LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Office of the General Assembly) The moderators and vice moderators of the 20 committees for the 220th General Assembly (2012) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) have been named. The leadership was chosen from the 688 commissioners to this year’s assembly, to be held June 30-July 7 in Pittsburgh.
Ruling elder Cindy Bolbach, moderator of the 219th General Assembly (2010), selected the leadership with the assistance of the stated clerk of the General Assembly, the executive director of the General Assembly Mission Council, the director of operations for the Office of the General Assembly (OGA), a member of the Committee on the Office of the General Assembly, a member of the General Assembly Committee on Representation, and OGA managers of General Assembly business and assembly services.
Bolbach participated via Skype from her hometown of Arlington, Va., where she is recuperating from surgery.
The standing rules of the General Assembly were used to guide the selection process, which took place after every presbytery had shared the names of its elected commissioners to the Office of the General Assembly. The criteria included provisions that the moderators of at least half of the assembly committees, including any committees dealing with finance and budgets, shall be ruling elders, with the remainder being teaching elders; the moderators of at least half of the committees should be women; and no more than one person from any presbytery may be appointed. In addition, there should be an equitable distribution of representation among all of the PC(USA) synods.
Prior to the selection of the leadership, which took place on April 3, 2012, the full list of commissioners to this year’s assembly was distributed to presbyteries, synods, General Assembly agencies, advocacy and advisory committees; PC(USA) seminaries; and elsewhere, asking for input about anyone whose name was on the list in terms of qualification for committee leadership. Written comments were collected and shared with Bolbach, who also solicited input from a wide array of sources across the PC(USA). In addition, commissioners who were nominated were asked to complete a questionnaire about their interests, gifts, skills, and their willingness to serve if asked.
Commenting on the selections, Bolbach said: “The General Assembly operates effectively when its committees operate effectively, and the committees operate effectively when led by talented, committed moderators and vice moderators. I am grateful to these ruling and teaching elders who have agreed to take on the important role of leading our GA committees. I know they will serve our church well.”
Out of the process came the following list of committee leadership:
Bills and Overtures – Eustacia Marshall (teaching elder, Charlotte Presbytery) as moderator; Tom Harmon (teaching elder, Miami Valley Presbytery) as vice moderator
General Assembly Procedures –Lyn Bova (ruling elder, Maumee Valley Presbytery) as moderator; Claire Rhodes (ruling elder, Arkansas Presbytery) as vice moderator
Review of Biennial Assemblies – Joan Fong (ruling elder, San Francisco Presbytery) as moderator; Rhonda Kruse (teaching elder, Hudson River Presbytery) as vice moderator
Mid Council Issues – Larry Hayward (teaching elder, National Capital Presbytery) as moderator; Ariel Mink (ruling elder, Redwoods Presbytery) as vice moderator
Church Polity – Emily Anderson (teaching elder, East Tennessee Presbytery) as moderator; Eunkiung Hahm (ruling elder, Midwest Hanmi Presbytery) as vice moderator
Church Orders and Ministry – Charles Collier (ruling elder, New Castle Presbytery) as moderator; Martha McDonald (ruling elder, Whitewater Valley) as vice moderator
Authoritative Interpretation Review – Barbara Ross (ruling elder, Western North Carolina Presbytery) as moderator; Lawrence DeLong (teaching elder, de Cristo Presbytery) as vice moderator
Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations – Jane Dempsey Douglass (ruling elder, San Gabriel Presbytery) as moderator; Scott Mann (teaching elder, Seattle Presbytery) as vice moderator
Mission Coordination – Sam Evans (ruling elder, Chicago Presbytery) as moderator; Marci Glass (teaching elder, Boise Presbytery) as vice moderator
Social Justice Issues – Nancy Ramsay (teaching elder, Grace Presbytery) as moderator; David Adamson (ruling elder, Utah Presbytery) as vice moderator
Immigration Issues – Joann Lee (teaching elder, Twin Cities Area Presbytery) as moderator; José Gonzáles-Colón (teaching elder, New York City Presbytery) as vice moderator
Civil Union and Marriage Issues – Aimee Moiso (teaching elder, San Jose Presbytery) as moderator; Ben Trawick (teaching elder, Salem Presbytery) as vice moderator
Peacemaking and International Issues – Laura Philips (ruling elder, Newark Presbytery) as moderator; Tim Womack (teaching elder, Central Florida Presbytery) as vice moderator
Middle East Peacemaking – Jack Baca (teaching elder, San Diego Presbytery) as moderator; Valerie Putnam (teaching elder, South Dakota Presbytery) as vice moderator
Church Growth and Presbyterian Investment and Loan Program (PILP) – Chad Herring (teaching elder, Heartland Presbytery) as moderator; Addie Peterson (teaching elder, Eastern Virginia Presbytery) as vice moderator
Theological Issues, Institutions, and Christian Education – George Hunsberger (teaching elder, Lake Michigan Presbytery) as moderator; Mary Lou McMillin (ruling elder, Shenandoah Presbytery) as vice moderator
Confessions of the Church – Todd Jones (teaching elder, Middle Tennessee Presbytery) as moderator; Nicholas Yoda (teaching elder, Cincinnati Presbytery) as vice moderator
Review of General Assembly Permanent Committees – Kirk Dorn (ruling elder, Long Island Presbytery) as moderator; Sandra Marcial-Ramirez (ruling elder, Suroeste Presbytery) as vice moderator
Board of Pensions, Presbyterian Foundation, and Presbyterian Publishing Corporation – Doug Megill (ruling elder, Lake Erie Presbytery) as moderator; Emily Proctor (teaching elder, Baltimore Presbytery) as vice moderator
Health Issues – Diane Bostic Robinson (ruling elder, Detroit Presbytery) as moderator; Charlotte Poetschner (teaching elder, Great Rivers Presbytery) as vice moderator
In addition to the moderator and vice-moderator, each committee will have a committee assistant, parliamentarian, and, in most cases, a transcriptionist/recorder.
For additional information about this year’s assembly, go to pcusa.org/ga220