That session, scheduled for the afternoon of August 4, is to be led by two task force members — Frances Taylor Gench, a New Testament professor at Union Seminary and Presbyterian School of Christian Education in Richmond, and Martha Sadongei, a pastor from Arizona.
Last year, the 215th General Assembly gave the task force the power to close its meetings to the news media and the public to discuss “sensitive theological matters.” This is the first time the task force has chosen to do so, although this also is a meeting that many in the church are watching with special interest, given that the question of whether to ordain sexually active gays and lesbians is one the most contentious matters the PC(USA) faces.
The vote to close the meeting came with very little discussion, during the task force’s opening session Aug. 3, but did not seem to catch any of its members by surprise.
Vicky Curtiss, a pastor from Iowa, recommended the closed session, saying the group wants “a greater comfort level” to be reflective and creative in exploring ideas.
John “Mike” Loudon, a pastor from Florida, was the only person to vote against closing the meeting. Loudon has said previously he thinks the task force should do all its work in full view of the church. Barbara Everitt Bryant, a business professor from Michigan, and José Luis Torres-Milán, a pastor from Puerto Rico, both abstained on the vote. 
