Arthur K. Fullerton announced his intention to stand as a candidate for Moderator of the PC(USA) 224th General Assembly in the first half of May and he was joined in this Co-Moderator team by Marie Mainard O’Connell about two weeks later. Both candidates have not been endorsed by there presbyteries – a customary but not required step – having not had the opportunity due to the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic. UPDATE: As noted in the comments, since the PC(USA) news article both candidates have been endorsed by their presbyteries in virtual meetings.

For detailed information about them and their sense of call to serve as Co-Moderators, there is the regular General Assembly Moderator Candidates Information Booklet and they also have a team Facebook page and team website in Mr. King’s name. The team material lists only Arthur’s personal Twitter account. In addition, there is the Presbyterian News Service story as well as the Outlook’s Q&A piece covering all the Moderator candidates, and a similar piece following their online “Meet the Candidates” event.

Marie Mainard O’Connell is a teaching elder and currently the pastor of Park Hill Presbyterian Church in North Little Rock, Arkansas. According to the website bio, she is a native of Arkansas but grew up in Texas. She holds a Master’s Degree in College Administration and she worked as Program Coordinator for the Office of Student Engagement at Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, Virginia before going to seminary. She was ordained as the pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Little Rock and before moving to Park Hill she served as a Young Adult Volunteer Coordinator in the area. She has worked with community organizations, including the local Industrial Areas Foundation, and served on her presbytery’s Committee for the Future and currently moderates the Committee on Representation.

Arthur K. Fullerton is a ruling elder at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Albany, New York. According to his bio, he is also a native of Arkansas but his life journey has taken him across the country and he has been active in Presbyterian churches from California, to Florida, to New York City, as well as Arkansas. He has a Harvard MBA and a Master in Applied Positive Psychology from University of Pennsylvania. He has worked and taught in the field of Applied Positive Psychology but also has worked as a consultant and a fundraiser for various organizations. He has served as Moderator of Albany Presbytery and currently serves on the Presbytery PJC.

Their theme is “Preparing the way for a Future Church” and their website has a page dedicated to that. That page is their answer to the first OGA question to the teams about living into the GA theme of “From Lament to Hope.” In their response they say:

Before the virus struck, the PCUSA was like the ancient Israelites wandering in the Wilderness, pining for Egypt. Egypt was the post WWII era of full pews, bouncing children, and overflowing budgets; a reality long past, but still preferred. Of course, that Egypt also oppressed with segregation, marginalized women, and criminalized LGBTQ folks. As a gay man born in 1962 in the segregated South, and a Xennial minister-mom, we’re glad we left Egypt behind. Thinking back, we know God has been with us through many joys and perils, as God is with us now. 

And they continue a bit later in the response:

We are not going back to Egypt. We may still be wandering in the Wilderness, but the coronavirus has given us a glimpse of a potential Promised Land. A future Church focused more on relationships than right beliefs; a Church beyond four walls; a Church that seeks to Love God and Love our Neighbor in more than words. A Church that hears Jesus call us to be fishers of people, not building preservationists. A Church unafraid to try and fail and try again at new technologies and practices to reach seekers old and new.

All three teams give the commissioners something to think about and discern tonight. Several possible firsts among the teams and many cumulative years of experience in the PC(USA) and skills in many different directions. We look forward to the election process as the questions that are asked tell us as much about the commissioners, and by extension about where the church is at right now, as the answers tell us about those standing for the positions of Co-Moderator. Stay tuned, and just maybe more tonight after the election.