maybe the semi-quantitative approach. (And this shift in focus to the stated clerk in American branches is an interesting phenomenon I am interested in reading more about, or tracking down more historical details if it has not been done yet.)

A few additional comments:

While the Presbyterian Church of Australia did not have a Christmas message, the web site does have a dedicated page for the Moderator’s comments.

The state branch, the Presbyterian Church of South Australia has begun functioning as a presbytery of the Presbyterian Church of Queensland, but their Christmas message last year was written by the last Moderator, the Rev. Gary Ware.

The Presbyterian Church in America did not have a specific Christmas message, but their By Faith news arm does have a piece featuring one of their theology professors that does touch on Christmas theology.

And for the Church of Scotland, the advocacy and discussion of social witness policy is routinely delegated to the Convener of the Church and Society Council. Here are a couple recent examples of Kirk press releases related to “Church welcomes minimum pricing for alcohol ruling” and “Kirk hopes for a budget that will make Scotland a fairer and more equal society.”

Finally, something that was tracking with my other analysis but maybe is best considered an appendix here – a short case study on speaking for the denomination, in this case the PC(USA).

As the top continuing ecclesiastical officer the Stated Clerk speaks for the General Assembly, and not for him or herself, on matters related to policy of the PC(USA). This is covered in the Manual of the General Assembly.

Recently the Stated Clerk, The Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II, preached in South Korea as part of an ecumenical visit. The headline of the article said “Stated Clerk pledges repentance for No Gun Ri massacre: Nelson: ‘We’ll not let the silence continue’ about Korean War atrocity.” So the question is, as part of the sermon was he speaking for himself, or as the ecclesiastical officer of the PC(USA) was he speaking for the General Assembly?

Again, this was included as part of a sermon and the headline writer latched on to this for the article. Here is the full context of what the Stated Clerk said when he preached:

I cannot apologize for the government of the United States. However, we who are here today from the United States can pledge to not let the silence of this massacre continue. Just as the Presbytery of Cayuga-Syracuse has called on the denomination to both acknowledge and repent of our silence as a denomination, we [the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)] must call upon the United States government to publicly repent of its actions at No Gun Ri.

He is clearly recounting the actions of the General Assembly, with an overture originating from the Presbytery of Cayuga-Syracuse. The problem is that the 222nd General Assembly did not actually call for repentance on the part of any body or government, as the Stated Clerk implies. The final alternate resolution 1) Acknowledged the actions of the US military in the massacre, 2) Directs the Stated Clerk to ask the United States Government to acknowledge the actions, issue an apology and statement of regret as well as considering compensation, and include training for future military members.  And 3) work with the ecumenical partners for resources and additional statements of regret.

In the whole action the word repentance is used only once in the original rational from the Presbytery, which carries the weight of action only to the extent that the final resolution asks for its inclusion in communication about the action of the General Assembly.

So the polity question is: Based on the actions of the 222nd General Assembly, did the Stated Clerk faithfully represent it when he spoke for their action?

So I will leave it at that. I have a lot of other articles in the works so it may be a while before I return to this topic. And to a large degree, this is a topic of debate for us polity wonks and presbygeeks, but does appear to be an issue for the Way Forward Commission.

Your mileage may vary.

Moderator Designate For The 2018 Church Of Scotland General Assembly

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As the build up to the next GA Season keeps moving, this past week brought another Moderator Designate announcement, this from the Church of Scotland.

Rev Susan Brown of Dornoch Cathedral.

The selection committee has decided and the Kirk has announced that The Rev. Susan Brown, minister of Dornoch Cathedral, will be the next Moderator of the General Assembly. She is a native of Penicuik, Midlothian, and did her ministerial training at New College, Edinburgh with a Bachelors degree and a post-Graduate Diploma in Ministry. Following her probationer work at St. Giles she was inducted at Killearnan on the Black Isle, near Inverness, where she served for 13 years. From there she moved up the coast a bit to Dornoch Cathedral where she has been for the past 19 years.

Rev. Brown has served the Kirk at the national level as the vice-convener for both the Ecumenical Affairs committee and currently the World Mission Council. She also served for ten years as a regular member of a lifeboat crew for a local association. And her love of the outdoors, and these days particularly golf, led her to write a spiritual reflection for each hole of the nearby Royal Dornoch course and these are included in the course guide and gained a bit of international attention. In 2011 she was appointed as Chaplain in Ordinary to HM the Queen.

