GA Procedures committee vice-moderator

GA Procedures committee vice-moderator Patricia Snyder (left), a ruling elder, moderator William Humphreys (middle), a teaching elder, and committee assistant Kevin Porter (right) convene the first day of committee meetings on June 25, 2024. Photo by Randy Hobson.

The General Assembly Procedures Committee spent a fair amount of time Tuesday afternoon debating whether an invitation by the Presbytery of Milwaukee to host the 227th General Assembly in 2026 should include a committee recommendation to have the entire assembly — plenaries and committee meetings alike — in person.

 

By a single-vote margin, the committee voted down proposed amendments to include that recommendation, sending along the invitation, as it was submitted by the Committee on the Office of the General Assembly, to the entire assembly for consideration next week. That item of business was GAP-01.

 

The committee heard from at least four people advocating for in-person committee meetings at the 227th General Assembly, which Ian Hall, the chief financial officer and chief operating officer for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), A Corporation, said would add about $927,000 to the estimated $3.6 million cost of the next assembly.

 

The Rev. Schaunel Steinnagel of the Presbytery of Philadelphia said Zoom committee work “seems unwieldly.” The Rev. Geoff Browning of Olympia Presbytery said that now that the pandemic is over, “we need to re-engage with one another and the world. There’s no replacement for being in the same room.” There’s “a synergy,” Browning said, “that cannot be duplicated through the screens.”

 

Marilyn White, a member of Faith Presbyterian Church in Austin, Texas, said that maybe committee members could “brainstorm cost considerations.” White also asked for a return of the exhibit hall.

 

Bill Galvin of Hope Presbyterian Church in Baltimore Presbytery, pointed out that General Assembly is “the gathering of the church. Folks learn about what’s happening in the church and they get excited about it just by being there.”

 

“The church is hurt a lot by not being together in person,” Galvin said. “In Sunday school we learned the church isn’t a building or a structure — it’s the people. I urge you to modify this proposal to include a full assembly in person.”

 

The Rev. Eliana Maxim, the moderator of the Committee on the Office of the General Assembly, said the committee “was enthusiastic about the presbytery’s enthusiasm for hosting us. Having a presbytery excited to host us was really a bonus.” COGA voted unanimously to support having the 227th General Assembly in Milwaukee, “and that’s why we bring it to you today.” The vote to approve COGA’s recommendation was 35-4.

 

After a dinner break, the committee voted 39-0 on GAP-02, which forwards the names of three people — the Rev. Dr. Tim Cargal, Kate Trigger Duffert and the Rev. Jihyun Oh — to the assembly for election as Associate Stated Clerks of the General Assembly. Cargal is Associate Director for Ministry Leadership Development. Trigger Duffert is Director of General Assembly Planning. Oh, the nominee to be the next Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the PC(USA), is currently Director of Mid Council Ministries.

 

Committee members heard a report from four members of the Special Committee on Standing Rules on GAP-03, Proposed Standing Rules of the General Assembly. The four presenters were the committee’s co-moderators, the Rev. Cindy Kohlmann and Adriana Soto Acevedo, as well as the Rev. Andy James and Jeff Moles.

 

The Rev. Ken Hockenberry, Stated Clerk of the Presbytery of Chicago, offered the committee a brief history of the Standing Rules and other documents that guide the PC(USA).

 

“The Special Committee has done a lot of work to suggest rules that are more flexible,” Hockenberry said. “I encourage some careful reading. I’ll be watching and praying as you do that.”