Yesterday May 1 – my official starting point for General Assembly Season. But as many of you are aware, this will be a very different General Assembly Season. With the Covid-19 virus circulating almost all of the early meetings have been cancelled or postponed. Many are simply listed as “postponed” with hopes of rescheduling in 2020. Some have specifically stated that they will not happen this year. Still waiting on a few and I will update as announcements are made.
So this is the line-up for General Assembly Season as I know it now. Please let me know if I have missed an announcement or a presbyterian branch.
46th General Assembly
Presbyterian Church of Malaysia23-25 March 2020
Postponed, date to be determined.
65th General Assembly
Presbyterian Church in Taiwan
Taipei21-24 April 2020
Postponed to a date not yet decided
60th Synod Annual General Meeting
Presbyterian Church of Trinidad and TobagoApril 2020 – Postponed Indefinitely
Synod
The Presbyterian Church of Eastern AustraliaMay 2020 – Postponed
45th General Assembly
Korean Presbyterian Church Abroad5-7 May 2020Orlando, Florida
Postponed to 4-6 May 2021
(I am seeing various info on this, still sorting through it)
General Assembly & Family Camp
Covenant Presbyterian Church
5-9 May 2020
Westcliffe, Colorado
General Assembly
Presbyterian Church of Tasmania
12 May 2020
44th General Assembly
Korean-American Presbyterian Church of the Americas
12-15 May 2020Cancun, Mexico
To be held by Videoconference
General Assembly
Church of Scotland16-22 May 2020
Edinburgh
Cancelled (breaking an over 300 years streak of Assemblies)
There will be a service to install the new Moderator on May 16
General Assembly
Free Church of Scotland (Continuing)
18 May 2020
Edinburgh
The Assembly shall convene by teleconference and suspend the Assembly to reconvene on or about 6 October in Inverness
General Assembly
Free Church of Scotland
18-21 May 2020Edinburgh
The Assembly will meet virtually this year with a single session the evening of Monday 18 May.
General Assembly
Presbyterian Church in Ireland1-4 June 2020Belfast
A Virtual meeting of the 2019 Assembly cancelled the 2020 Assembly – this is a break in a 180 year sting
87th General Assembly
Orthodox Presbyterian Church3-9 June 2020Eastern UniversitySt. Davids, Pennsylvania
The 87th General Assembly has been postponed and will now convene on 2 June 2021
146th General Assembly
Presbyterian Church in Canada7-11 June 2020Wilfrid Laurier UniversityWaterloo, Ontario
The Assembly has been cancelled.
145th General Assembly
Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America7-12 June 2020 – Rescheduled 27 June – 2 July, 2021
Louisville, Kentucky
Concurrent with the Cumberland Presbyterian Church
190th General Assembly
Cumberland Presbyterian Church7-12 June 2020 – Rescheduled 27 June – 2 July, 2021
Louisville, Kentucky
Concurrent with Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America
216th Stated Meeting of the General Synod
Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church9-11 June 2020 – Rescheduled 18-21 August 2020
Bonclarken Conference Center
Flat Rock, North Carolina
General Assembly
United Free Church of Scotland10 June 2020
Perth
The Meeting has been cancelled
48th General Assembly
Presbyterian Church in America15-19 June 2020Birmingham
Postponed to 29 June – 2 July 2021
224th General Assembly
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)20-27 June 2020Baltimore
Will be held on-line with plenaries on June 19, 26, and 27
General Assembly
Presbyterian Church of Queensland
Including the Presbytery of South Australia22 June 2020 – Rescheduled for September2020, date pending
Brisbane Boys’ College
Brisbane
40th General Assembly
Evangelical Presbyterian Church23-26 June 2020
Hope Church, Cordova, TN
Rescheduled to September 17-18, 2020
189th Synod
Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America23-26 June 2020Indiana Wesleyan UniversityMarion, Indiana
Cancelled as of 30 April
N.S.W. State Assembly
Presbyterian Church of Australia
in the State of New South Wales
13 July 2020 (begins)
Presbyterian Ladies’ College
Croydon, N.S.W.
Reformed Presbyterian International Conference
28 July to 3 August 2020
Indiana Wesleyan University
Marion, Indiana
Not an assembly or synod but a significant quadrennial gathering of Reformed Presbyterians
At this time still accepting reservations but may be cancelled shortly
Convocation of Sessions
Vanguard Presbytery
30 July 2020
Stephens Valley Church
Nashville, Tennessee
A meeting that is part of the development of a new denomination
84th General Synod
Bible Presbyterian Church
6-10 August 2020
Bible Presbyterian Church, Grand Island, NY
General Assembly
Presbyterian Church of Victoria
5 – 8 October 2020
General Assembly
Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand7-11 October 2020
Lindisfarne College
Hastings
(biennial)
The Assembly has been postponed until October 2021
113th General Assembly
Presbyterian Church in Western Australia
23 October 2020 (begins)
St. Columba’s Church, Peppermint Grove
So that’s the list 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.
I will again reference the series of articles I wrote as an introduction to Presbyterian General Assemblies eight 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
So GA Junkies, this is a very different season. By my count, there are currently seven Assemblies or Synods that are still on as scheduled, seven that appear to be postponed to later in the year, two to happen by videoconference approximately as scheduled (not counting electronic meetings to decently and in order reschedule the meeting), and twelve that appear to be cancelled/rescheduled for next year. I am still collecting info and some of the later ones may yet be rescheduled as well. We will see.
So with that, I pray that you stay safe and healthy at this time and may it pass quickly. And for the hard-core GA Junkies out there may the withdrawal symptoms not be too bad and may you find something else to do to fill the time.
And finally, with the prospect of video GA’s coming up, I will start working on a Bingo Card for the occasion. Let me know if you have one and I will share all that I find.
So stay decent and in order my friends.
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