Her husband Derek is also in the ministry, serving as a hospital chaplain in Inverness and as the lead chaplain for NHS Highland. They have two adult children, a son who is a novelist who was recently recognized by the Scottish Book Trust with a New Writers award, and a daughter who is a graduate in social anthropology.

Rev. Brown says of her moderatorial year:

My theme during the year will be walking alongside people. When you walk alongside people, you listen and you exchange stories. It gives us a chance to talk more deeply than when we are face to face.

This coming moderatorial year for Rev. Brown will have a number of anniversaries of note, not the least of which is the 50th anniversary of the ordination of women in the Church of Scotland. (For those counting, she will be the fourth woman to serve as Moderator of the Kirk GA.) The year will also include some significant centennial anniversaries related to WWI, including the commemoration of the armistice in just over a year’s time.

And finally, no biographical sketch of Rev. Brown would be complete without noting another distinction that she has, that of being the pastor that married the entertainer Madonna and Guy Ritchie and later baptizing their son Rocco.

Besides the Kirk article, there is significant mainstream and Christian media coverage of her appointment including The Scotsman, BBC Scotland, The Northern Times, Daily Record, and Premier Christianity.

Susan Brown can be followed on Twitter at @VicarofDornoch. And you can hear her preach on the Cathedral web site, although it appears on the current sermon is available and no online archive is available. Today’s sermon is based on the calling of Samuel in 1 Samuel 3:1-10 and you have to see a bit of self-reference in her second line “The story offers a great reminder of how God can, and will, use anyone at all – no matter how young or old, no matter how full of wisdom or yet to learn.”

And so, as Rev. Brown begins her preparation for the Assembly in May and her moderatorial year as a whole, we offer our congratulation, prayers and best wishes. And if everything falls into place, I am looking forward to being present in person for your installation and your time leading the Assembly. May God’s blessing be upon you and God’s Spirit granting you wisdom and strength for what lies ahead.

Moderator Designate For The Free Church Of Scotland 2018 General Assembly

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There is a certain cycle to each year as in the late months of one calendar year and the early months of the next we begin to anticipate the upcoming general assemblies with moderator designates and moderator candidates, overtures and memorials, and reports. We then enter Assembly Season and see what transpires in the meetings. That is followed by the time of reporting back and presbyteries voting on descending overtures to make changes under the Barrier Act or to the Books of Church Order, Order, or Forms. (Or the Code.) And somewhere in the midst of that it starts all over again.

Well, with the first Moderator Designate announcement the cycle begins again…

Late last week the Free Church of Scotland announced that The Rev. Angus MacRae had been selected as the Moderator Disignate for their 2018 General Assembly in May.

Rev. MacRae is the pastor of Dingwall and Strathpeffer Free Church in Ross-shire where he has been for the last sixteen years. He was ordained to a call at Kilwinning Free Church, Ayrshire in 1992 and came to his present placement from there. His higher education was completed at Edinburgh University and Free Church College (now Edinburgh Theological Seminary). He was born in Glasgow and grew up in Laxdale, Isle of Lewis.

Rev. MacRae has been serving as the chair of the Board of Ministry, experience that is reflected in his published statement where he says:

This decade has seen vibrant growth and renewal in many local churches and the denomination as a whole is united and encouraged. I am thankful for a steady stream of new leaders in training. Our churches and Seminary are working together to meet the needs of existing churches and an exciting movement of new church plants around Scotland.

He continues in his statement to talk about the ongoing work of the General Assembly:

The General Assembly is not just a talking shop. It is an opportunity for leaders to meet together in God’s presence. Our vision is to work together to bring the message of an unchanging gospel to all the people of our land. We do this individually, together in our local churches and in gospel partnership with all those who respect the authority of the Bible as God’s message for truth for every age.

The press release also tells us he “supports international mission and has a particular interest in East Asia and the work of OMF International.”

You can see more about his parish ministry on the Dingwall Free Church Facebook page as well as their YouTube channel of sermons, most delivered by him.

Rev. MacRae’s wife Ann is a doctor specializing in the treatment of addiction. They have three adult children.

