Overture on reviewing the restructuring of World Mission sees a substitute motion adopted by GA227

MILWAUKEE — Even though they labored until 10:30 p.m. Central Time on Tuesday, commissioners and advisory delegates to the 227th General Assembly could not complete their work on RIW-01, Call to Review the Restructuring of the PC(USA) World Mission.

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Commissioners did decide, by a vote of 375-88, to replace the main motion of the review with a substitute motion calling for the appointment of a seven-member commission to, among other things:

• Review decision-making processes employed and actions taken by a handful of entities that resulted in the elimination of World Mission and the termination of most appointed mission co-workers
• Determine the extent to which the decision-making processes and actions employed by those entities conformed to or violated policy mandates of the General Assembly
• Review comments, advice and guidance from global partners concerning the revision of the PC(USA)’s model of global engagement
• At its discretion, make recommendations to the boards of Presbyterian Life & Witness and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), A Corporation to discipline and/or terminate staff “found to have engaged in harassment or coercive behaviors toward former mission co-workers …”
• Ensure that the commission does not include current or former members of the staff of the A Corporation, Unification Commission, PL&W, the former Presbyterian Mission Agency, the former Office of the General Assembly, past PC(USA) moderators, nor current or former members of four boards.
• Separately, that the 227th General Assembly (2026) direct a review led by the Presbyterian Foundation to assess policies, oversight structures, fiduciary compliance and the ongoing ability of the denomination to honor donor intent “within the PC(USA)’s evolving model of ministry and global mission engagement,” and to report the commission’s findings and recommendations to the 228th GA in 2028.

An amendment added the proposed FIN-12, On the Faithful Stewardship of Restricted World Mission Funds, to the text of the substitute motion. The Assembly is scheduled to take up FIN-12 on Wednesday.

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Speaking from the floor instead of the platform and in her role as a corresponding member, the Rev. Jihyun Oh, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly and Executive Director of PL&W, said she understands “the intent of this motion is to help us move forward and to have a clean slate to do truthful telling of what has been done in the past and give us the best chance of moving toward wholeness.” She asked commissioners to “expand the scope of the commission’s inquiry” to include the past 30 years.

Other GA business

With Reformed Identity Around the World Committee Moderator Rachael Eggebeen and Vice-Moderator the Rev. Dr. Matt Bussell presenting, commissioners approved RIW-08, On Jeju in Korea, which calls for acknowledgement and grief for the loss of life and destruction of property on Jeju Island in South Korea from April 1948 through May 1949. After commissioners approved the item, a worshipful remembrance was led by the Rev. Dr. David Gambrell and the Rev. Cathy Chang.

RIW-10, On Affirming Kairos Palestine II, won approval by a vote of 447-21.

The committee recommended answering RIW-05 and RIW-06 with RIW-04, On Recognizing that Israel Has Violated the International Law Prohibiting Genocide. An amendment that received approval condemns “unequivocally the Israel military’s targeting of Palestinian children in Gaza, East Jerusalem and the West Bank.”

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The Rev. Dr. Fahed Abu-Akel joined other Moderators of the General Assembly of years past, including the Rev. Shavon Starling-Lewis, the Rev. Ruth Faith Santana-Grace, Ruling Elder Elona Street-Stewart, the Rev. Dr. Heath Rada, the Rev. Dr. Neal Presa, the Rev. Dr. Cindy Kohlmann and the Rev. Denise Anderson, around a microphone to advocate for RIW-04.

Abu-Akel, Moderator of the 214th General Assembly (2002), is a Palestinian-American who survived the Nakba in 1948. “Siblings in Christ, we cannot be silent on this matter,” he told commissioners. “I urge you to vote for this overture.”

It was approved, 454-15.

RIW-02, Calling for a New Missiological Statement for the PC(USA), was approved by a count of 447-12.

Moderator the Rev. CeCe Armstrong had some advice for commissioners and advisory delegates just before dismissal after a long evening of work.

“This is not the opportunity to go make up some decision about the hoops that can happen about how we can try to get at one another,” she said. “Regardless of the outcome, we’re in this together.”

Commissioners and advisory delegates who engage in spiritual disciplines were encouraged to make use of them Tuesday night “to discern the will of God for the people of God when we come back [on Wednesday],” Armstrong said. “If it’s praying, fasting — maybe it’s the spiritual discipline of napping — sleep on it and allow the opportunity to speak through you to do God’s work.”

The Assembly reconvenes at 8:30 a.m. Central time Wednesday. Watch the proceedings here. “Prepare yourself,” Armstrong told the Assembly, “for a long day of business.”