The three bodies established by the 222nd General Assembly (2016) last June in Portland – the Way Forward Commission, the 2020 Vision Committee, and the All Agency Review Committee – are all poised to begin their work, with their leadership fully committed to close collaboration and open communication.
Way Forward Commission Moderator Mark Hostetter, All Agency Review Committee Moderator Deborah Block, and 2020 Vision Committee Co-Moderators Bernadette Coffee and Lisa Juica Perkins, had a face-to-face conversation in Chicago yesterday, November 7. The goal was to discuss the scope of each body’s tasks and begin to define the relationships between them. The leadership of all three quickly committed to working together and coordinating their activity as they move through their individual initiatives.
The leadership group observed that because the bodies have not yet had their first meetings, they could only speak for themselves personally, but that they firmly believed we have many strengths and resources as a denomination. “This is our God-given opportunity to discern together as Presbyterians who we are and how we will work together as the body of Christ – one body in Christ – defining what our covenant will be in change and in changing times.”
The Way Forward Commission has already scheduled their initial meeting for December 12 at Auburn Theological Seminary in New York City. The 2020 Vision Committee and the All Agency Review Committee intend to hold each of their initial meetings in January.