Our congratulations to Rev. MacRae on his selection to this unique form of service to the church and our prayers and best wishes as he prepares for his moderatorial year. And on a personal note, I hope to be present in the gallery when he is installed in May and look forward to worshiping with the GA that evening.

May God’s blessing be upon you as you undertake this ministry.

Moderator Designate For The Presbyterian Church In Ireland 2017 General Assembly

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It is the first Tuesday in February and as I begin writing this the 19 presbyteries of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland are meeting to independently vote on the nomination of the Moderator for this year’s General Assembly. There are four individuals who have qualified for the ballot:

  • Rev. Brian Boyd B.Sc., B.D., who has served as the pastor at Kells and Eskylane for the last 25 years. Ordained in 1986 he has served larger church including as convener of the Alcohol and Drug Education Committee.
  • Rev. Tony Davidson B.A. (Q.U.B.), B.D. (Aber.) became the pastor of First Armagh Presbyterian Church in 1994. He has extensive experience with the larger church having been the convener of the Irish Church Relations Committee, Inter-Church Relations Board, Church Relations Committee, and the Nomination Committee most recently.
  • Rev. Charles McMullen, M.A., M. Litt., B.D. currently serves at West Church, Bangor, where he has been since 1999. His service to the larger church includes serving as convener of the Magee Fund Scheme Committee, National and International Problems Committee, and Global Concerns Committee.
  • Rev. Noble McNeely,  B.Ed., B.D. is the pastor of First Holywood Presbyterian Church, a position he has held since 1997. He has been extensively involved in local and church-wide panels and has served as the the convener of the Youth Education and Mission Committee, City Area Committee, Ministerial Studies and Development Committee, Board of Christian Training, and the Council for Training in Ministry.

As a side note, it is a good reminder that the Presbyterian Church of Ireland does span the whole of the isle and while the headquarters is in Belfast in Norther Ireland, Rev. Boyd’s parish of Kells and a previous parish of Rev. Davidson in Limerick are both in the Republic of Ireland.

So the presbyteries have voted and we can say…

Congratulations to the Rev. Noble McNeely, pastor of First Holywood Presbyterian Church who has been endorsed by 10 of the 19 presbyteries. (Picture from his church web site.)

Rev. McNeely was ordained at Fisherwick Presbyterian Church in Belfast in 1982 and before being installed at Holywood also served at First Ballymoney.

He grew up in Crossgar and holds an Education degree from Stranmillis College, with a specialisation in jewellery and silversmithing. From college he taught Craft and Design at Deramore High School (now Balmoral High) in Belfast for two years. He then continued on and earned his B.D. from Union Theological College in 1981.

An interesting note on his wife, Florence, who is a physiotherapist. This is a similar line of work in the caring professions to Claire Sellar, the wife of the current Moderator, who is an occupational therapist. (Probably jumped out at me since my wife is also a physiotherapist.) Noble and Florence have three adult children.

Concerning his nomination, the official announcement quotes him as saying:

I am sincerely humbled. I have served the wider church in a number of roles and I see my nomination as Moderator as another opportunity to serve Christ and His church.

At the same time, I recognise the responsibility that has been entrusted to me and I pray that with God’s help and the prayers of the Church, I will be able to fulfil expectations.

While we expect Rev. McNeely to take over the @pcimoderator Twitter feed, he does have his own @mcneelynoble which is not heavily used. In addition, I could not find one for First Holywood, but the Young Life group there does have a slightly used one at @YLHolywood.

I would note that Rev. McNeely was the strong favorite in the voting with the other thee individuals fairly evenly splitting the remaining nine votes. (Boyd – 3, Davidson – 2, McMullen – 4)

We look forward to hearing more from the traditional press conference tomorrow morning and I will add links here following that event.

UPDATE: The press conference got good media coverage and reports can be read in the Belfast Telegraph – including a post with video clip – as well as the News Letter. Topics reflected in the coverage include a call for politicians to build bridges between the sides and his view, consistent with the current position of the church, that marriage is between one man and one woman.

Our congratulations to Rev. McNeely on his nomination and prayers and best wishes as he prepares for the Assembly and for his whole moderatorial year.

Moderator Designate For The 2017 Church Of Scotland General Assembly

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Rev Dr Derek BrowningTwo weeks ago the Presbyterian Mother Church – that would be the Church of Scotland – announced that the Rev. Dr. Derek Browning had been selected as the Moderator Designate for their 2017 General Assembly in May.

