A Corp board gets first look at website designed to ‘help ministry flourish’

Just created late in 2019, website for PC(USA) corporate entity is in its second iteration and still evolving

by Rich Copley | Presbyterian News Service

A Corp president Kathy Lueckert (left), confers with Melody Smith, Organizational Communications Manager for the Presbyterian Mission Agency (right) and Denise Govindarajan, Associate Director of Information Technology, before a presentation of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) A Corporation’s new website at the Presbyterian Center on Jan. 23, 2020. Rich Copley

LOUISVILLE —The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) A Corporation Board got a first look at its new window for the world late Thursday afternoon.

As part of a drive toward greater transparency, the denomination’s corporate entity asked for a new website that is “dynamic and engaging,” Melody K. Smith, Organizational Communications Manager for the Presbyterian Mission Agency, said at the meeting.

The website was initiated by A Corp President Kathy Lueckert, who started in August.

“It’s been a very, very fast process,” said Denise Govindarajan, associate director of information technology. “We’re already in our second iteration.”

“They’re just trying to get the message out of what A Corp can offer the church partners and how they can help ministry flourish.”

The site, hosted on the Office of the General Assembly’s pcusa.org, opens with a basic primer on A Corp, including an introduction of the A Corp board, its business plan, and an answer to the question, “What is the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) A Corporation,” set against an image of its 1799 incorporation documents from the Presbyterian Historical Society.

The Business Plan link takes visitors to a detailed explanation of A Corp’s work, including that it holds titles to property the church owns, funds and other legal designations.

“In essence A Corporation is the ‘business office’ of the General Assembly, enabling the General Assembly to conduct any number of transactions with the secular world,” the site explains.

It also contains materials such as the A Corp Bylaws, minutes and meeting papers, future meeting dates and an FAQ page.

In its meeting, the board complimented the site but did ask questions about items such as how users can contact the board and how new information will be shared. Features such as the opening page “carousel” can change, Smith and Govindarajan assured the board, to highlight things such as A Corp actions as General Assembly approaches. There was also discussion of adding a newsfeed for stories about A Corp from Presbyterian News Service and other sources.

Since it is hosted on the pcusa.org platform, Smith also said it will be part of the overall Presbyterian Church website revamping that is currently in its initial stages and is expected to be launched in 2021. The new site will ultimately combine the now separate Office of the General Assembly and Presbyterian Mission Agency sites.

“Nobody fits more under the PC(USA) banner than A Corp,” Smith said. “It’s the logical place for it.”

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