The Committee on the Office of the General Assembly (COGA) is recommending that the 222nd General Assembly (2016) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) be held in Portland, Ore.
The decision will be made by the upcoming 219th General Assembly, July 3-10 in Minneapolis. The 2012 and 2014 Assemblies will be held in Pittsburgh and Detroit, respectively.
The Assembly last met in Portland in 1967. At that Assembly, the former United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America adopted the Confession of 1967 and holding the 2016 Assembly there “would allow us to celebrate the 50th anniversary of ‘C-67’ in the place of its origin,” said the Rev. Tom Hay, director of operations for the Office of the General Assembly.
Other factors in Portland’s favor, Hay added, are the size and modernity of its convention facilities, the vibrancy of its downtown, proximity of hotels to the convention site and a light rail system that ext,ends as far as the Portland International Airport.
And Portland — the “Rose City” — will be in full bloom at Assembly time, Hay said.
COGA’s site selection team recommended Portland over Phoenix, Ariz. The Assembly last met in that city in 1984.