In the last two weeks two additional nominees have been endorsed by their presbyteries to stand for election as Moderator of the 219th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).  So here are the third and fourth nominees for the post, listed in order of their endorsement, and there is now word of a fifth candidate awaiting endorsement as well.

On Tuesday April 27 the Presbytery of Western North Carolina endorsed the Rev. Maggie Palmer Lauterer to stand for Moderator of the 219th General Assembly.  She is the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Burnsville, N.C.  In order to endorse her for Moderator it was first necessary to elect her as a substitute commissioner to the assembly to replace a clergy commissioner who relinquished his position to make way for her.

A well-produced flyer in PDF format is available from the presbytery web site introducing the Rev. Lauterer. In that flyer she says:

We are a denomination of many small churches and I believe that a passion for the small church is an imperative for PCUSA [sic] leadership. My recent experience has been in a 113-year-old small church, one that had suffered two splits in the ten years prior to my arrival.

And later adds

I believe that, as members of the PCUSA [sic], we are called to be members of a worldwide Presbyterian community. My experience guides me and, I feel, can guide our denomination as we pursue a deeper understanding of the world’s struggles. I have traveled with Presbyterian groups to many places. I have helped build a school in Recife, Brazil; I have studied church issues as I traveled across Central America to Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Guatemala. I have studied the complex issues of the Middle East, traveling in Jordan, Egypt, Palestine and Israel. In the sensitive era of Perestroika, I traveled to Russia seeking a sister city and commonality — a novel idea in those days — in what was then the Soviet Union.

For the last five years, I have traveled with other members of our church to Guatemala, establishing a strong and growing relationship with our sister church (Nueva Esperanza) in San Felipe, and learning more about the PCUSA’s role in Guatemala.

And she concludes with her third issue

And, lastly, but of no less importance, I do not believe that growth of the Church has as much to do with age and location as it does with our openness to the transformative powers of the Trinity as we are called toward new frontiers – the new front lines of being Christ’s Church, of  “doing Christ’s Church” in the light of the radical love Christ has taught us. As I stand for Moderator, that standard will be my standard.

The information sheet also tells us that she is a second-career pastor, having served her congregation since her ordination in 1999.  She previously worked in journalism and made an unsuccessful run for U.S. Congress.  She has served in several forms at the presbytery level, including as Moderator of presbytery.  She has also served on leadership for different workshops and conferences.  And she and her husband have two adult children and two grandchildren.  Finally, on a personal note, according to the bio she also plays the dulcimer, although it does not specify if it is the Appalachian or hammer variety.  (I play both so either is fine with me.)

For additional information you can check out articles from the Presbyterian News Service, The Layman, The Outlook.  I have not yet found a web or social network presence for her candidacy but will update here if I do.

On May 6 the Presbytery of Northern Waters endorsed the Rev. Eric Nielsen to stand for election as Moderator of the 219th General Assembly.  The Rev. Nielsen is the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Eau Clair, WI. (Catchy church motto: “The perfect church for people who aren’t.”)

He has established a web presence at www.ericnielsen.org where he, or his team, have created a fairly basic and informative site.  The front page has a nice description of his faith journey and I appreciate the twists and turns his call to ministry took.  In particular, I like this description of how others helped him discern his call:

I was active in my church growing up, but never thought of serving God as a pastor. In college I studied Economics and planned to teach high school. I studied voice for several years, was a part of my university’s opera company, and even earned an audition with the Metropolitan Opera – music has always been a large part of my life. But during those college years God’s call came to me once again in a very unexpected way. One day while working with the choir of First Presbyterian Church in Waterloo, IA, their pastor, Jack Boelens handed me an envelope. Inside was an airline ticket. He said the Session of the church believed I had gifts and a calling for ministry, and so they were sending me to Louisville Seminary to attend an Exploratory Weekend. I didn’t know what to say. It just so happened that I had no classes the Friday of this event, removing any excuse not to go. Not convinced this is what I was supposed to be doing, I acknowledge that I was given a lot to pray about.

His forms of service to the denomination include a variety of presbytery work as well as some work on the synod level including Moderator of the Synod of Lakes and Prairies.  He has served churches in the Midwest as well as earlier work in the Louisville, KY, area.

He has posted his answers to the questions that the Office of the General Assembly asks.  In answering the question about what the Belhar Confession would bring to the denomination he writes:

Each of our confessions is context specific. Belhar could be seen as a natural progression of our 20th century statements. The Theological Declaration of Barmen addressed the challenge of idolatry in the community of faith. The Confession of 1967 narrowed the focus of such idolatry as it spoke to unique issues of the 1960s, of which racism and disunity were significant. Our last confession, The Brief Statement of Faith, sought to move us further toward the under-standing of justice and reconciliation. Belhar could now direct the action of the church –moving us from statements of belief to actions that reflect those beliefs – based upon the teachings of Scripture and our obedience to Jesus Christ.

Regarding “ministry to and with youth and young adults” he says:

In most congregations young adults are the missing generation. While we might be able to provide resources and encouragement as the national church, the fact is that this challenge will only be addressed at the congregational level.  While I want to affirm the importance of family ministry, I believe we need to simultaneously increase efforts toward singles ministry. Only 25% of all U.S. households are now married parents with children. We have many single parent households. Young adults are getting married and having children much later in life, yet often church programs and efforts are focused on the “traditional family.”

And regarding the new revised Form of Government he begins:

I believe that the proposed changes to our current Form of Government (FOG) is much needed and long overdue. Corporations and other institutional entities have been moving and adapting to a changing social context for the last several decades, trying to keep ahead of technologies and changing social realities. The Church, however, has remained entrenched in a 1950s corporate model (a model corporations themselves have long since abandoned). A one-size-fits-all approach no longer works in business; it doesn’t work for the Presbyterian Church either.

And stay tuned for his blog.  The tab is there but so far only a test message and I don’t see the RSS feed.  For more info there are also stories from the Presbyterian News Service and The Layman.

So that rounds out the field to four candidates, one elder and three ministers.  As I said at the beginning, it appears we can expect a another clergy candidate.  In addition, the question and answer book is in preparation so that will give us more background as well as the corresponding Vice-Moderator candidates.  Stay tuned because there is lots more to come.