A Postcard from the 226th General Assembly: A Community Living in Hope
July 4, 2024
Dear Friends/Co-Conspirators for Justice of the Presbytery of San Jose,
Grace and peace in Christ in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit from Salt Lake City! The 226th General Assembly has adjourned, and we give thanks to God for this community of followers of Jesus Christ who have worked hard this week. Through worship, prayer, plenty of conversations and debate, table fellowship, and yes, even the occasional electric slide and energizers, this General Assembly was again a visible expression of the community of believers called Presbyterian. But more than that. Because we had several ecumenical and interfaith representatives from all over the globe, this was a manifestation of our human community. The majestic landscape of mountains surrounding Salt Lake City reminded us daily that our days and our lives belong to the Creator.
We prayed for global, national, local, and personal concerns. Please hold in prayer the communities in the Caribbean nations of Grenada, Jamaica, Curacao, the Cayman Islands, St. Vincent, and the Dominican Republic in aftermath of Hurricane Beryl. One of our PC(USA) mission co-workers brought to the Assembly’s attention the government seizure of church properties in Arak, Iran belonging to the Presbyterian Church of Iran. We hold siblings in the faith in prayer as we are in solidarity with them.
We are a community of hope as commissioners and advisory delegates considered many overtures and items of business. I invite you to visit this site for a summary of actions: https://ga-pcusa.org/news/ or if you wish a detail of particular items of interest you can visit: https://www.pc-biz.org/
Three particular overtures that pertain to the Presbytery of San Jose are items Polity 01 (POL-01), Environment 02 (ENV-02) and Environment 03 (ENV-03), all three of which the Presbytery of San Jose concurred or co-sponsored.
- POL-01, the so-called “Olympia Overture” was considered in two parts: Part 1 sought to amend a section of the Book of Order about those areas where the church does not discriminate; Part 2 sought to amend a section of the Book of Order concerning the examination of candidates for ordination and/or installation to the ordered ministries of deacon, ruling elder, and teaching elder and their ability and willingness to support and uphold the Constitution, specifically principles of representation and participation. In the end, the Assembly adopted Part 1 as presented, and Part 2 with amendments. These will be sent to presbyteries for vote in the coming year, a majority of which are needed to amend the Constitution. You can read more about the consideration of POL-01 at this link: https://www.pcusa.org/news/2024/7/3/after-significant-debate-assembly-approves-both-pa/
- ENV-02 was an overture “On Removal of Investments in and Subsidies for Fossil Fuels.” After first adopted the overture, the Assembly then reconsidered its vote and voted to disapprove that overture and instead adopt ENV-06, which affirmed the continuing efforts of the General Assembly Committee on Mission Responsibility Through Investment (MRTI) to apply the Church’s environmental policy to corporate engagement and working with local communities. But the Assembly further directed MRTI “to immediately identify the top ten fossil fuel companies that derive the majority of their profits from the exploration, development, and production of fossil fuels and with which there will be no promising engagement, and immediately divest from those companies.” You can read a summary of the consideration of ENV-02 and ENV-06 at this link: https://www.pcusa.org/news/2024/7/3/general-assembly-backtracks-on-complete-divestment/
- Finally, ENV-03, an overture “On Becoming Free from Plastic Pollution” was approved unanimously via consent agenda.
Two other items that our delegation had a direct hand.
- First, Stated Clerk Erica Rader has, for the past two years and will continue to do so for at least the next two years, served as the co-moderator of the Funding Model Development Team. The work of this team is critical as unification of two national agencies – the Presbyterian Mission Agency and the Office of the General Assembly – will occur by the summer 2025. The Team is looking at new ways to fund the ministries of the national setting of the PC(USA) with the challenge of per capita giving and unified mission dollars.
- The other piece of business which our delegation had a direct participation was the Final Report of the Third Round of Bilateral Dialogue between the Episcopal Church and the PC(USA). Since 2019, I have had the privilege and blessing of serving as the co-vice chair. The Final Report was unanimously approved both in the Assembly Committee on Ecumenical and Interfaith Partnerships and then unanimously approved by the Assembly via consent agenda. Contained in that Final Report is a Proposal for Limited Local Sharing of Ministries. If approved by a majority of presbyteries in the coming year, and approved by a second reading of the General Convention of the Episcopal Church in 2027, we will begin to implement a historic initiative whereby Presbyterian teaching elders and Episcopalian priests will be able to serve at each other’s churches for a limited time of two to four years, subject to renewal and invitation of the calling church, and with the authorization of the diocesan bishop and presbytery. This is an exciting missional and ecumenical engagement and partnership between our two denominations.
The 226th General Assembly also took a historic action by electing my good friend and colleague, The Rev. Dr. Jihyun Oh as the first woman of color to serve as Stated Clerk of the General Assembly. We celebrate and support the Rev. Dr. Jihyun Oh as Stated Clerk of the General Assembly.
Let me conclude this Postcard communique by circling back to this theme of being a community of living in hope. Even as we were here in Salt Lake, the mission and life of our Presbytery were with us everyday. You were in my daily prayer. Whether it be my first Zoom meeting with Presbytery personnel committee or working on the 2025 budget, no matter the time zone, the Presbytery’s ministry was close to heart and mind. We will be in community as we celebrate the life and witness of the late Elder Beulah Lane this Saturday (July 6) at 3:00pm at Northminster-Salinas. And then on Sunday (July 7) at 4:00pm, we will celebrate the installation of Tom Harris at First Presbyterian Church-Palo Alto. Your truly has been invited to preach at Westminster-San Jose this Sunday morning as well and I’ll be co-officiating the Lord’s Table with Neneth Ross as Bryan Franzen continues his sabbatical after faithfully serving as a teaching elder commissioner at GA226.
Wherever you are, whatever you are doing, know that we are in community – living in hope, empowered by faith, hope, and love in Christ in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.
In Joy,
Neal
The Rev. Neal D. Presa, Ph.D. | Executive Presbyter
(408) 763-5004 | Neal@sanjosepby.org
LI/FB/IG/X: @NealPresa
