Our 224th General Assembly is about to begin. Thanks to the dedication, hard work and creativity of the Office of the General Assembly we will soon experience our denominations first ever virtual assembly.
It is courageous to be first. It is also inevitable that the first effort at anything will not be perfect. There will be bumps on the road. In surveying the plan and looking for bumps there are a few long standing needs for reform that are even more evident in the new format. Recognizing that we are too far along the road for wholesale changes to this GA, we would nevertheless like to highlight a few areas for consideration to reform of future assemblies. This is not a commissioner’s resolution, but observations we hope will lead to future resolutions and overtures as we seek to always be reforming our church to make it more responsive to the movement of the Holy Spirit.
I. In the future, committee work must occur anytime the General Assembly meets. The absence of committee meetings denies the ability of the Assembly to hear and act on most new business including those items brought by Presbyteries as Overtures and Commissioners as Resolutions. Failure to hold committee meetings also deprives YAADs of voice and vote in committee -- one of their most important roles in helping shape the future direction of the church.
II. The Committees need to be required to provide a minimum time and minimum materials as exhibits for Overture Advocates. Currently the amount of time an advocate can present and the nature of evidence allowed to be presented is at the discretion of the committee chair. A minimum standard of allowed presentation -- say 10 minutes of testimony or video and 10 pages of text would ensure each overture is given a fair hearing.
III. Empower Commissioners and Advisory Delegates to communicate among themselves by providing individual contact information (such as the self-disclosed address, phone number, email, and social media accounts) of each commissioner and advisory delegate to each of the commissioners and delegates. Transparency and communication are the way to improve trust in the church and are foundational to our way of being as Presbyterians. Future efforts must be made to empower the social interactions and emotional connections of the body.
We are a connectional and embodied people, and nothing has more forcefully reminded us of this than our current pandemic crisis. We are so grateful for all the efforts made this year to take these first important steps into new technology; this medium allows us to work efficiently, save natural resources, and expand our accessibility in many valuable facets. As we move into the future with this experience in mind, we must prioritize the social and communicative facets that are crucial and necessary to our way of being as the PC(USA).
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