It has been described as one of the major highlights of the 223rd General Assembly (2018) in St. Louis. Hundreds of Presbyterians, including the Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II, General Assembly Stated Clerk; Co- Moderators Vilmarie Cintrón-Olivieri and the Reverend Cindy Kohlmann; and Presbyterian Mission Agency Executive Director the Rev. Diane Moffett walked to the City Justice Center. With more than $47,000 received at the assembly’s opening worship service, Nelson turned the money over to local organizations to begin bailing out individuals who had been prescreened for release because they could not afford their cash bail.
The 223rd General Assembly is just days away from officially opening in St. Louis. Thousands of Presbyterians will spend eight days in meetings, worship, tours and advocacy. The Office of the General Assembly (OGA), along with other agencies and vendors, will be working to reduce the carbon footprint during that time.
The city of St. Louis is the historic centerpiece of a highly accomplished cultural and economic region. At the same time, like most of the United States, it is divided along lines of race and class. How do Presbyterian congregations minister and do mission faithfully in light of these realities? What can our larger church learn from our sisters and brothers in St. Louis?
If the apostle Paul had to cite an example of his words spoken to the Romans — “We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit intercedes for us through wordless groans” — all he would have to do was point to St. Louis on a map.
While trying to predict what shape any Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assembly will take, several issues are shaping up to take center stage June 16-23 when the 223rd General Assembly convenes in St. Louis.
On “Day One” of their “Hands & Feet” mission trip to St. Louis, 13 Presbyterians from southeastern Iowa spent the morning shoveling compost at an urban garden.
The genesis of the Hands & Feet initiative came from Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Stated Clerk, the Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson II, after his experience at the 222nd General Assembly (2016) in Portland. He had never seen so many homeless people in one place.
At its fall meeting, the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board (PMAB) voted to recommend the 223rd General Assembly (2018) approve the Institutional Relationship Agreement between the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and its Historically Presbyterian Racial Ethnic Institutions.
Three years after the fatal shooting of black teenager Michael Brown by a white police officer, churches in the Giddings-Lovejoy Presbytery continue to learn about the complex issues of race and reconciliation, as they work for racial justice in their communities.
