The more than 130 people attending the General Assembly Leadership Briefing both online and at the Presbyterian Center in Louisville, Kentucky, put in a full day on Tuesday, learning more about their roles as committee leaders and even witnessing a skit depicting a mock committee meeting that nearly went off the rails before righting itself at the end.
Seeing the “diamond ring” is the holy grail of amateur astronomers: that moment in a total solar eclipse when the edge of the sun’s corona bursts forth with a sparkling burst of light at one point while the rest of the rim is illuminated like a ring. I had no chance of seeing that where I was, located many miles away from the path of totality. All I saw was a solar “croissant.” But I did consider the experience holy.
“This annual lecture continues Dr. Cone’s dynamic legacy of prophetic Black theological and religious thought that pushes hard against the conscience of America,” said the Rev. Dr. Serene Jones, president of Union Theological Seminary in New York City, who held a moment of reverent pause as she asked the audience to consider the legacy of the Rev. Dr. James H. Cone, who had been a professor at Union for 50 years. Cone died in 2018. The event on April 3, held at the seminary’s James Chapel and streamed online, was the fourth annual lecture to be held in his honor.
Tuesday morning at Leader Briefing, committee leaders and committee support staff for this summer’s 226th General Assembly learned ways that technology, including the expanded MyGA website, will help them manage their committee business. They also learned how trainings and resources on the GA Preparation site will acquaint them with wider assembly processes and members of their committees.
Committees will gather virtually June 25-27 prior to in-person plenaries in Salt Lake City.
The fourth episode of the “Around the Table” podcast series features Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) pastors talking about how parents can have faith conversations with their children throughout different stages of the child’s life. Listen to the 32-minute edition here.
From April 6-9, Ferncliff Camp and Conference Center in Little Rock, Arkansas, in partnership with the Office of Christian Formation of the Presbyterian Mission Agency, hosted an intergenerational Creation care event culminating in three and a half minutes of the total solar eclipse on Monday.
The Rev. Lee Catoe and Simon Doong, the hosts of “A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast,” opened their most recent installment with the voices of youth who’d attended a conference at Massanetta Springs Camp and Conference Center in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Catoe asked youth about what they want to see happening in the church today.
Those called to lead online committees and the many people supporting their work are both online and at the Presbyterian Center Monday through Wednesday for the General Assembly Leadership Briefing in advance of the 226th General Assembly, set for June 25 through July 4.
Communications staff in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) garnered six victories during the 2024 DeRose-Hinkhouse Memorial Awards announced Friday by the Religion Communicators Council for work they completed during 2023.
As they did Thursday, members of the Commission on the Unification of Office of the General Assembly and the Presbyterian Mission Agency spent almost all their time Friday meeting in closed session as a committee of the whole. Commissioners emerged Friday afternoon from their gathering at the Presbyterian Center in Louisville, Kentucky, for a 20-minute public session before praying and adjourning.