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The Committee on Theological Education and Ordination is set to consider a broad range of business items at the upcoming 227th General Assembly, with many overtures seeking to address systemic inequities, including those related to the ordination process and those between the various ordained offices of the church.
There are 12 overtures coming before the committee, which will be moderated by Charlotte Lohrenz of Whitewater Valley Presbytery, with Eugene Richardson of Charleston Atlantic Presbytery serving as Vice Moderator. The Committee on Theological Education has also submitted several reports to the committee for review when it meets online from June 22-24.
One of the most robust business items on the docket is ORD-07, which concerns a report from the Task Force to Explore the Theology and Practice of Ordination. The task force was established by the 225th General Assembly in 2022 in recognition that the denomination’s current practices were “no longer fully aligned with the realities of ministry in a changing church.” The 226th General Assembly (2024) affirmed the task force’s work and expanded its mandate to “prioritize recommendations for best practices regarding ordination requirements and examinations for ministers of the Word and Sacrament, as well as for the growth, development, and support of ruling elders commissioned to pastoral service.”
The task force’s report includes 10 recommended amendments be made to the Book of Order to clarify and expand the ordination process, including mandating annual training for presbytery bodies engaged in preparation for ministry, eliminating redundant requirements for certified Christian educators, and granting full voice and vote to immigrant fellowships and new worshiping communities.
Half of the task force’s proposed amendments concern ruling elders serving in pastoral capacities, including a recommendation to shift language from “commissioned ruling elder” to “commissioned pastor” and giving such individuals voice and vote in their presbyteries while serving.
The task force also recommends a broader approach to final assessment for those pursuing ordination as teaching elders, offering the option of a “senior ordination portfolios” as an alternative to senior ordination exams when deemed appropriate by the presbytery body overseeing preparation for ministry. These portfolios are proposed to address critiques of inequity and limited effectiveness in the current ordination exams process.
With ORD-06, the committee will also consider a recommendation from the Presbyteries Cooperative Committee which calls for the continuation of its own review of exam structure and content. The PCC also calls for Presbyterian Life & Witness to host an annual in-person gathering of the moderators and chairs of the PC(USA) committees and advocacy groups to foster relationships and to remind presbyteries of their responsibility to “to elect readers who have the gifts, experience, abilities, and commitment to appropriately evaluate ordination exams.”
The advocacy committees of the PC(USA) advise approval on the recommendations included in both ORD-06 and ORD-07, with amendments to further clarify and ensure equity. Meanwhile, the Committee on Theological Education has expressed concern that the Task Force to Explore the Theology and Practice of Ordination did not collaborate with COTE in developing its recommendations.
In addition to these task force reports, the committee will also consider ORD-01, which seeks to clarify parity among teaching elders, ruling elders and deacons by adding language to the Book of Order that prevents ruling elders and deacons from pursuing or maintaining ordinations beyond the bounds of and potentially in conflict with the PC(USA).
Meanwhile, ORD-03 proposes the establishment of a special committee to study innovative approaches to ministry that are based on a collaborative, team-based approach. This overture, submitted by the Presbytery of East Virginia, seeks creative solutions to ongoing issues for small churches unable to support pastoral staff, and large churches with structures that restrict pastor roles.
With ORD-09 and ORD-14, the committee is asked to take up concerns with cross-cultural connections, considering a covenant agreement between the PC(USA) and El Seminario Evangélico de Puerto Rico and the establishment of a Korean American Ministry Roundtable.
In addition to these business items, the committee will also be asked to continue ongoing practices, including granting permission for theological institutions to celebrate the Lord’s Supper until the 228th General Assembly (ORD-05) and approving an updated list of PC(USA)-related schools (ORD-08).
The committee will also have the opportunity to vote on ORD-11, which proposes that Dr. James Hudnut-Beumler and the Rev. Dr. Frances Taylor Gench be recognized “for outstanding lifetime contributions to theological education in and for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)” and be presented with an Award for Excellence in Theological Education and celebrated during plenary.
By Layton Williams Berkes, Presbyterian News Service
