During her second week on the job, the Stated Clerk receives a heartfelt formal welcome

Co-moderators join the PC(USA)’s national staff to throw a reception for the Rev. Jihyun Oh

by Mike Ferguson | Presbyterian News Service

Well-wishers including the Rev. Vernon Broyles and the Rev. Rebecca Barnes spoke with the Rev. Jihyun Oh during a reception Wednesday celebrating the start of her ministry as Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). (Photo by Rich Copley)

LOUISVILLE — In a party fueled by some of the favorite snack items of the new Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), colleagues at the Presbyterian Center welcomed the Rev. Jihyun Oh to the denomination’s highest ecclesial office Wednesday with smiles, their best wishes and no small number of hugs.

“We are so looking forward to your leadership,” Kate Trigger Duffert, Director of General Assembly Planning, said to Oh, who at age 50 is the first woman, the first woman of color and the first Korean American to be elected Stated Clerk. Trigger Duffert presented Oh with a communion set from the Presbytery of Utah that was used during the Lord’s Supper during the most recent General Assembly.

Kerry Rice, the Deputy Stated Clerk in the Office of the General Assembly, offered Oh congratulations on her historic election.

“It’s important for you and for the PC(USA),” Rice said. “It says a lot about who we are and who we aspire to be.”

“Thank you for being willing to take on the mantle of leadership in this time of uncertainty,” Rice said. “Thank you for your willingness and your response to God’s call in this ministry.”

The Rev. Dr. Bridgett A. Green speaks during Wednesday’s reception honoring the new Stated Clerk. (Photo by Rich Copley)

“I’m super excited about you being in this role,” said the Rev. Dr. Bridgett A. Green, Vice President of Publishing for Presbyterian Publishing Corporation and the Editorial Director for Westminster John Knox Press. While “I can articulate all the firsts,” what stood out for Green when Oh’s selection was announced “was your heart for ministry” and “the way in which you know our church so thoroughly,” including congregations, mid councils and the national office.

Green praised Oh’s ability to “bring different conversations into the same space” and her willingness to answer the call to be “ministers of justice.”

“I’m delighted to call you by name and ‘Madame Stated Clerk,’” Green said. “This is one of those Esther moments — ‘for such a time as this.’”

After thanking everyone assembled, Oh reminded the crowd she’s been saying all along that “this is not work one does alone.”

The Rev. Jihyun Oh admires the new Communion set she received on Wednesday. (Photo by Rich Copley)

“This is our work together. I’m grateful to be surrounded by colleagues with a sense of call,” Oh said. While moving forward one step at a time to answer God’s call, we must do so while also challenging our assumptions, she said, which Oh called “a bigger challenge than just stepping forward.”

Oh said that many people approached her during General Assembly with this offer: “Whatever you need, call me.”

“I think you’ll find I take that seriously,” she said. “I may be asking some hard questions, but I am looking forward to our work together.”

Rice also thanked the co-moderators of the 226^th General Assembly, the Rev. CeCe Armstrong and the Rev. Tony Larson, who are in Louisville for meetings with members of the national staff and who helped, along with Oh, to lead worship in the Chapel at the Presbyterian Center Wednesday morning.

“We’re so pleased to have you with us this week,” Rice told the co-moderators. “Thank you for your ministry, for all you did at the Assembly and all that you continue to do,” including “the hope you will bring to our partners across the country and around the world.”