Rev. Dr. Browning is no stranger to many in the Church of Scotland, especially those familiar with the Assembly, as he has had a regular presence on the platform as the Business Convener for several years now. (You can consult the picture at the end of this article.)

His primary call is as the minister at Morningside Parish Church in Edinburgh, having served there for the last 15 years. He began in pastoral ministry at Cupar Old and St Michael of Tarvit Parish Church in Fife in 1987.

He studied at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, from which he ultimately completed a MA Honors History degree.  He did his ministerial training at St. Mary’s College, St. Andrews, and later completed a D.Min. at Princeton Theological Seminary.

His extended list of service to the church is too long to recite here, but it is worth noting that besides his service as convener of the Assembly Business Committee, he has served as a presbytery moderator and on the national Prayer and Devotion Committee as well as the Stewardship and Finance Committee. He has also served as the chair of the Board of Directors at the Eric Liddell Centre.

It is noted in the announcement that in his work with the Assembly Arrangements Committee and the Business Committee, he has had significant responsibility for organizing the Heart And Soul event  that is held on the Sunday afternoon of Assembly Week. In the press release he is quoted as saying, “The theme for Heart and Soul 2017 is ‘Word of Life’ and this rich and layered theme speaks to me about many things but ‘inclusion’ is one of those words of life. The issue of social inclusion is a key one in society and the church.” He continues, “People find themselves excluded for all sorts of reasons and the Church must play a role in bridging the gaps between individuals, communities and nations. The Church has much to offer, and has much to learn. Jesus was often found not only at the heart and centre of things but also on the fringes and the margins and that is where the Church must be.”

The articles says “he believes social inclusion is clearly a “gospel issue” and hopes to use his time as Moderator to highlight ongoing work carried out by churches that support people on the margins of society.”

The article also speaks briefly of his faith journey and how as he was feeling pulled in multiple directions upon completing college, including working for the BBC in London or for Shell Oil. But, he knew he had to address his spiritual pull first. The article says:

“I was in my early 20s when I felt a call not only to be a Christian, but to become a minister,” he said.

“For some people this is a gradual realisation, but for me it was a sudden awakening that I couldn’t put off until I had dealt with the questions it posed, and explored the possibility.

“My ministry afterwards has stuck with those two themes: dealing with questions and exploring possibilities.”

The announcement was widely covered in Scotland with articles by the BBC Scotland, The Glasgow South and Eastwood Extra, Herald Scotland, The East Lothian Courier, The Edinburgh Reporter, and The Courier.

I will conclude with my personal congratulations to him. I had the pleasure of spending a week in June sitting in from of him (and he has posted a picture on Twitter which clearly demonstrates that I do not improve the view). It was a pleasure to get to know him at the PC(USA) General Assembly that week and trade snarky insightful remarks. Commissioners to the Kirk General Assembly, be aware that he has a sharp and dry wit. I look forward to following the proceedings.

So best wishes to Dr. Browning as he takes on this new role. I have every confidence he will bring as much honor to the office as it will bring to him. And prayers for this time as he prepares for his moderatorial year.

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[Editorial notes: Pictures from Dr. Browning’s Twitter feed (@DerekBrowning2) or from the week he spent curating the Church Scotland Voices Twitter feed (@churchscovoices).

In addition, my apologies for the delay getting this posted as well as an overall lack of posting. I have taken on a major responsibility that has dominated my time and I am afraid blogging will be a lower priority for the next 10 months. I will try to do what I can.]

A Wrap-up To The First Day Of The General Assembly

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Following the adjournment of the Assembly for the evening the new Co-Moderators got to meet the press…

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A couple of the burning questions were about “how do you do this co-moderator thing?” The short answer, we don’t know and we will have to figure it out. But Jan Edmiston added that the co-moderator position allows them to “model a new way to be church.” When asked to unpack that she talked about how when visiting presbyteries everyone wants the moderator as opposed to the vice-moderator. Now they will get a moderator, they will just have to figure out which one. It also models shared leadership within the denomination between very different people.

One of the prominent issues this week will be issues of race. They talked about hearing each other’s stories, a systematic program of understanding privilege, and how listening is not just waiting for your turn to talk. It is not just about the stories you remember or hear but those you don’t.

