GA 225 Co-Moderators greet afternoon plenary, November 10, 2023. Photo by Rick Jones.
Friday afternoon at the Moderator’s Conference, three leaders in the Office of the General Assembly (OGA) led a plenary session titled “More than Just Governance: What and Why Mid Council.”
The three interconnected presentations reminded moderators of the foundations of all council work as expressed in the Book of Order, offered strategies for making representative appointments to committees and commissions and shared ideas for emotionally intelligent and inclusive mid council leadership.
After greetings from the Co-Moderators of the 225th General Assembly, the Revs. Shavon Starling-Louis and Ruth Faith Santana-Grace, Laurie Griffith, Associate Director for Constitutional Interpretation, talked about her work as it relates to the Book of Order. Griffith began by plugging the availability of the newly revised (2023-2025) edition, including the first ever bound copies in Spanish and Korean.
After using menti.com to gather audience thoughts on the roles and tasks of a moderator (popular responses: “pray,” “moderate meetings,” “listening,” “guide,” “keeping order”), Griffith reviewed the purpose of councils in Presbyterian polity, beginning with Christ as the foundation of the church.
She later used F-1.0303’s “Notes of the Reformed Church” to hone in on shared mission values across councils: “The church is faithful to the mission of Christ as it Proclaims and Hears the Word of God, Administers and Receives the Sacraments and Nurtures a Covenant Community of Disciples of Christ.”
After saying that the first thing a presbytery or synod or General Assembly does is establish a strategy for mission in a geography, Griffith noted that mission strategy should guide decision-making by each council, and that nurturing a covenant community of Christ is the broadest aspect of mission. Always — and especially in times of times of difficulty or division — presbyteries should nurture congregations and their members.
Griffith advised moderators “to remain neutral and fair, and to know what your responsibilities are, to respect your council traditions, and to know what other guidance each council has beyond the Book of Order.” As with the next two presenters, she encouraged moderators who have questions or concerns to contact her or other OGA staff members for assistance.
Laurie Griffith holding a Book of Order (2023-2025), November 10, 2023. Photo by Rick Jones.
valerie izumi, Manager, GA Nominations, gave the second presentation, about ways moderators can develop a process to select representative appointees to commissions and committees.
“How many of you are looking forward to making appointments?” she asked, smiling at the laughter and groans around the room. Acknowledging that some moderators in the past have felt like they were begging people to serve, she said, “It's important to remember that it doesn’t have to feel this way.” izumi then shared examples of different approaches to making representative appointments, including a best practice of involving a stated clerk when possible and making sure that no one person is making a decision alone.
She talked about how committees and commissions should represent multiplicity within the context of each council, and how persons making appointments should identify which perspectives are missing from groups, as well as consider how well individuals work within groups. “Only in the midst of diversity do we have the chance to discern how the Holy Spirit is guiding us,” izumi said. She dispelled a common misconception that all appointments are restricted to teaching elders and ruling elders.
She encouraged using appointments to build future church leaders, including young Presbyterians, and sharing information about appointment opportunities wherever possible — with groups but also with individuals.
“Let the saints know that you see them and that you are interested in who they are,” izumi said.
Slide from Jihyun Oh’s plenary presentation, November 10, 2024. From “Conversational Intellignece,” by Judith E. Glaser. Image via Zoom.
The last presenter was the Rev. Jihyun Oh, Director of Mid Council Ministries. Saying that all who have taken ordination vows have committed to serve with intelligence, love and creativity, Oh set out to focus on emotional intelligence, a capacity that will help moderators thrive as mid council leaders.
“When our emotions are in control, we are not,” she said. Emotions that signal danger, including feelings of surprise or embarrassment, can overwhelm a person’s thought response. Moderators can help those they lead and themselves by providing time to process and react to strong emotions.
Oh used the example of a presbytery meeting where a divisive overture is being considered. When people show discomfort or surprise, it can be good for moderators to check in with those gathered, to give them a chance to talk about how they are feeling as well as thinking. “Often this isn’t about you as a moderator,” she said. “It’s about inviting others to share what’s going on inside them.”
She talked about how biological reactions often precede thoughts, and how neuroscience shows that when people don’t have data to help them decide meaning, they tend to make things up.
It’s also important to keep an open mind while listening to others and managing meetings, which is helped by establishing an atmosphere of trust. Oh mentioned a book by Judith E. Glaser, and encouraged getting to a “we/high-trust/co-creator/partner” level of conversation “where transformational discussions happen.” Trust is given as well as received, she said.
Oh finished with a review of implicit bias, and how that impacts community discernment. Friday afternoon she led a workshop on the topic “Considering Equity While Moderating and Leading,” which included information on how to identify choice points and use equity primes. Read about that full discussion in the news service’s continuing coverage of the Moderators' Conference.