GA227 picks up where it left off Tuesday night

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MILWAUKEE — Picking up where the left off Tuesday night, commissioners and advisory delegates to the 227^th General Assembly amended and then approved the substitute motion to RIW-01, the Call to Review the Restructuring of the PC(USA) World Mission. The final tally was 369-98.

The approved measure directs the Co-Moderators to appoint a commission of seven members to review the decision-making processes and actions taken by various boards and commissions that resulted in the elimination of World Mission and the termination of most mission co-worker positions.

Under amendments approved Wednesday morning, the work of the commission “shall be restorative rather than punitive, focused on truth-telling, institutional learning, transparency, repair of relationships and recommendations for future decision-making processes. It shall not function as a disciplinary proceeding, and any credible concerns regarding misconduct shall be referred to the appropriate existing personnel, legal, ecclesial or governance process.”

The commission will report on its findings to the 229^th General Assembly (2030) “and recommend how transparency, accountability, and value/dignity for God’s beloved could be incorporated into employment termination processes moving forward.”

Presbyterian Life & Witness is to “renew the call to our local congregations to financially support, pray for, educate and train new missionaries.” PL&W must also provide congregations with new materials regarding how “they can support and partner with mission partners vetted by the PC(USA).”

Most proposed amendments to RIW-01 were turned back by commissioners. One would have widened the commission’s work to include “prior significant reorganizations of the national agencies of the General Assembly” dating back to the opening of the Presbyterian Center in 1998. That amendment failed 293-167.

Another amendment that was not adopted would have increased the commission to nine members, including one person with experience in auditing and financial oversight of religious organizations and nonprofit entities.

At the opening of Wednesday morning’s plenary, the Most Rev. Sunil Mankhin from the Church of Bangladesh brought the assembly greetings. “Today, I have come especially to express our profound gratitude for your faithful partnership in supporting one of our Christian mission hospitals in Rajshahi,” Mankhin said. “You have strengthened our mission and enabled us to provide compassionate healthcare to the poor and marginalized communities of all faiths in Bangladesh.”

Denise Hampton, the comptroller in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), A Corporation, brought an update on financial implications on per capita based on GA actions to date.

As of Wednesday morning, 31 items of business with financial implications will mean a $2.01 per capita increase in 2027 and $1.39 for 2028. Four more items of business with pending financial implications will, if approved by commissioners, add 10 cents in 2027 and seven cents in 2028, Hampton said. That would bring total GA per capita to $13.02 in 2027 and $12.69 in 2028, Hampton said.

The assembly then paused to honor two General Assembly moderators who died since the 226^th General Assembly (2024).

The Rev. John M. Buchanan, who died last year at age 87, was elected Moderator of the 220^th General Assembly (1996). He was remembered as “an extraordinary preacher, writer, church and community leader who inspired, shaped and delighted generations of the faithful.”

He was the pastor emeritus of Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago and publisher of the independent, Chicago-based religious magazine, The Christian Century. He was also a founding co-moderator of the Board of Directors of Covenant Network of Presbyterians.

Dr. Thelma Cornelia Davidson Adair, the first African American woman to be elected Moderator, died in August 2024 at the age of 103.

Adair was elected Moderator of the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America during its 188^th General Assembly in Baltimore in 1976.

Forever remembered as a passionate educator, church leader and human rights advocate, Adair traveled during her year as Moderator to 70 countries and met with local, regional and national leaders, including President Gerald Ford in 1977.

While her husband pastored a church, she completed her doctoral studies in education and became a professor of Education at Queens College in New York. She organized and directed daycare centers and Head Start programs for the children of migrant farm workers and for the children of working parents in New York City. As a specialist in early childhood education, she wrote numerous books and articles that would become authoritative guides for educators.

Upon election as Moderator in 1976, she famously told the assembly, “If we’re going to follow Jesus Christ, we are following a radical. We’re following a man who spoke out, acted and lived in a radical way.”