In a similar topic, Jan was talking about how the COGA survey reflected older, white and experienced Presbyterians. The denomination needs to have conversations about who was not responding and therefore not being heard in that survey.

And now to bed. Plenty of excitement tomorrow as I travel out to hear a pastor who was under care of our church preach in their church. Limited PC(USA) action tomorrow but I will be starting to look at some of the other GA’s that are going on.

Good night

Election Of The Co-Moderators Of The 222nd General Assembly Of The PC(USA) – Live Blogging

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Good evening. I am comfortably seated in the press section and the house band is getting rolling and encouraging us to sing. Launching into Soon and Very Soon now.

The live blog system I was using had technical issues that may be related to the WiFi system here. Not sure but not troubleshooting for this particular session. So, sorry, but please hit refresh to stay current.

Opening Presentation

7:04 PM – And we come to order. Don Shaw and Linda-Jackson Shaw open us with their story about their work in creating diversity and racial justice. They read from a bit of the Confession of 67 (first appearance in business sessions of that) and conclude with the opening prayer.

Introduction of Ecumenical Delegates from the Caribbean and Latin America

7:15 PM – Introduction of delegates, greetings from the Guyana Presbyterian Church delegate, and prayer from the delegate from the Dominican Evangelical Church

Presentation on the Role of the Belhar and the Book of Confessions in the life of our church from the Presbyterian Historical Society

7:24 PM – In the UPCNA 1967 was a milestone as C67 was approved and the church adopted a Book of Confessions as its confessional guidance.

Election of the Co-Moderators

We have reached the Order of the Day

Taking a few moments to reset the platform for the election process.

7:35 PM – Margaret Elliott, Committee on the Office of the General Assembly, announces that the candidates expense reports have been checked and are in accordance with the Standing Rules.

Nominations

7:36 PM – The floor is open for nominations. Julia Hill makes the nomination of Adan Mairena and David Parker. Karen Sapio makes the nomination of Jan Edmiston and Denise Anderson.

Candidate speeches

7:40 PM – Candidate Speeches – Parker and Mairena go first and Adan Mairena speaks first.

Adan speaks of his parents coming to the US from Honderas and first his father and then his mother going to McCormick Seminary. The Presbyterian church supported them and helped them. The connectional nature is important and the ministry to the marginal.

David speaks briefly about his being a lawyer and “only a ruling elder.” [Sorry, there is no such thing as only a ruling elder.] He also speaks about his service as chairman of the NC state Democratic Party and his experience moderating conventions larger than this.

They conclude by tag teaming, at times finishing each others lines, and speaking about their differences and how the church must mirror very different people working together.

7:46 PM – Edmiston and Anderson are up. Denise begins speaking about how there are 104 weeks until the next General Assembly and they pledge to work throughout it to reflect the actions and decisions of this assembly.

Jan speaks about the uncertainty and changes in the PC(USA) this week and in the time ahead. But says it is out of times of chaos that the greatest opportunity arises.

Denise concludes talking about working together.

Questions to Candidates

Note: I will be using their initials – JE, DA, AM, and DP – to make my blogging speedier.

7:51 PM – Gradye tells the process. Importantly each team can decide who will answer each question for them.

Q1: If you had the opportunity to speak directly to pastors, elders and churches considering leaving the denominations.

DP: This is one of the few places you can speak directly and honestly. Please stay because you can not hear the will of God without a voice of disagreement.

AM: We are a people of relationships and we have to keep relationship going.

JE: One of the recently dismissed churches in Chicago is a Japanese American Church that has a strong history and was sheltered by Fourth Pres during the internment in WWII. Need to maintain relationship and maybe they will come together again.

DA: Sometimes congregations discern they have to go another way. The important thing is that Christ be glorified. We can dismiss and remain in relationship

Q2: Is Jesus Christ the only way to salvation?

DA: YES! (emphasis hers)

JE: It is what the Gospel of John says. But there is also a passage that says there are other flocks. The good news is that God gets to sort it out.

AM: Yes, Jesus is my Lord and Savior. But we live in a different time.

DP: I am a lawyer. I have a lot of clients that are Muslim. And a business partner is Jewish. I believe Jesus is the only way. But I have talked with Muslims who are sincere and it is a challenging conversation. We need to be respectful of reach other.

Q3: It is often in time of struggle that we learn the most. Tell us about a time you failed.

