As a first time attendee (Observer) of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, I have been moved by this experience. It was made very clear here that we are a connectional Church! I met Presbyterians from all over the country, including teaching elders, ruling elders, national staff, and Synod and Presbytery representatives. The young adult presence here at the Assembly was impressive. I … [Read more...]
#GA223: Reflections by Charlotte Hasselbarth
June 22, 2018 by
Friday Afternoon Plenary Session of #GA223. The commissioners and the advisory delegates are acting on the overtures presented by the Committee on Environmental Issues which is the Committee Commissioner Charlotte Hasselbarth serves on. This is my first experience of being at the General Assembly. I will mention two of the many things that have impressed me. Parliamentary Procedure has … [Read more...]
#GA223: Reflections by Larry Greenwold
June 22, 2018 by
Wednesday Blog - June 20th, 2018 Here we are at the middle of the week and the midpoint in our General Assembly (GA) schedule. We began on Saturday with an awesome worship service. On Sunday we had the opportunity to attend Sunday worship at a local area church. Charlotte, Bill, and I went to First Presbyterian Church in Kirkwood, MO, a larger suburb west of downtown St. Louis. We were greeted … [Read more...]
#GA223: Reflections from a YAAD by Maxine Quaye
June 20, 2018 by
My experience here at GA has exceeded my expectations. I was expecting to be unengaged and mostly bored. However! That is not the case at all. The YAADs (Young Adult Advisory Delegates) arrived in St Louis a day earlier than the commissioners where we were given an orientation on the parliamentary workings of the GA as well as the infamous Robert’s Rules. I’m serving on Committee 02 – Bills and … [Read more...]
#GA223: Ah, Yes – Committee Work!! by Laura Rogers
June 20, 2018 by
My role at GA is as an Overture Advocate. All business presented to the Assembly first goes to a committee for discussion and hopefully recommendation to the Assembly as a whole for final action. The fascinating piece of this is that an action which goes to the Assembly, therefore the entire denomination, for a decision always comes through: An overture from a presbytery or a synod, with … [Read more...]
#GA223: Proposed Changes to the Rules of Discipline by Dan Rogers
June 17, 2018 by
The 222nd General Assembly (2016) created a Rules of Discipline Task Force, that was charged with: revising the entire Rules of Discipline to make the Rules of Discipline more accessible to the church, to preserve and enhance the accountability of councils and individuals to the church, to expand the role of mediation and alternate dispute resolution, and to provide flexibility in … [Read more...]
Faith’s Role in Community Renewal: Come to Johnstown, July 10-12 by Leonard Sponaugle
June 13, 2018 by
So this is how I am spending my Summer vacation. (Not to worry, I will be taking a real vacation!) My setting for ministry is in an area that has been in long-term economic decline. That affects so much of the ministry here. As with many churches, we view this as an opportunity to shared God’s love with our communities. In a press release to promote the upcoming “An Urban-Rural Dialogue” … [Read more...]
Reflections from the June 5 Presbytery Meeting at Rensselaerville
June 13, 2018 by
Please share this information with all those interested in the work and opportunities happening in the Albany Presbytery. You may use the following URL to embed directly into your communications: https://albanypresbytery.org/june-5-presbytery-meeting/ The 318th Stated Meeting of the Albany Presbytery was held on June 5, 2018 at the Rensselaerville Presbyterian Church. Below are a few … [Read more...]
Certification in Community Organizing & Congregational Leadership by Tim Coombs
June 12, 2018 by
At the end of 2017 Albany Presbytery voted to approve two ongoing strategies as the presbytery’s mission. The first was a strategy on Congregational Renewal, which involved each congregation establishing a Ministry Plan. The second was to emphasize five skill areas that we agreed are needed to be an effective Pastoral Leader in the 21st century. One of those five areas is “Community … [Read more...]
Introducing the #GA223 Commissioners from #AlbPresby
May 30, 2018 by
General Assembly 223 – June 16-23, 2018 We have a few people heading to the 223rd meeting of the General Assembly in St. Louis, Missouri. Here is a little about each of them and how you can follow and engage with them while they participate in #GA223. Maxine Quaye – Young Adult Advisory Delegate (YAAD) What is a Young Adult Advisory Delegate (YAAD)? Young Adult Advisory delegates “are … [Read more...]
