Two teams are standing to serve as co-moderators of the PC(USA)’s hybrid assembly, which will be held from June 18 to July 9. They are:
- Josefina “Fina” Ahumada, a commissioned ruling elder from Presbytery de Cristo, with Marilyn McKelvey Tucker-Marek, a minister from Flint River Presbytery.
- Ruth Santana-Grace, a minister from the Presbytery of Philadelphia, with Shavon Starling-Louis, a minister from the Presbytery of Charlotte.
More information on their background, credentials and opinions can be found here. General Assembly commissioners will elect co-moderators during a plenary session that begins June 18 at 7 p.m. EDT and will be live-streamed.
Here are some quick bites of what the candidates had to say during the webinar, in which Outlook editor Teri McDowell Ott asked questions that had been submitted in advance. Think of this as sort of a tasting course from the event, a few nibbles, not the full meal. To watch a full recording of the webinar, you can donate here. A replay will be emailed to all donors starting Monday, June 13.
How do you understand the role of the co-moderator?
A co-moderator can serve as an ambassador in the PC(USA), “a bearer of stories and good news to the larger church,” Santana-Grace said. The co-moderator can show up in times of sorrow and celebration, like an angel or a messenger, to “bring an assurance of calm in the midst of distress,” Ahumada answered.
What can the PC(USA) do to support the leadership and financial needs of small churches?
Small churches “are the heartbeat of our witness,” Starling-Louis said, adding that best marker of congregational vitality might not be the size of a church, but the effectiveness of its ministry. Santana-Grace, who serves as executive presbyter of the Presbytery of Philadelphia, said she’s seen there how small Spanish-language congregations, Korean and Ghanaian churches, serve as a “holistic presence” in their communities, caring for mind, body and soul.
Tucker-Marek joined the Zoom webinar from England, where she is leading a pilgrimage from her presbytery on the St. Cuthbert Way. She serves as a solo pastor of a small, rural, intergenerational congregation, and also as a campus minister, and said she wants to see the PC(USA) provide support and empowerment for commissioned ruling elders, benefits to part-time pastoral leaders, and to explore expanded possibility for yoked calls.
Given the inescapable violence in the world today, what is the church’s role in peacemaking?
That very day, people had gathered in Philadelphia to mourn at the scene of a recent mass shooting in the South Street area, Santana-Grace said. People are exhausted by the trauma, and “we are tempted often to turn it off because we can’t absorb it or fear of being overwhelmed by it,” she said. “Clearly, the church is being called out of silence into a place of action. We’re being called to find a way to get up from our knees” and work for change.
“The church is in a space and time where we can and should reclaim our voice,” Starling-Louis said. While some contend that peace and quiet go together, “making peace is an active thing.”
Ahumada has seen the impact of mass shootings up-close. After her retirement from a long career as a social worker and social work educator, she became a commissioned ruling elder. One of her former students, Gabe Zimmerman, was among the six people killed and 13 wounded in 2011 when a gunman opened fire at a grocery store, attempting to kill U.S. Representative Gabby Giffords. “Enough is enough,” she said — applauding the work that some congregations and Presbyterian Peace Fellowship are doing through the “Guns to Gardens” movement, in which guns are taken off the street and turned into gardening tools, with a nationwide gun buyback planned for June 11.
Tucker-Marek cited the apostle Paul’s admonition to “pray without ceasing,” saying prayer can be transformative. “Prayer informs votes,” she said, keeps people from despair, giving them strength to advocate for peace.
What can and should the church say about abortion, access to reproductive health care and a woman’s right to choose?
Starling-Louis spoke from her own experience with an ectopic pregnancy, saying “I will always remember what it felt like” to sign the paper authorizing the surgery she needed, knowing that without medical intervention to end the pregnancy, she could die. That was necessary, but “that was never easy,” she said.
The PC(USA) needs to re-articulate its policy statements on reproductive rights from the pulpit and the public square, Ahumada said. As a pastor, Tucker-Marek said, “I have sought to support and not judge, I have sought to offer compassion and not condemnation” for women making difficult reproductive rights decisions — bearing in mind that the women involved are
“children of God” and their choices are being influenced by racial and economic disparities in access to health care, child care, educational opportunities and more.
If the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, “we will be in uncharted waters,” Ahumada said. That will be a time for the church to advocate for women who want to follow their conscience — and to advocate for protection of health care workers who provide reproductive health care, she said.
Where have you seen the church effectively challenging systemic racism? What might reparation and repair in the church look like?
Over the next decade, many Presbyterian churches will close, Starling-Louis said. This is a time for the denomination to think strategically about reinvesting the property and wealth left behind when those churches close — and to think about how those assets can used to address the church’s legacy of racism. When the Presbytery of Philadelphia sold its Kirkwood camp, it gave $50,000 to the Lenape tribe in acknowledgement that the camp property had originally been Indigenous land, Santana-Grace said.
What lessons is the church learning from the hybrid model this assembly is using?
Both Ahumada and Santana-Grace said the length of this assembly has prevented some from serving as commissioners — family and work responsibilities prevent them from taking much time off.
Tucker-Marek said “the pandemic isn’t over yet” – her husband has COVID now – so “it really may be the best format we could have chosen” for this year. But in making decisions about future assemblies, “transparency matters,” Santana-Grace said, and “I hope we are not tempted to believe that virtual reality is the best reality-long term.”
What are some of the “sweet spots” in the church today?
“People showing up when it’s been difficult,” Starling-Louis said.
Santana-Grace highlighted the faithfulness of pastors and church leaders who during the COVID-19 pandemic “became directors, producers, actors, stage managers, lighting consultants” for online worship. “I can’t believe the extraordinary individuals who continue to say ’yes’ to God.”
The church member who takes a meal to a grieving family, Tucker-Marek said. The volunteer who mentors a college student. The senior citizen whose health prevents them from attending worship in person, but who prays for each person on the prayer list every day. “These are the body of Christ.”
A replay of the webinar will be available starting Monday, June 13, for a donation.
