Looking forward to the 227th General Assembly

The Committee on the Office of the General Assembly hears how plans are proceeding

by Mike Ferguson | Presbyterian News Service

Plenary, worship and other in-person sessions of the 227th General Assembly (2026) will be held in the recently refurbished and expanded Baird Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo courtesy of Visit Milwaukee)

LOUISVILLE — Plans are already underway for the 227^th General Assembly, set for June 23 through July 2, 2026, in online format for committees and in person for plenaries, worship and more at the Baird Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

On Thursday, Kate Trigger Duffert, Director of GA Planning in the Office of the General Assembly, briefed the Committee on the Office of the General Assembly on a visit to the recently renovated and expanded Baird Center and on meetings with the Presbytery of Milwaukee and neighboring presbyteries who will help the host presbytery. On May 16, Baird Center opened its $456 million expansion, doubling its size to 1.3 million square feet.

Kate Trigger Duffert

“That gathering was really outstanding, for several reasons,” Trigger Duffert said of the recent visit. Having the format for the Assembly “and some decisions about how we are making the Assembly happen made the conversation so much easier,” she said. The host presbytery “came with a healthy balance of enthusiasm without wanting to do everything. They are holding things in a way that’s manageable for them and for us.”

The Baird Center “is gorgeous,” she said. The art selected to enhance the convention center’s expansion “was intentionally picked to represent diversity. It’s beautiful to walk around that space.” Both sides of the Baird Center — the renovated section and the new space — will be used for different parts of the Assembly. GA planners left Milwaukee “feeling good” about hotel options as well, Trigger Duffert said.

COGA has already authorized a Community Day as part of the Assembly. The Presbytery of Milwaukee is determining what Community Day action or presence will be most meaningful, Trigger Duffert said.

A space that’s used for welcome to the Baird Center can be used for a ministry connection area, Trigger Duffert said — a space where ministries beyond PC(USA) agencies and ministry areas can interact with commissioners, advisory delegates and others. An atrium in front of the ballroom will be the location of the opening reception once the Community Day action is completed.

“We were grateful to meet with presbytery leadership, which is thinking about how to involve neighboring presbyteries,” said the Rev. Jihyun Oh, Executive Director and Stated Clerk of the General Assembly. “The creativity, innovation and passion are palpable. It feels like there is a lot of great energy.”

The Rev. Jihyun Oh (Photo by Rich Copley)

Oh described some of her activities since the last time COGA met in October. Her in-person and Zoom meetings have included the Presbyterian Historical Society Board of Directors, an online meeting with African leaders, the General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission, the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy and the Funding Model Development Team. Oh also paid visits to mid councils and spent time with the Justice League of Greater Lansing, Michigan, which she said “is doing important repair work” by asking folks in the Lansing area to think about putting their endowment resources toward reparations.

Much of Oh’s work has focused on relationship-building, including her role directing the interim unified agency. “It’s been a full month, and a really good month,” she said.

The final meeting of the Committee on the Office of the General Assembly, whose duties are being taken over by the Unification Commission, will be held via Zoom beginning at noon Eastern Time on Dec. 19. The meeting will be livestreamed here.