Clifton Kirkpatrick, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly


Catherine Ulrich,
Moderator, COGA

Office of the General Assembly

Dianah Gourley and Jeff Jones are members of Central Presbyterian Church in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Last August, they traveled to Nashville, Tennessee, for the first-ever national elders conference.

“The conference was incredible,” Jeff said. “We learned new ideas for ministry and returned home highly motivated to share those ideas with others.”

“It gave me a new sense of what it means to be an elder,” Dianah said.

The first-ever national elders conference was held in Nashville, Tenn.

That new sense of meaning led to action. When Central’s co-pastors had a family emergency on Christmas Eve, Dianah stepped up. She not only wrote and delivered the Christmas Eve sermon; she preached the following Sunday as well! The national elders conference was sponsored by the Office of the General Assembly and the General Assembly Council.

OGA Highlights

Youth are being called to serve.

A new Office of Vocation, a shared ministry of the Office of the General Assembly (OGA) and the General Assembly Council, was developed with the vision of creating a “culture of call” in the PC(USA). Activities in 2007 included a conference for racial ethnic seminarians to equip them for entering their first call, revitalization of the Presbyterian Leadership Search Effort to help young people with vocational discernment and administration of Church Leadership Connection, which provides service to congregations, presbyteries and individuals using the PC(USA) call system.

The Presbyterian Historical Society (PHS) finished consolidating its offices into one location in Philadelphia. The historical society celebrated news of the Center for Study of Presbyterian and Reformed History that was launched by Columbia Theological Seminary (CTS). Some of the material that was held formerly at the PHS office in Montreat, N.C., is now among the archives at CTS.

Stated Clerk Clifton Kirkpatrick serves communion.

The first consultation on the ecumenical stance of the PC(USA) in 25 years was held in Louisville. Hosted by the General Assembly Committee on Ecumenical Relations, the event drew nearly 65 individuals from a cross-section of the PC(USA) and its ecumenical partners. A new policy statement on the ecumenical stance of the PC(USA), based on results of the consultation, will be submitted to the 218th General Assembly (2008) for approval.

Commissioners and advisory delegates at the General Assembly.

The Form of Government Task Force concluded its work on proposed revisions to that part of the PC(USA) Constitution, which will go to the 218th General Assembly in 2008. In addition to the proposed new Form of Government itself, which has been shaped by missional polity, the task force is recommending “Foundations of Presbyterian Polity” to replace the current first four chapters of the Form of Government.

In addition to partnering with the other PC(USA) agencies to support the National Pastors Sabbath, OGA anchored the effort to hold the first ever National Elders Conference. More than 300 elders from almost every state in the nation gathered in Nashville to hear preachers and other speakers and attend workshops aimed at helping elders gain a deeper understanding of the ministry of being an elder and claim that ministry for their own.

A rousing celebration of the bicentennial founding of the first African American Presbyterian congregation was held in Philadelphia, the city where the First African Presbyterian Church was established in 1807. The celebration was the focus of the 39th National Black Presbyterian Caucus convention, which had the theme “Celebrate Our Heritage and Embrace Our Hope.”

The Reverend Dr. Setri Nyomi, General Secretary, World Alliance of Reformed Churches, preached at the 217th General Assembly in Birmingham, Ala. Photo by Danny Bolin

Christian Churches Together (CCT), the largest ecumenical body in terms of its comprehensive nature, was inaugurated early in 2007. The PC(USA) is a provisional member of CCT, which consists of five Christian “families” — Catholics, evangelicals and Pentecostals, Orthodox, mainline Protestants and racial ethnic churches — that represent over 100 million Christians. Participants hope to address common issues, such as poverty and evangelism.