Established by the then-Moving Forward Implementation Commission (now a committee) to ensure that the work of three organizations — the Office of the General Assembly, the Presbyterian Mission Agency and the Administrative Services Group — is coordinated, the Coordinating Table has been working in recent months to define its work and to find its voice.
As the Church continues to adjust to the ever-changing habits and practices of pandemic life — online and hybrid worship, virtual offering plates, Zoom and “drive-by” fellowship — one thing has remained constant.
Presbyterian generosity.
In its final action of 2021, the Presbyterian Mission Agency on Thursday passed what it called enabling motions that will result in some if not most of the ideas generated in a consultant’s report, “Reflecting, Reimagining and Making Space for Rebuilding,” being worked into the PMA’s Mission Work Plan that must be approved by the 225th General Assembly in 2022.
On Thursday the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) offered up his thoughts on the proposed renovation of the Presbyterian Center in downtown Louisville, a renovation that the Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II also hopes will include the transformation of hearts and minds of employees inside the building and of Presbyterians working at carrying out Christ’s mission across the nation and around the world.
The Board of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), A Corporation heard two main presentations on Wednesday: a vision for what future editions of the General Assembly could look like, and how the Presbyterian Center in downtown Louisville can be modified to accommodate that vision and much more — with an estimated $2.4 million price tag.
After skipping a meeting in April, the Coordinating Table came together with a purpose Thursday, agreeing by consensus to a plan for staff to begin identifying the restrictions on some of the 2,000 restricted funds set up as bequests over many decades and continuing the discussions required for presenting a unified budget, perhaps as soon as the 226th General Assembly in 2024.
The Moving Forward Implementation Special Committee continues to discuss ways to help three of the denomination’s entities — the Office of the General Assembly, the Presbyterian Mission Agency and the A Corporation/Administrative Services Group — develop a unified budget to present to the 225th General Assembly next year.
A request for mutual aid by Shinnecock Nation tribal leaders via the Racial Equity Advocacy Committee and the Native American Consulting Committee fell on welcoming ears Friday among members of the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board.
Looking ahead to the April 22-23 meeting of the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board, the board’s Coordinating Committee on Friday also looked back to last month’s deadly violence against members of the Asian American Pacific Islander community in and around Atlanta.
Members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), A Corporation Board had a spirited discussion Friday about plans to reconfigure and remodel the Presbyterian Center in Louisville, Kentucky, ahead of hosting the 225th General Assembly in 2022 — and perhaps assemblies beyond that one as well.