AM: As an intern at Bryn Mawr I learned a lot and had a great mentor. I then went to Kensington which is a place of scarcity. I went around in a suit and tie. My mistake was not being relevant to those to whom I wanted to minister.

DP: I can not tell you about my failings as a lawyer because of client confidentiality. What a convenient excuse. But with the Democratic Party I led change that was probably too rapid and tendered my resignation but it was not accepted.

JE: I have failed so many time. Scripture “You intended it for ill but God used it for good.” Was personnel chair for the presbytery and had to fire as many as eight people and did not do it well.

DA: Said so many things I regret. But biggest is I have failed myself.

JE (again): Did not show up for a wedding due to misunderstanding about date of wedding.

Q4: I struggle with patriarchal language of our church. How do you blane and how should we treat it going forward.

DA: In my life I appreciate the masculine language but God more often has appeared to me as the feminine. Need to alternate or use gender neutral.

JE: Need to understand scriptural feminine references but use language a church may be comfortable with.

AM: Fortunate to be in a family that did not have traditional gender roles. Need to understand God is neither and God is all.

DP: God has no gender but we can say God has every gender. God is all things. Need to preserve political gains women have made.

Q5: Why is the Belhar important to you

AM:  Written from a context of people of color were suffering. (That was all he said)

DP: Belhar is a compliment to C67. C67 says go out into your neighborhood and love your neighbor. Belhar goes beyond and says we need to forgive our neighbor.

DA: Wrote a piece one year ago related to Charleston shootings about people remaining silent afterwards. Belhar reinforces our commitment to stay in the fight so the playing field is level.

JE: Honored to be in a denomination that accepts Belhar. We need to remind ourselves that racism is systemic and needs to be dismantled.

Q6: How do we be a church that is welcoming and encouraging of all ages, particularly younger members

DA: We need to respect them. Youth ministry is not to be babysitting.

JE: Have to take each other seriously and listen to each other. Co-mentoring – learning from each other in relationship.

AM: Don’t treat them as empty cups where my teaching gets poured in. Need to read scripture together. Don’t just give them pizza. They are hungry for opportunity and relationship. Value them.

DP: I am 61 and in the younger half of our denomination. What everyone else has said is that it has to do with mutual respect. When we have mutual respect everyone does better. Need to address the question of who will remain behind and what will the church look like in 25 years.

End of questions.

Heath thanks them for “putting themselves out” for the call to this position. Standing ovation.

The candidates are dismissed.

[Personal note – it is a tough call after the speeches and questions but if I had to handicapped it I am leaning to Anderson and Edmiston as having made a better presentation.]

We move to voting:

Young adult advisory delegates: 115 to 26 favoring Anderson/Edmiston. If they are the predictor as they usually are we know the result.

The commissioners have voted. The result is: Anderson/Edmiston 432, Parker/Mairena 136

The election is declared

A bit of a wait before the Co-Mods are escorted back into the hall. Includes singing of the Doxology.

The Co-Moderators and their families are escorted back into the hall to a standing ovation. While they are being greeted at the platform Spirit of the Living God is sung spontaneously by the Assembly.

Installation of the Co-Moderators

8:45 PM – The installation service progresses with the regular liturgy and including the singing of Called As Partners In Christ’s Service, the recitation of the six Great Ends of the Church and the questions.

Prayer for the Co-Moderators by The Rev Fred C. Lyon II (husband of Jan Edmiston) and declaration of their installation.

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Passing of the signs of the office: There is only one moderator’s cross so handed to both. Each is given a moderator’s stole.

Microphone is passed to them and Denise says “We haven’t talked enough?”

Denise also points out that on this 60th anniversary of the ordination of women in the mainline Presbyterian church it is the first time that there has been a moderatorial team of two women.

Heath and Larissa are thanked and given mementos of the office.

And now Gradye is coaching the new Mods through the process.

Very brief announcements – just to leave the voting pads at the turn-in tables for recharging.

Denise closes the session with prayer. And we are adjourned.

Thanks for following along. I will probably live blog tomorrow afternoon again and then it will be articles related to the committee meetings for a few days.

Prelude To The Election Of The Moderator

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For a variety of reasons I did not get my formal moderatoral candidate posts up this year. One reason is because there is a new process and I was a bit indecisive in trying to navigate it.

