The Committee on the Office of the General Assembly (COGA) approved adjustments to the 2009 and 2010 budgets for the Office of the General Assembly (OGA) at its meeting March 24—25.
The decision to revise the budgets was prompted by the effects of the current global economic crisis, which has resulted in an approximately $1 million loss to the reserves for OGA through the Presbyterian Foundation.
“I was afraid we’d be everywhere or nowhere, but we are off to a great start.”
Those were the words of the Rev. James (Jim) Szeyller (Charlotte Presbytery), chairperson of the General Assembly Special Committee to Study Issues of Civil Union and Christian Marriage.
His comment was made to committee members near the end of their first meeting since being named to the committee by the Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow, Moderator of the 218th General Assembly (2008).
The agenda will be full for the upcoming meeting of the Committee on the Office of the General Assembly (COGA) when it begins its two-day meeting on Tuesday morning, March 24.
Routine business for the committee will include hearing reports from the Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow and the Rev. Byron Wade, moderator and vice-moderator of the 218th General Assembly (2008), respectively; the Rev. Gradye Parsons, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly; and elder Linda Valentine, executive director of the General Assembly Council. All four individuals are COGA members by virtue of their positions.
The 218th General Assembly (2008) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) called for the formation of a Committee to Prepare a Comprehensive Study Focused on Israel Palestine. The Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow, Moderator of the 218th GA, and his two immediate predecessors, the Rev. Joan Gray and Elder Rick Ufford-Chase, have named the following individuals to serve on the committee.
The 218th General Assembly (2008) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) called for the formation of a Special Committee to Study Issues of Civil Union and Christian Marriage. The Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow, Moderator of the 218th GA, has named the following individuals to serve on the committee.
The 218th General Assembly (2008) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) called for the formation of a Special Committee to Consider Amending the Confessional Documents of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to Include the Belhar Confession in The Book of Confessions.
The assembly's action directed "the Moderators of the 216th, 217th, and 218th General Assemblies to name the committee to consider including the Belhar Confession, in consultation with the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly, the Advocacy Committee for Racial Ethnic Concerns, the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program, and the Office of Theology and Worship.”
The General Assembly Special Committee to Study Issues of Civil Union and Christian Marriage is set to hold its first meeting next week.
The committee will convene Tuesday morning, March 17, at the Hampton Inn Downtown and work through Thursday morning.
The individuals who will serve on the Special Committee to Consider Amending the Confessional Documents of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to Include the Belhar Confession in The Book of Confessions have been announced.