LOUISVILLE, Ky. – With the 220th General Assembly looming – its June 30 start date is just a few weeks away – the leadership of the assembly’s committees came to Kentucky June 4-6 for training, and to get a sense of what to expect at the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s big national policy meeting.
Much of their work was nuts-and-bolts – how to properly submit a committee report, for example, or make the 90-second video each committee will produce summarizing its work – along with specialized training for committee moderators, vice moderators, parliamentarians and more. The candidates for moderator and vice moderator (four of each) were briefly introduced, and the leadership learned some important lingo – such as financial implications (“everything worth doing comes with a price,” said the PC(USA)’s chief financial officer, Joey Bailey).
The committee leaders also learned some quick facts about the upcoming assembly. This assembly will:
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Have 688 commissioners, 157 young adult advisory delegates, 25 theological student advisory delegates, 8 missionary advisory delegates, and 15 ecumenical advisory delegates.
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Consider 115 overtures, plus commissioners’ resolutions submitted after the assembly begins.
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Meet at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in downtown Pittsburgh, which has earned the highest rating possible for environmental sustainability. The convention center has earned a platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council through its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system.
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Live-stream its plenary sessions (but not committee meetings).
The business already presented carries financial implications of nearly $2 million in new funding, and that amount is expected to rise, Bailey said.
PC(USA) leaders also provided some big-picture ideas of what to expect from this assembly. Among the big questions that Gradye Parsons, the denomination’s stated clerk, expects to come up:
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What kind of council life does the denomination need going forward?
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How are we to relate to one another as sisters and brothers in Christ?
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What is our understanding of marriage and our pastoral role in it?
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How can Presbyterians contribute to peace in Israel-Palestine?
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How do Presbyterians respond to immigration?
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Does the PC(USA) need to amend the denomination’s newly-adopted Form of Government (which took effect in 2011)?