Specifically, this is the first year that that the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has had the option to have Co-Moderators as well as a Moderator/Vice-Moderator team. Both teams have chosen to go the Co-Moderator route. In addition, since there are only two teams we will have a decision on the first ballot.

To help navigate the process I would first refer you to the Moderator Candidate Booklet on the OGA web site. I will add the editorial comment that I wish the Moderator Candidate Book was listed ahead of the Stated Clerk Candidate Book but that is my own preference based on a recognition that the Moderators are called out to give of their time and energy above and beyond their day jobs while the Stated Clerk is a career position in and of itself.

The first team listed in the book is Denise Anderson and Jan Edmiston. Denise is a teaching elder in National Capital Presbytery and Jan is a teaching elder in Chicago Presbytery. Each of their presbyteries endorsed them as a co-moderator team. The book has their statements and answers to questions and we will hear more tonight. Both are very active bloggers and on Twitter. Jan blogs at A Church for Starving Artists and is on Twitter at @jledmiston. Denise’s blog is Soula Scriptura: To Be Young, Gifted and Reformed and she tweets at @thesoulstepford. They also have a moderatoral candidacy web site.

The second team is David Parker and Adan Mairena. David is a ruling elder from Salem Presbytery and Adan is a teaching elder in Philadelphia Presbytery. David is a lawyer by profession and a web site at Salem Presbytery offers more information about him. Adan does a lot of his ministry with the West Kensington Ministry and the book points us to his staff page at the ministry web site. It is interesting that the endorsement letter for David only lists him as a moderator candidate and Adan was endorsed relatively recently (18 May) for Co-Moderator with David. David has a Twitter account with limited activity at @DavidPParker. Adan has a very active Twitter presence at @elburque.

So let’s get ready in the Assembly hall for this precedent setting election process. I will be live blogging but with the old technology so you will have to do refreshes of the screen. And you can follow the live stream with the viewer on the GA 222 home page.

222nd General Assembly Of The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

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It is safe to say that in the coming week most American Presbyterians will have their General Assembly in session. Pardon the alphabet soup, but this next week will see the General Assemblies of the PC(USA), a concurrent GA by the CPC and CPCA, then the PCA, the EPC, and the RPCNA. (Technically that last one is a General Synod.) There is also the distinct likelihood that there will be three live streams going at once so figure out your viewing schedule now.

logo+pcusaFirst up is the 222nd General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in Portland which begins on Saturday 18 June and finishes a week later on Saturday 25 June. There is no question that this will be a momentous and memorable meeting. Even before a single vote is taken we know that the denomination will come out of the meeting with their first Co-Moderators, a new Stated Clerk, and a road map – if not solid decisions – related to reorganizing the national offices to reflect the changing reality of the church in these current times. In addition, it is anticipated that the Belhar Confession will be added to the Book of Confessions and the celebration will begin for the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Confession of 1967. And that does not even begin to scratch the surface of all the other business that is out there.

The source for information on all this business is, as usual, the on-line PC-Biz system. However, it has been given a new look and a bunch of us have been putting it through its paces and helping to squash bugs. (You are welcome.) And the tech wizards behind it have been very responsive to our reports. Now we will see if it can handle a couple thousand simultaneous users.  And the PC(USA) event guide for the Guidebook App  is back as well. There are Android and iOS apps and it can be viewed in a web browser.

There is a docket posted and you can also find the schedule, reports overtures/business items on PC-Biz as well as all the Constitutional documents, the Manual of the General Assembly, and other useful items on the PC-Biz Resources tab.

ga222-circle-colors-vector-fin_small150The Assembly will begin with the usual formalities on Saturday, but this year in the morning. The opening worship with celebration of the Lord’s Supper is scheduled for 11 AM local time and will be live streamed. Congregations are encouraged to gather in their churches and join in the worship. Formal business will begin at 2 PM in the afternoon followed by the election of the Moderator Saturday evening. Sunday is worship in churches throughout the Portland area and a plenary session and receptions in the afternoon. Committee work begins in that evening and it will run through Tuesday evening. During that time PC-Biz is the place to find out what the committees are doing with the pieces of business near and dear to you.

The meeting moves back to plenary on Wednesday afternoon and then it is a mad push to get all the business done by Friday night or in the wee hours of Saturday morning. But one of the realities is that there is no real schedule of when particular committees report until later in the week when committees have finished their business and they are assembled on the docket like a jigsaw puzzle. The final Saturday morning session is highlighted by worship and the closing business formalities.

