The board of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), A Corporation met in closed session Jan. 16 and later announced it had taken action to reconfigure within the denominational structure the way that administrative services will be provided. The A Corporation is the corporate entity for the Presbyterian Mission Agency and the Office of the General Assembly. The change being announced is not a matter that will have a direct impact on congregations or Presbyterians in the pews. The change means that departments providing administrative services to Presbyterian agencies and which were formerly considered to be providing services through the Presbyterian Mission Agency now will be part of the newly-created Administrative Services Group in the A Corporation (although a news release regarding the decision states that “structurally, they have always been housed in A Corp.”) The change involves about 80 employees in seven departments: Finance & Accounting, Information Technology, … [Read more...]

LOUISVILLE – The board of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), A Corporation moved swiftly through a series of actions Dec. 14, heard positive a third-quarter financial update and spoke by conference call with the leadership of the Moving Forward Implementation Commission. The Moving Forward Implementation Commission – which the 2018 General Assembly created in approving the recommendations of the Way Forward Commission – will hold its first meeting via conference call Dec. 17. On the final day of its Dec. 13-14 meeting, the A Corporation board also heard a plea from Mike Miller, chief financial officer for the PC(USA), that it move quickly with strategic planning – to give a sense of direction of what the board wants the A Corporation to accomplish in 2019. That could include, for example, a clearer sense of the A Corporation operating budget; its structure, such as which employees work for the A Corporation and which for other agencies; and scope of services, including how … [Read more...]

LOUISVILLE – The board of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), A Corporation voted Dec. 13 to form a search committee for an A Corporation president — a position the board is legally required to have, but for which a precise job description is still being developed. The board is also getting started on a range of other initiatives – including figuring out how to live into the mandate from the 2018 General Assembly to design “a systematic approach” to providing translation services for the denomination, staffed appropriately and housed in Shared Services. At this second meeting of the restructured A Corporation board, being held Dec. 13-14 in Louisville, the board is trying to sort through a number of issues of authority, responsibility and its relation to the PC(USA) national staff. “We’re building the plane while we’re flying it” is how board co-chair Chris Mason, a ruling elder from New York, puts it. The 2018 General Assembly changed the composition of the A Corporation … [Read more...]