And so it begins….
The 226th General Assembly (2024) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A) began on Tuesday, June 25 with a brief opening plenary and then the start of three days of committee meetings. The 226th General Assembly will utilize a hybrid format for committee meetings. Committee moderators and vice-moderators are already in Salt Lake City, where the General Assembly will be held, and will lead commissioners via Zoom and a suite of online meeting tools as the committees meet. Commissioners will then travel to Salt Lake City for the start of in-person plenary meetings that will commence on Sunday, June 30 and conclude on July 4.
The committees will consider a multitude of items referred to them by the presbyteries and other connected bodies. Items that come to the committees can be approved and sent to the full General Assembly for action, disapproval, or modification. Among the items that the committees will consider this week are:
Confirmation of the election of five seminary presidents
Creating educational resources for small churches
Strengthening Ecumenical partnerships
Changes to investment policies
Approving a unified budget for the Office of the General Assembly and the Presbyterian Mission Agency
Appointing a committee to review the ordination process
Giving Commissioned Pastors voice and vote when they are not currently serving a church
Amending the Book of Order to include sexual orientation and gender identity among the categories against which this church does not discriminate
Not allowing non-disclosure agreements as calls are dissolved
This General Assembly will discern between two sets of Co-Moderator candidates who will serve the denomination for the next two years: 1) Rev. Cecila Armstrong and Rev. Anthony Larson and 2) Rev. Dr. Marion McClure Taylor and Rev. Daniel Morales. You can find more information about the moderator candidates HERE. The Stated Clerk Nomination Committee was charged with bringing a nominee to the 226th General Assembly (2024) and will nominate the Reverend Jihyun Oh to serve as the fifth Stated Clerk of the reunited Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
Eastern Oklahoma Presbytery is sending two commissioners to this year’s General Assembly. The Minister of Word and Sacrament Commissioner for Eastern Oklahoma Presbytery is Rev. Lucus Levy Keppel. Rev. Keppel is the co-pastor of Trinity Presbyterian Church in Bixby, Oklahoma. He is serving as vice-moderator of the Christian Formation Committee. Commissioned Pastor Darrell Moses is our Elder Commissioner to the General Assembly. He serves the Presbyterian-Methodist Fellowship Church of Cleveland, Oklahoma. He is a member of the International Engagement Committee. General Presbyter Tim Blodgett will be traveling to Salt Lake City to resource the commissioners and report on the actions of the 226th General Assembly, as well.
As a presbytery and in our individual congregations, please pray for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the commissioners to 226th General Assembly, and the future of our witness to Jesus Christ. Pray for wisdom, discernment, and a spirit of unity in the midst of the great diversity of this denomination.
Rev. Tim Blodgett
General Presbyter
This is the first of a series of updates that General Presbyter Blodgett will offering to the presbytery. Please watch your inbox for more information about the actions and happenings at this General Assembly as the assembly meets between June 25 and July 4.
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