On its second day of meeting, the Domestic Engagement Committee of the 226th General Assembly concluded its work with the approval of two overtures, a recommendation from the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy and a commissioners’ resolution, all but one with amendments. The full day included robust conversation on the diverse profile of domestic issues, with insights and passionate arguments from a number of overture advocates and committee members who spoke from personal experience.

In a denomination where 75% of PC(USA) congregations are classified as small and 41% of new worshiping communities represent people of color, the need to address flexibility in pastoral leadership has become increasingly urgent.

The General Assembly Procedures Committee used a divide-and-conquer approach for its work Wednesday, splitting into small online groups to discuss and make recommendations on its largest piece of business, GAP-03, Proposed Standing Rules of the General Assembly.

The Christian Formation Committee of the 226th General Assembly reconvened on Wednesday morning with an eye toward details while revisiting similar issues and themes concerning theological education for the whole church and its related institutions. The first items of business to approve minutes, summaries and reports of the Committee on Theological Education (COTE) were brought forward by the respective subcommittees that reviewed them. The motions to approve the minutes of 2022 and 2023 were approved with exceptions in separate votes (CF-MIN-01). The narrative reports of PC(USA)-related theological institutions (CF-INFO-02) and COTE’s agency summary (CF-INFO-01) were also approved.

Urged by ruling elder and moderator Rochelle Shaw to be mindful and receive God’s grace to worship God and learn together, the International Engagement Committee picked up where it left off Tuesday on its small but complex agenda Wednesday morning with consideration for INT-02, That the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Utilize the Gospel of Love as a Guiding Principle in its Advocacy and Humanitarian Efforts.

Gently charging the members of the GA Ordination Committee to be “flexible, patient and kind” with one another as their first long day of business got underway, committee moderator, Ruling Elder Laurie Warren Jones of The John Knox Presbytery, promised online participants that they would “all get through this together.”

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.

The Christian Formation committee of the 226th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) completed eight items of business in their first day of deliberations Tuesday. All concerned matters regarding theological education in PC(USA)-related institutions of higher education.

On its first day of considering General Assembly business, the Environmental and Climate Justice Committee zipped through half of its agenda for the week, approving a peace pledge, a recommendation to reduce plastic pollution and a paper on the pitfalls of lithium mining.

The 226th General Assembly kicked off on schedule, with committees meeting on Zoom to begin their faithful work for the church.