When the decision was made earlier this year to hold a virtual assembly, not only did Ruling Elder Elona Street-Stewart and the Rev. Gregory Bentley, Co-Moderators of the 224th General Assembly (2020), have to forego a trip to Baltimore, but they also missed out on the time-honored tradition of gathering with their predecessors who have also held the denomination’s highest elected office.
Thanks to #GivingTuesday, their wait is over.
Voting “with regret,” the Presbyterian Mission Agency’s Personnel and Nominating Committee reported to the entire board Friday that budget restraints and the “current COVID reality” will mean no pay increases during 2021 for PMA staff.
Staff and board members from the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board, the Committee on the Office of the General Assembly and the A Corporation Board are working to build a Coordinating Table designed to enhance discernment and collaboration among the three agencies and help them put together a unified budget process and document ahead of the 225th General Assembly (2022).
A consultant on diversity, inclusion and antiracism presented a thought-provoking report on power and privilege to the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board Thursday.
Like the Apostle Paul, when the Rev. Kevin Johnson was a child, he thought like a child. But even then he had the good sense to ask his mother and the people at his church plenty of questions — much the same way Muhammad Ali did in a taped interview Johnson played for his colleagues on the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board Thursday.
Ahead of a Thursday afternoon “Power and Privilege” report delivered by consultant Marian Vasser, the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board broke into two virtual groups — board members of color and white board members — to discuss in closed session ways the Board might better serve people of color as it does its work overseeing and supporting the mission agency.
As a part of the opening plenary of the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board (PMAB) meeting on Wednesday, board members participated in a panel discussion on cultural humility moderated by the Rev. Denise Anderson, coordinator for racial and intercultural justice, working in connection with the agency’s Compassion, Peace & Justice and Racial Equity & Women’s Intercultural Ministries.
Some committees of the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board (PMAB) made more news than others during their Wednesday meetings.
Here’s a roundup of some of the actions taken and input received from among the Board’s half-dozen committees.