You can hear an audio recording of the second scripture reading and my sermon entitled, “ Loaves and Fishes and Leftovers ” being preached, by CLICKING HERE.
Empty Tomb Witnesses, Resurrected Jesus
Seekers, Good News Bearers, Faith-Sharers,
Some of you may be wondering …what is General
Assembly? And why was the preacher
spending two weeks in meetings online and in Salt Lake City? The short answer is that General Assembly is “the
highest council of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)—a deliberative, discerning
body, responsible for leading and guiding the whole church in ministry and
mission. And though I was not elected,
and didn’t have a vote, I also serve as the Presbytery’s Stated Clerk for the
Presbytery of the Pines, and presbytery staff have supportive roles at the
assembly.
1,340 people registered on-site in Salt Lake
City, Utah. The Assembly gathered in one
of the large plenary venues at the Salt Palace convention center downtown. 166 Presbyteries sent nearly 500
commissioners from across the country; additionally Presbyteries were
represented by mid-council leaders and stated clerks who observe, but who don’t
have privilege of voting. Each Presbytery
could also send a Young Adult Advisory Delegate. 11 PCUSA seminaries were invited to elect a Theological
Student Advisory Delegates. There are
also a handful of Ecumenical Advisory Delegates and Missionary Advisory
Delegates. About half of the people
registered are commissioners and advisory delegates. The remaining participants are General
Assembly staff, presbytery and synod leaders and stated clerks, support
volunteers from the local presbytery, stage crew, musicians, resource persons,
agency staff, and visitors/observers. It’s
a little bit like watching CSPAN …except there’s always about 1,000 people in
the room, half of which are actively making decisions.
Most days at the assembly are structured
similarly. Each day begins in worship;
exciting preachers, rich liturgies, special music, and full-throated
singing. Plenary meetings often began
with special greetings from ecumenical representatives, or greetings from
churches across the globe. And then
sessions of listening to committee reports and voting on committee
recommendations. There’s a break for
lunch, usually a group meal for commissioners, before a long afternoon
session. There’s a break for dinner,
usually another group meal of predictable hotel kitchen fare, followed by an
evening session where meetings lasted until about 9pm.
The first day of the Assembly, the Assembly
elects co-moderators from among the commissioners. There’s a process for standing for moderator,
so you have to declare your intention to stand many weeks before the Assembly;
this assembly chose between two co-moderator teams and this Assembly elected Reverends
Cece Armstrong and Tony Larson, Minister commissioners from South
Carolina.
What’s all the excitement about? All assembly committees are responsible for
action items for the General Assembly to take bold, prophetic action in
response to issues and concerns. A lot
of this year’s work centered around different proposals to direct invested
funds away from companies who make and use fossil fuels. Another proposal seeks to change descriptions
in part of the Book of Order, to more explicitly address forms of
discrimination by adding some new language:
“God unites persons through baptism, regardless of race, ethnicity, age, sex, [gender identity, sexual orientation,] disability, geography, or theological conviction. There is therefore no place in the life of the Church for discrimination against any person.”
Still other proposals addressed gun violence,
climate change, the unification of 2 national church agencies, a new unified
budget for those agencies, and a host of new church initiatives.
The exciting part—seeing, feeling, and witnessing
to the presence and work of the Holy Spirit.
Seeing old friends and making new ones.
Spontaneous hymn sings, and dance breaks. Feeling the joy and love of Jesus manifested
with, in, and through so many people.
It’s life altering and faith-changing.
And I’m so grateful
for the opportunity to participate and be of service.
You can hear an audio recording of the second scripture reading and my sermon entitled, “ Touching the Fringe of Jesus' Cloak ” being preached, by CLICKING HERE.
