LOUISVILLE (OGA) Committee leadership for the 222nd General Assembly (2016) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has been selected, taking the denomination one step closer to the biennial gathering that sets priorities for the church.
Thirteen committees will receive and act on business coming before the General Assembly, June 18–25, in Portland, Oregon. Each committee will be led by a moderator and vice moderator selected by Heath Rada, Moderator of the 221st General Assembly (2014).
“I am grateful for the diversity that is represented and what I believe to be the facilitation skills of the people who will be leading the assembly,” Rada said. “I have tried diligently to see that we have people whose personal agendas will not get in the way of God’s deliberative work.”
Of the moderators selected, five are male and eight are female. Of the vice moderators, three are male and ten are female. Other demographics include nine whites, two blacks, one Asian, and one multi-ethnic person of the moderators; and eight whites, two blacks, two Asians, and one Hispanic person of the vice moderators.
Six of the moderators are teaching elder commissioners and seven are ruling elder commissioners. Ten of the vice moderators are teaching elder commissioners and three are ruling elder commissioners. Committee leadership also includes at least one commissioner from each of the sixteen synods.
The committees handling business will be Bills and Overtures; General Assembly Procedures; The Way Forward; Mid Councils; Church Polity and Ordered Ministry; Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations; Middle East Issues; Immigration and Environmental Issues; Mission Coordination; Social Justice Issues; Peacemaking and International Issues; Board of Pensions, Presbyterian Investment and Loan Program, and Foundation; and Theological Issues and Institutions.
The deadline to submit overtures to the General Assembly that amend or ask for interpretation of the Book of Order is February 19, which is 120 days before the start of the assembly. Overtures submitted to date are available on PC-Biz.
02 Bills and Overtures
George Anderson – moderator
Mid-Atlantic/ The Peaks/ TEC
Cheni Khonje – vice moderator
The Northeast/ West Jersey/ TEC
03 GA Procedures
Mary Lou Cox – moderator
Mid-Atlantic/ Shenandoah/ REC
Jihyun Oh – vice moderator
South Atlantic/ Greater Atlantic/ TEC
04 The Way Forward
Steve Aeschbacher – moderator
Alaska-Northwest/ Seattle/ REC
Cynthia Jarvis – vice moderator
The Trinity/ Philadelphia/ TEC
05 Mid Councils
Todd Freeman – moderator
The Sun/ Eastern Oklahoma/ TEC
Karen Sapio – vice moderator
S California And Hawaii/ San Gabriel/ TEC
06 Church Polity and Ordered Ministry
Yzette Swavy-Lipton – moderator
The Northeast/ Hudson River/ REC
Joy Myers – vice moderator
Mid-America/ Giddings-Lovejoy/ TEC
07 Ecumenical And Interfaith Relations
Young Ghil Lee – moderator
The Northeast/ Boston/ TEC
Lisa Eye – vice moderator
Living Waters/ Transylvania/ TEC
08 Middle East Issues
Amy Fowler – moderator
The Northeast/ Genesee Valley/ TEC
Frances Lin – vice moderator
S California And Hawaii/ San Diego/ REC
09 Immigration and Environmental Issues
Peter Hulac – moderator
The Rocky Mountains/ Denver/ REC
Mary Lynn Walters – vice moderator
The Southwest/ Grand Canyon/ REC
10 Mission Coordination
Eileen Best – moderator
The Covenant/ Lake Michigan/ REC
Luis Ocasio-Torres – vice moderator
Boriquen En Puerto Rico/ Presbiterio De San Juan/ TEC
11 Social Justice Issues
Patricia Tull – moderator
Living Waters/ Mid-Kentucky/ TEC
Bobby Musengwa – vice moderator
South Atlantic/ Tampa Bay/ TEC
12 Peacemaking and Int. Issues
Jochebed Jordan – moderator
Mid-Atlantic/ National Capital/ REC
Sarah Sanderson-Doughty – vice moderator
Lincoln Trails/ Wabash Valley/ TEC
13 BoP, PILP, PPC and Foundation
Linda Lee – moderator
The Pacific/ San Francisco/ REC
Todd Wright – vice moderator
The Trinity/ West Virginia/ TEC
14 Theological Issues and Institutions
Jennifer Burns Lewis – moderator
Lincoln Trails/ Chicago/ TEC
Sue Rutford – vice moderator
Lakes And Prairies/ Twin Cities Area/ REC
by Toya Richards, director of communications, Office of the General Assembly