Opening worship and plenary sessions should be live streamed and the viewer can be found embedded in the GA 222 Home Page.

The tracking utility on PC-Biz is the best place to follow business. While the PC(USA) does have a general Twitter account (@Presbyterian), the General Assembly feed (@presbyGA) usually provides more play-by-play. There is also the Presbyterian News Service on Twitter (@PresbyNews). The hashtag for the meeting is #ga222.

News items will also appear on the GA222 web page as well as the Presbyterian News Service feed. There is also a Facebook page, and the daily news sheet is now electronic.

There are numerous entities of the PC(USA) that have Twitter accounts and you might want to watch the hashtag or check the list I compiled in a post a while back.

For individuals of note let me start with the two Co-Moderator teams: Jan Edmiston (@jledmiston) and Denise Anderson (@thesoulstepford), and David P. Parker (@DavidPParker) and Adan Mairena (@elburque). The other office to be decided is for Stated Clerk and you can follow J. Herbert Nelson (@jherbertnelson). The other candidate is the Rev. David Baker and while he promotes himself as strong in social media in his LinkedIn profile, I can not find a Twitter account for him. I will keep looking. Moving on to Moderators of previous assemblies we can begin with Bruce Reyes-Chow who tweets at @breyeschow and @brc_live. The immediate past Moderator, Neal Presa, can be followed at @NealPresa. And the Moderator finishing up his term, Heath Rada (@heathrada), is there as well. And the current Vice-Moderator, Larissa Kwong Abazia can be found at @LarissaLKA, and a previous Vice-Mod, Landon Whitsitt (@LandonWhitsitt) would definitely make the list. And not to be overlooked is the Executive Director of PMA Tony De La Rosa (@tonydlr). In this list of individuals let me throw in the Director of Operations, Thomas Hay (@DirOfOp) and also a true GA Junkie in his own right, Andy James (@andyjames). And fair warning that both of them are heavily involved in the Assembly so it is entirely possible their time will be spent on things other than tweeting. Finally, the Church of Scotland ecumenical delegate is the Rev. Derek Browning (@DerekBrowning2) who, besides being a parish minister, is also their General Assembly’s Business Convener – something like an associate stated clerk – and therefore a polity wonk in his own right. I am looking forward to his insight and dry wit. He will also be tweeting at the curated account @churchscovoices.

UPDATE: For live tweeting you might want to check out L3 UMD. For color with a degree of snark (yes, some of us need this during the meeting) you can follow Jodi Craiglow.

Out in the press corps, keep an eye on the Presbyterian Outlook on their website (pres-outlook.org) and Twitter (@presoutlook) as well as their special correspondent Leslie Scanlon (@lscanlon).

I will be at the meeting as well. I plan to live blog the plenary sessions here as well as posting more information about specific areas of business. The Outlook has posted three articles I wrote for them on business coming to the Assembly related to Elders and Councils, Non-geographic Presbyteries, and Synods. I do plan to tweet extensively but not completely during the Assembly. So here is my plan: My regular Twitter handle – @ga_junkie – will be used to cover major events at all the Assemblies and the Synod that will be under way. So read carefully as to which meeting the hashtag is for. I will use my secondary, and confusingly named @gajunkie handle (note – no underscore) to cover the PC(USA) exclusively. And if someone is planning to live tweet the Assembly let me know and I will point people in your direction.

button222Finally, my bit of levity. First, I will once again be passing out my “I’m A GA Junkie” buttons. Find me if you want one. Also, the Bingo Card is available for the meeting. In addition, I have targeted four concepts that I will keep a score board on how often they are mentioned in plenary. While giving away the phrases and concepts might bias the results and/or encourage people to use them, I will put them out anyway. They are:

  1. Any reference to the Rev. Fred Rogers, aka Mister Rogers
  2. Misquoting the recent When We Gather At The Table Report. (You can see my caution in the related blog post.)
  3. References to the membership decline in the denomination.
  4. Comments about a certain presidential candidate as a Presbyterian, or not.

And so I am looking forward to an exciting week in Portland but wishing the important action around American Presbyterian branches got spaced out a bit more.

So time to finish packing and see you in Portlandia in a few hours.