Hello from the 219th General Assembly!
Mariana Berbert and I arrived in Minneapolis on Thursday evening, because we both had assigned meetings on Friday. Elder Commissioner Mary Ellen Keller arrived, fresh from a mission trip, today – just before the Opening Session convened! Stated Clerk Michael Lukens came to greet us just before the meeting. It is a huge hall, and we are assigned wonderful seats, in the center section, 10 rows back.
Already, we have been each drawn into the experience of the General Assembly – my committee (Form of Government Revision) had 8 hours of meeting yesterday, Mariana had a full day of training, and Mary Ellen is quickly catching up with the flood of paper that we were each presented with upon arrival.
There were “Riverside Conversations” this morning, before the Assembly officially convened. These were opportunities for commissioners, advisory delegates and observers to hear presentations and participate in conversations around some of the big issues facing the denomination: our confessional standards (there are overtures around adding a new confession – the Belhar Confession from South Africa – and retranslating the Heidelberg Catechism in our Book of Confessions); marriage and civil unions; Middle East peacemaking issues, the proposed new Form of Government, reports from the Executive Director and Stated Clerk, and equipping the church for ministry with God’s diverse family.
It is a fascinating event, General Assembly – as Presbyterians, we value our connectionalism. We value the bonds that connect us from church to church, presbytery to presbytery, and especially the bonds that grow among us personally. Already I’ve run into several volunteers from Winnebago Presbytery: Rev. Ted and Mary Sperduto, Nancy Siewert, Rev. Lois Swanson! I also finally saw Lucy, and of course, friends from other times and places. We are a large Presbyterian family.
Tonight, Saturday night, we heard from the six candidates to be Moderator of the General Assembly. The candidates included 5 ministers, 1 elder; 3 women, 3 men; 1 African-American, 1 Korean-American; 4 Euro-Americans. And finally, on the 4th ballot (?) we elected Elder Cindy Bolbach, as the Moderator for GA 219 and for the next two years. She is an elder who doesn’t work for the church – a real person with a real job! She also has been the co-moderator of the Form of Government Task Force, the moderator of National Capital Presbytery, the clerk of session of First Presbyterian Church of Arlington, Virginia. I had communicated with her by email before GA, and had a couple of conversations with her Friday, and found her to be very smart, very perceptive, deeply faithful, and a real visionary with a practical side.
But it’s not all work – tomorrow we will start with worship in the morning , and in the evening, there will be a picnic on Nicollet Island in the Mississippi River, where we will meet the new moderator and watch fireworks! [Given the forecast, I hope there are contingency plans in case of rain.] We are doing the work of the Church, worshiping God, and enjoying a large PCUSA family reunion.
Keep us in your prayers.
Grace and peace,
Rev. Susan Zencka
