Members of a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) committee that has spent nearly two years drafting a possible new confession say an in-person meeting last summer marked a turning point, even as the document remains unfinished and unapproved.
When the Special Committee to Write a New Confession gathered in person for only the second time in August, members say the theological direction of the document began to take shape after months of prayer, biblical study and conversation about what places the gospel at risk in the present moment.
“There was so much joy and celebration,” said Kristy Rodgers, a committee member and commissioned pastor at First Presbyterian Church of Bartlesville, Oklahoma. “You could see what God was up to.”
“All the pieces come together,” said fellow committee member Byungil Kim, pastor of Podowon Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia. “God is working through us.”
For members of the 16-person committee, appointed by the co-moderators of the 225th General Assembly in 2022, the in-person meeting marked a turning point in a long and often uncertain process.
“There is not a set process or a template for how to do this,” said Rodgers.
Related reading: “Special committee works on drafting new confession” by Layton Williams Berkes, Presbyterian News Service
After two years of monthly Zoom meetings, starting in December 2023, and deep theological conversation, the confession they are drafting began to take tangible shape.
“This process – although not the smoothest – has made us humble,” Kim said. “We are walking the path the way we are supposed to walk.”
“This process – although not the smoothest – has made us humble.” — Byungil Kim
Kim, who joined the PC(USA) 13 years ago and was ordained in the Presbytery of South Korea in 2005, said he initially wondered how he could contribute to such a significant task.
“I found myself on this special committee doing this work even though I don’t speak English well. There has been so much consideration and care for me,” Kim said. “I am committed to this work.”
Committee member Jeniffer Rodríguez, pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Ossining, New York, echoed that sense of shared discernment. “We trusted the process and suddenly could see what God was up to,” she said, recalling the August gathering.
To Rodgers, the moment felt nothing short of extraordinary. “The in-person meeting in August felt like a miracle. All the different pieces came together,” she said.
A rare and rigorous process
If eventually approved, the confession would become only the third written by Presbyterians in the United States. The first, The Confession of 1967, emerged during the turbulent civil rights era. The second, A Brief Statement of Faith, was drafted in 1983 and approved by the General Assembly in 1991.
The Constitution of the PC(USA) has two parts: The Book of Confessions, which consists of the 12 confessional documents of the denomination, and The Book of Order, which outlines reasons to add a new confession, such as when the church discerns a need to address contemporary challenges or as committee member Charles Wiley put it “when the church believes the gospel is at risk.”
Confessions, said Wiley, “say to the church and the world what we believe and what the church will do in the world.”
Related reading: “The quest for a new confession” by Erin Dunigan, Outlook reporting
Wiley, Columbia Theological Seminary’s senior director of leadership support and an adjunct instructor, described the approval threshold as intentionally demanding. “This is a high bar,” he said, comparing the process to amending the U.S. Constitution. A proposed Declaration of Faith in the mid-1970s ultimately failed to gain approval for inclusion in The Book of Confessions.
From overture to draft
The work began in 2022, when the 225th General Assembly received three overtures calling for the creation of a new confession. Rodríguez helped write one of them, Overture TWE-13 from the Synod of the Northeast.
In that overture, she urged the church to “keep fighting to change what is not convenient; to change what does not help us and what prevents us from continuing to grow as a family of Christ.”
Rodríguez, originally from the Dominican Republic, now serves on this special committee tasked with that work. Co-moderated by Teaching Elders Edwin Aponte and Margaret Aymer, the diverse committee includes educators, academics, ministers and lay leaders from across the denomination.
“There is not a set process or a template for how to do this,” Rodgers said.
Subcommittees have been formed and re-formed to intentionally reshuffle perspectives. “We’ve had great conversations, sharing ideas and information,” Rodgers said, calling it a “fascinating” process. “We really want to create a confession that is really usable in worship and has chunks that you can use as liturgy.”
The committee might have a document ready for consideration by the 227th General Assembly, which convenes in June 2026. Members will review a draft at their January meeting and decide by a February 15 deadline whether to send the document to GA.
“There will never be a document that pleases everyone,” Rodgers said, “but the key thing we want to do is speak the truth and bring people back to the good news of the gospel.”
Next steps
The motivation for a new confession is rooted in present-day realities, Wiley said, including what he described as “the hoarding of power and resources by a few over many around issues like climate change, race, nationalism.”
Related reading: “Why a 50-year-old Presbyterian confession still matters” by John Williams
Once a document reaches the General Assembly, a separate committee of 15 is appointed to study and possibly amend it before bringing it to a subsequent assembly. From there, two-thirds of the denomination’s presbyteries must vote to include it in the Book of Confessions.
Throughout the process, committee members say they are listening closely to the wider church.
“We have not been doing this work in isolation – this is communal work. We are listening to the cry outs and joys of people in this denomination.” — Jeniffer Rodríguez
“We have not been doing this work in isolation – this is communal work,” Rodríguez said. “We are listening to the cry outs and joys of people in this denomination.”
For Kim, the hope is that the confession will ultimately serve as a source of renewal.
“It is my hope that this new confession of faith can bring joy to people,” he said.
