As the power of relationships is celebrated, outgoing president and executive director praises board members as her ‘true siblings’
by Emily Enders Odom | Presbyterian News Service
Meeting for the last time on Wednesday, the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board honored and thanked the outgoing president and executive director of the PMA, the Rev. Dr. Diane Givens Moffett. (Screenshot)
LOUISVILLE — Tributes poured out, tears flowed freely and song filled the virtual and physical space as the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board (PMAB) convened in hybrid fashion on Wednesday for the second and final day of its last meeting.
By action of the Unification Commission, both the PMAB and the Committee on the Office of the General Assembly, will sunset effective Dec. 31, after which the commission will take on the work of the interim unified agency.
And although accolades were distributed liberally to elected leaders and staff alike, most of the afternoon was dedicated to honoring, celebrating and thanking the PMA’s outgoing president and executive director, the Rev. Dr. Diane Givens Moffett, for her faithful ministry.
Moffett, whose leadership was characterized by chapel attendees earlier that day with such attributes as visionary, prophetic and justice-seeking, has served in this role for the PMA since 2018.
Since most of the board’s business was conducted during its Tuesday session, only a few action items remained.
After the Rev. Dr. Dee Cooper, lead presbyter for Denver Presbytery — who serves on both the PMAB and the Unification Commission — led opening devotions and gave a brief update on the commission’s work, the board met in closed session to discuss personnel matters.
No action was taken in the closed session.
In the report of the Coordinating Team which followed, the board heard and approved a report from its Vision Implementation Team (VIT).
Team chair Robin Pugh said in presenting the VIT’s recommendation that the main conversation during their Oct. 4 meeting was around the “essential work we’ve been a part of that we hope to see carried forward into whatever new structures emerge.”
In additional business, the Coordinating Team recommended — and the board approved — changes to Section IV.A.4.c.(2.) of the Manual of Operations.
As the board then moved into a generous time for both its members and PMA staff to reflect on a significant moment from their service on the PMAB, multiple speakers highlighted the power of the relationships they formed and shared.
The Rev. Jeromey Howard
“What I appreciate most with the work that I do with this group has to do with the times we can connect as real people and talk about our lives outside of this church,” said the Rev. Jeromey Howard, PMAB member and general presbyter for the Presbytery of Wyoming, “like an opportunity I had to sit with Diane in a couple of rocking chairs up in New York with a cup of coffee.”
Members also spoke of personal transformation through their board service.
“I didn’t realize how much my call would be challenged, solidified and strengthened,” Cooper said. “I had my socks blown off at every meeting.”
Still many others recalled the January Matthew 25 Summit hosted by New Life Presbyterian Church in South Fulton, Georgia, the impact of the Center for the Repair of Historic Harms and the powerful August board retreat in Flandreau, South Dakota.
Madison McKinney (Photo by Rich Copley)
“For me what stands out is our time together in South Dakota,” said PMAB member Madison McKinney, a Sisseton Wahpeton Dakota Oyate tribal member who is descended from the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. “To have the PMAB return to the Dakota homeland for our final retreat was just an honor and a pleasure. For the first time, I got to experience a Presbyterian meeting without the agendas and the clocks and the to-dos. So much good work came out of that. So many seeds were planted, and they are already growing. It just gives me so much hope.”
Moffett, whose leadership was characterized by chapel attendees earlier that day with such attributes as visionary, prophetic and justice-seeking, has served in this role for the PMA since 2018.
As eyes were dabbed and hugs were shared by those who were gathered in person at the Presbyterian Center in Louisville, Moffett gratefully received several gifts in recognition of her faithful service and her impact on a grateful denomination.
“Diane, you’ve been my role model, an example of what I need to do as a leader,” said PMAB co-chair the Rev. Michelle Hwang as the gifts were being presented. “You’ve shown me the way as a woman — as a woman of color — that it’s possible to lead in a diverse group, even among those who are naysayers.”
Board members presented Moffett with a stole and a wall hanging. (Screenshot)
The Rev. Elizabeth Meador, PMAB member and pastor of Blue Ridge Presbyterian Church, Raytown, Missouri, explained the significance of the quilted wall hanging and matching stole that the board was presenting to Moffett.
Designed by Grace Cox-Johnson, music director at the church and a fiber artist whose company, Color for the Journey, specializes in art for worship settings, both pieces were crafted from bits of fabric that board members had sent to Meador.
“This is a creation of our time together as Diane continues the holy work she is called to do,” Meador said.
Moffett also received a beautiful crystal bowl etched with the words, “In appreciation for your faithful and inspirational leadership, 2018-2024.”
The Rev. Dr. Diane Givens Moffett
In response, Moffett expressed her own thanks to the board’s leadership and members in the room, on screen or unable to be present, calling them her “true siblings.”
“You have been so powerful in all of this,” she said. “This could not have happened but for your spirit … As leaders, we can only go as far as the people who are surrounding us.”
And, giving praise and thanks to God, she continued, “You have done an exceptional thing, and it has allowed me to be who I am. God is shaping something new, and we’ve got to get ready for it. And if some new people need to come, let it happen. I give God the glory for you all and for what we have done. I pray that it will go forward and be even greater in the future.”
As the meeting came to a close with worship, Hwang began her homily by observing that when Moffett’s tenure began, “I knew things were going to be different.”
“I knew we were going to have a different kind of leader,” she said. “[Diane’s] energy and enthusiasm were palpable. She was going to call you to change — we had to change — and Diane gave us the permission and the space to do so.”
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