MILWAUKEE — Not all heroes wear capes. Some wear purple vests.
More than 100 volunteers from across the Presbytery of Milwaukee helped host the 227th General Assembly, the first held in the city since 1992. Months of planning and countless hours of work went into welcoming hundreds of commissioners, advisory delegates, observers, journalists and volunteers — and the effort paid off with a smoothly run assembly.
Beyond a handful of national staff, the PC(USA)’s biennial self-governance meeting relied heavily on the Committee on Local Arrangements (COLA), a committee of the Presbytery of Milwaukee that trained and organized volunteers for the event. Working in coordination with Presbyterian Life & Witness, COLA coordinated many of the logistical details that kept the assembly running.
The seven-member COLA committee spent more than a year preparing, meeting every other week before shifting to weekly meetings during the final six weeks. The effort was truly collective, with volunteers giving whatever time they could — from a few hours to multiple days throughout the two-week assembly.
COLA’s work extended far beyond meeting the assembly’s logistical needs. Volunteers helped coordinate transportation, directed visitors to more than 10 churches for Sunday worship and assisted with crowd management in the plenary hall. While the work was physically demanding, volunteers also offered a ministry of hospitality, creating a welcoming atmosphere for everyone who attended.
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“We want people to feel welcome,” said Lee Tan, a ruling elder and COLA moderator. “Everybody has been very cheerful and smiling.”
The committee’s responsibilities were extensive.
“We’ve been very engaged in planning worship, organizing the Sunday church visits, transportation, meals, staffing communion and planning Community Action Day,” Tan said.
Throughout the in-person assembly, volunteers staffed an information table in the Baird Center, answering questions about the assembly, the presbytery and the Milwaukee area while embodying the hospitality central to the Christian faith.
For those attending the assembly, volunteers in their purple vests were everywhere. They greeted participants at the airport on major arrival days, directed them to hotel transportation and answered questions throughout the week.
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Martha Brown, a COLA volunteer, helped lead participants during “Healing Not Harm: A Walk to End Gun Violence,” the Community Action Day event held Saturday, June 27.
“When COLA called for volunteers for the walk against gun violence, that was a cause I certainly supported,” Brown said. “I thought it was important that they have all the support they needed to make it a successful march, so I signed on.”
Another volunteer, Jenee O’Connor of Crossroads Presbyterian Church in Mequon, Wisconsin, served at the information desk in the Baird Center. Her favorite part of the assembly was meeting Presbyterians from across the country.
“It was really neat to see that connectedness,” she said. “Presbyterians from all over come together, and it was fun just being a fly on the wall and seeing what it means to be a connected church.”
The volunteers’ care extended beyond the hundreds of people they welcomed each day. It also shaped the committee itself. While preparing for the assembly, Tan suffered a detached retina, and fellow volunteers quickly stepped in.
“Everybody took on the work,” he said. “They picked up everything so I could stop and take care of my health. Everybody was watching out for me. ‘Lee, don’t lift anything.'”
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As the assembly came to a close, Tan reflected on the committee’s work.
“It really has been a witness to the blessing that we have this great committee that just stepped up,” he said.
After the General Assembly concluded, Ann Gibbs, presbyter for ministry vitality for the Presbytery of Milwaukee, expressed gratitude for the volunteers’ service.
“The Milwaukee COLA is extremely grateful for all the volunteers who stepped in throughout the week to provide a welcoming and grace-filled presence to those attending the assembly,” Gibbs said. “Along with folks from Milwaukee Presbytery congregations, ministers, elders, presbytery executives and synod staff pitched in. It takes a lot of hands (and feet — so much time on our feet!) to host that many people for that many days. We rejoice in the presence of God’s Spirit among us through the presence of so many. Thank you.”
