Moderators, vice-moderators get a how-to on running purposeful meetings

Moderators’ Conference features panel members offering up practical advice

by Mike Ferguson | Presbyterian News Service

The 2024 Moderators’ Conference was Nov. 14-16 at the Presbyterian Center in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Rich Copley)

LOUISVILLE — Among the skills most highly valued by newly elected moderators and vice-moderators is the ability to run purposeful meetings.

Fortunately for the 130 or so of the PC(USA)’s newest mid council moderators and their heirs apparent, panelists joined Saturday during the Moderators’ Conference to share what they’ve learned that can help smooth the way and deepen the experience of presbytery and synod meetings.

The Rev. Jihyun Oh, Executive Director and Stated Clerk of the General Assembly, moderated a panel of three who discussed the nuts and bolts and other insights for holding purposeful meetings:

• The Rev. Josh Park, Manager for Korean-Speaking Council Support
• Ruling Elder valerie izumi, an Assistant Stated Clerk and the Manager of General Assembly Nominations and Representation
• The Rev. Dr. David Gambrell, the PC(USA)’s Associate for Worship.

“We have 166 presbyteries now,” Oh noted. “Each has a different culture and character, and each has a little different way of doing things.”

Park reminded the new moderators that although many Presbyterians have appreciated returning to in-person meetings following the Covid pandemic, hybrid options allow for more people to participate. “They aren’t easy,” Park said. “There are more logistical things to account for in order for you to do the meeting well, but it allows more people to be heard.”

Artificial Intelligence has an option on Zoom for closed captioning, Park said. “For language-learners, the hardest thing is listening,” Park said. “Closed captioning allows for better participation.”

The Moderators’ Conference began with a mission fair highlighting many of the ministries and programs of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). (Photo by Rich Copley)

Part of Gambrell’s work is around “helping presbyteries think theologically about worship. I don’t get worked up over which colors we’re using or how many candles we have, but I have strong feelings about our eschatological hope,” Gambrell said.

Asked by Oh about setting the tone and direction for the meeting, izumi said it’s important to have the agenda and other meeting papers ready in time for attendees to read and study. “These are important aspects of welcome, but also tend to the emotional quality of the meeting,” izumi said. “I call it the welcome before the welcome.”

izumi reminded moderators they aren’t completely in charge of council meetings. “They are partnering with commissioners to discern the mid of Christ,” she said. “Your posture of openness helps to move the meeting along.”

valerie izumi

izumi said that after the meeting, it’s OK for the moderator to ask a few people, “How did I come across? Did people feel valued?” It’s also helpful to ask people who needed an accommodation whether their needs were met, she said.

Many mid councils send out post-event surveys, Oh said. “What are questions you can ask to improve the process?” Oh asked. “Who might do that?”

Gambrell said his number one rule for putting together worship is to start with Scripture. “I make it a practice not to plan a service without having the text for the day,” he said. After that, “follow the Spirit. Discerning how the Spirit is moving is something we do together,” he said.

Gambrell urged those in attendance to “surround everything with prayer, which we can do in a variety of ways,” including using a psalm, music or art; praying through our bodies; even simply breathing. “Point to what God is doing in the church and in the world,” Gambrell suggested. “If we keep our focus on that, we are fulfilling what we are called to do.”

The Rev. Josh Park

Planning and preparing the technology “is really helpful,” Park said. Moderators “may or may not have a tech person who can help you navigate” the online part of the meeting experience. “It’s important during the meeting for the moderator to be aware of the online presence” because “it allows for that interactive aspect to come to life.” Park suggested thinking of “creative ways for online and in-person participants to speak to one another.”

“With intentionality,” Oh said, “there can be community built online.”

Gambrell had another reminder: When planning worship, remember the body.

The Rev. Dr. David Gambrell

The double meaning here is to remember the whole person and the whole church. “We Presbyterians tend to get stuck in our heads, and we need to wrestle with what it is to be human,” Gambrell said. As for remembering the whole church, Gambrell was thinking of “people in tiny and large churches, rural and urban settings, in person and online. Worship is truly the work of the whole people of God, that the ministry of the whole people of God may flourish.”

Park said he knows of one presbytery that’s employed hybrid meetings since 2017, three years before the pandemic.

izumi noted that Synod of the Pacific recently gathered at Zephyr Point Camp and Conference Center. “At one point everyone met online — even those who were meeting in person,” she said. “It made people feel like they were together.”

Part of being connectional is “we bring in what’s happening in other councils,” Oh said. “How can folks think about connecting with General Assembly, congregations and ecumenical partners?”

It’s helpful, izumi said, to “read and look at everything,” including pc-biz.org. “Ask [General Assembly] commissioners to report to presbytery,” she said. “Engage in small groups about the business they found interesting.”

The Rev. Jihyun Oh

Park said colleagues are “working hard to launch the [denomination’s] new website,” where content will be available in English, Spanish and Korean. “Stay in contact with the latest news,” Park advised. “If you find something interesting to share, please use links to share. The more you share, it reinforces our theology that we are a connectional church.”

“Connecting means constant communication,” Park said. “Use the social media of your choosing. Share decisions made and some resources that are available. A short video reaches people quickly. Use these tools. May your ministry grow!”

“What I appreciate,” Oh told moderators, “is struggling and wrestling to build the body the best we can.”