A nine-member special committee of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has been appointed to review the denomination's practice of holding its national legislative assembly — the General Assembly — every two years.
The special committee was appointed by General Assembly Stated Clerk Grady Parsons and General Assembly Mission Council Executive Director Linda Valentine.
For 215 years, from 1789 through 2003, the PC(USA) General Assembly met annually. When the decision was made to meet biennially beginning in 2004, the Assembly ordered that the new practice be reviewed after the 2010 Assembly. The committee was mandated to include one representative from the Committee on the Office of the General Assembly, one representative from the General Assembly Mission Council, and three members who were commissioners to the 219th General Assembly (2010).
The Special Committee to Review Biennial General Assemblies will report to the 220th General Assembly, which will meet in Pittsburgh in the summer of 2012.
The members of the special committee:
- The Rev. W. Glen Bell, Whitewater Valley Presbytery, Synod of Lincoln Trails;
- The Rev. Theresa Cho, San Francisco Presbytery, Synod of the Pacific, Commissioner to the 210th General Assembly;
- The Rev. Thomas Evans, Greater Atlanta Presbytery, Synod of the South Atlantic;
- Mr. Glen Alberto Guenther, Kendall Presbytery, Synod of the Pacific, Young Adult Advisory Delegate to the 219th General Assembly (2010);
- Mr. Marcus C. Lambright, Miami Valley Presbytery, Synod of the Covenant, Young Adult Advisory Delegate to the 219th General Assembly (2010);
- Elder Kathy Lueckert, Seattle Presbytery, Synod of Alaska Northwest;
- The Rev. Carol McDonald (moderator), Wabash Valley Presbytery, Synod of Lincoln Trails, member of the Committee of the Office of the General Assembly;
- The Rev. Matthew Schramm, Lake Huron Presbytery, Synod of the Covenant, member of the General Assembly Mission Council: and
- The Rev. David A. Van Dyke, Twin Cities Area Presbytery, Synod of Lakes and Prairies.