The Rev. Jihyun Oh shares potential highlights as the 227th General Assembly gathers in Milwaukee
Passionate debate and faithful discernment will be hallmarks, according to the Stated Clerk and Executive Director of Presbyterian Life & Witness
MILWAUKEE — In the weeks leading up to the start of the 227th General Assembly, the Rev. Jihyun Oh was looking forward to the “passionate debate” that’s a hallmark of every General Assembly.
“My expectation is we will also faithfully discern, pray, worship and listen to one another,” said Oh, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and Executive Director of Presbyterian Life & Witness. “My greatest hope and expectation is for the spirit that was present in the last assembly, with convictions that led [commissioners and advisory delegates] to different positions. They looked at one another and said, ‘there’s still room for you in the denomination.’”
“That said, we have a lot of historically contentious issues coming before the assembly,” Oh said. “Anything involving Israel-Palestine continues to be an issue for conversation.” The highest council of the church must talk about that region of the world “while upholding our interreligious commitment” to people in the Jewish faith “and being clear about religious nationalism, Christian nationalism and Zionism,” she said.
“When we talk about religious nationalism, it has implications beyond us to places where it’s become religious extremism,” Oh said.
Among the most important questions Presbyterians in the PC(USA) are asking — and it’s “similar to what’s being asked in the world,” she said — is “will we choose to move forward or choose to go back to the way things were?”
“We liked it the way it was before. Why are you changing it?” she said of conversations she’s heard. “For some, the past represents the best of who we are. I’m not surprised in some ways, but that’s the thing that keeps me up at night — that we can’t move forward because some folks’ grief won’t let them move forward into the new thing that God is doing.”
“I recognize the deep fear and sadness and anxiety over what the world is becoming,” Oh said. She summed up the nostalgia some people of faith are experiencing: “What if we could just go back to when everyone was in church together and the church was so intact?”
Oh turned to the staff and volunteers of the Presbytery of Milwaukee. “From the very first conversations, they were so excited. They’ve brought back things they found from the last time they hosted (at the 204th General Assembly in 1992). They found baby onesies and other memorabilia from that previous assembly,” Oh said. “Hearing about [Saturday’s Community Day] and being able to share in some of their mission and witness in the community will be exciting.”
Local organizers “are also eager to share the story of how they’ve contributed to the faith and life of the denomination,” Oh said. “All of the firsts that were here — they celebrate that history. I hope that will also be a look to the future. My hope and expectation is we can celebrate history and recognize that here is a future we need to step into.”
Oh called assembly worship “an important aspect of our work together.”
“The work itself, and the ways we will see the Holy Spirit really be present — I like watching for those moments,” she said.
She’s also watching with interest PC(USA) teaching elders and others running for public office in local, state and federal races across the country. “It’s folks saying, ‘I can do something about this,’” Oh said. “Maybe it’s people are interested in where we’re moving [as a nation]. Folks are wondering about the church’s witness in this time and have energy to give and a sense [they will] stand at this time. It’s been a while.”
Oh called “the true essence of what we do together” the “worshipful work of the community of Christ together, gathered across the denomination trying to discern the mind of Christ together and be the physical presence of Christ — discerning how to do that both during the assembly and as we head back afterward. It’s the core of what makes us Presbyterian.”
“I’m also grateful people are willing to give up so much of their time to prepare and be the host of this process,” she said. “It depends on a [Committee on Local Arrangements] being willing to host and a slew of agency staff people and various and sundry participants, and commissioners and advisory delegates consenting to be the assembly for a two-year term. I’m really grateful.”
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