Presbytery of Milwaukee's the Rev. Dr. Ann Gibbs declares Deb Davies 'hero of GA'

MILWAUKEE — Monday’s GA Daily featured a conversation with the Rev. Dr. Ann Gibbs, presbyter for ministry vitality for the Presbytery of Milwaukee, who played an integral role in organizing this year’s General Assembly as part of the Committee on Local Arrangements (COLA). One could nearly see the wind in Gibbs’ hair as she blew in for the conversation amid her ongoing flurry of activity to ensure all Assembly attendees feel cared for and welcomed. 

If you haven’t caught it yet, GA Daily is a 30-minute midday talk show hosted by Fred Tangeman, a member of the communications ministry within Presbyterian Life & Witness. GA Daily follows morning plenary and each episode offers a brief news roundup in addition to an interview with a special guest who serves some significant role in relation to the Assembly. 

In Monday’s episode, Tangeman acknowledged Gibbs’ relentlessly busy schedule and thanked her for making time for the show before inviting her to share some of her own “Milwaukee story.”

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Gibbs came to the presbytery in 2007 after serving her first call in Nashville, Tennessee. Her first call in the Milwaukee area was pastoring a small church called Faith Springs Presbyterian Church in Pewaukee, which she unabashedly claimed as her favorite congregation. She was their solo pastor for more than 10 years before feeling called to middle-governing ministry. She served as an associate for the presbytery prior to transitioning to her current role. 

For the past two years, Gibbs has been working closely with staff from Presbyterian Life & Witness (previously the Interim Unified Agency) to prepare for her presbytery to host the 227th General Assembly. She told Tangeman that a “whole slew” of people traveled to Milwaukee from Louisville for the initial conversations, including the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly and Executive Director of PL&W, the Rev. Jihyun Oh, and Ruling Elder Kate Trigger Duffert, who leads the Office of General Assembly Planning. 

The presbytery put out an “all call” before forming the seven-person COLA, Gibbs told Tangeman. They then relied on a much larger team of volunteers to help actually put on the event and all of its various components. Gibbs said the presbytery’s many GA volunteers are having a blast engaging with people from all over the country and even the world. 

“This opportunity, not just to host, but to be that greeting and welcome has really meant a lot to folks that are volunteering," Gibbs said.

A noteworthy new element of this year’s Assembly was the Community Day that took place on Saturday. The event included a public action against gun violence called “Healing Not Harm: A Walk to End Gun Violence.” Gibbs said that as conversations evolved about what kind of public witness should occur, figuring out how to make the church’s action accessible for all who wanted to participate was a priority. The event included a walk, speakers and prayers, as well as a viewing of a still-in-production gun-violence documentary by Counter Stories Productions and other ways to engage. 

“We recognize that not everybody has the capacity for a one-mile walk,” Gibbs said, “so we wanted to make sure if you can’t do the walk, there’s still something for you in this action.”

COLA also worked to arrange opportunities for Assembly-goers to visit local churches for Sunday morning worship. Gibbs said all of the feedback she’s heard so far has been positive. 

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Tangeman asked Gibbs for her best recommendations for visitors looking to experience Milwaukee. She lifted up the city’s “rich immigrant heritage” — not only the German culture for which Milwaukee is perhaps most well known, but the many other people-groups and communities that shape the cultural life of the city. She also encouraged visitors to check out water activities nearby on both the Milwaukee River and Lake Michigan, and The Hop, a free hop-on/hop-off streetcar that takes passengers throughout part of the city.

Part of being a host city for the General Assembly is connecting with previous host cities that can offer support and advice. While the Milwaukee team received insights from presbytery leaders in Salt Lake City, which hosted the 226th General Assembly in 2024, they are also now already in conversation with presbytery leaders in San Juan, Puerto Rico, which will host the 228th Assembly in 2028. She told Tangeman that her biggest piece of advice for future hosts is to know what is responsible to figure out and not to worry too much about what isn’t. She added that hosts can trust Assembly staff to do their part.

“Deb Davies [manager of GA Meeting Services] is the hero of the General Assembly in my book!” Gibbs exclaimed, noting that Davies has been the person who “really makes everything go” and has provided a critical connection between local leaders and Assembly staff. 

As their conversation closed, Tangeman noted that Milwaukee was not unlike the church itself, a city with so much tradition but also one that is changing and undergoing all sorts of exciting things, making it a poignant place for GA227 to happen. 

Tangeman closed the episode with a brief video featuring PC(USA) documentarian David Barnhart talking about Counter Stories Productions' work on the updated documentary on gun violence and his work more generally.

GA Daily airs every day on the GA livestream on the PC(USA) website.