The Committee on the Office of the General Assembly holds its final in-person meeting

As it faces being sunset on Dec. 31, COGA celebrates what it’s accomplished and takes stock of what remains to be done

by Mike Ferguson | Presbyterian News Service

The Rev. Dr. Dave Davis, moderator of the Committee on the Office of the General Assembly, speaks during closing worship at a stone amphitheater on the shore of Lake Tahoe. (Photo by the Rev. Joe Chu)

LOUISVILLE — While Presbyterian News Service was not present for the three days of Committee on the Office of the General Assembly meetings that concluded on Thursday, the news service did have the next best thing at its disposal: a question-and-answer session via email with Kate Trigger Duffert, Director of General Assembly Planning, one of the OGA staff and others present for COGA’s last in-person meeting ever at Zephyr Point Presbyterian Camp and Conference Center in Zephyr Cove, Nevada.

Together with the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board, COGA has been sunsetted by the Unification Commission effective Dec. 31. Beginning on Jan. 1, 2025, the Unification Commission will be taking on the work of both governing bodies.

COGA Moderator the Rev. Dr. Dave Davis, who’s also a member of the Unification Commission, offered a reflection during closing worship on Thursday, which was held in a stone amphitheater on the shore of Lake Tahoe. Davis talked about the distance from Jerusalem to Galilee being far enough that the disciples would not have seen Jesus until the Wednesday following his resurrection the previous Sunday. “We live in a time of having to wait until Wednesday to see Jesus,” Davis offered, as reported by Trigger Duffert, “but the promise of seeing Jesus remains true each and every day.” COGA’s vice-moderator, the Rev. Dr. Cheni Khonje, offered a prayer for a pair of COGA staff members, the Rev. Tricia Dykers Koenig and the Rev. Dr. Tim Cargal, who have both announced their upcoming retirements. The Rev. Jihyun Oh, the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), said in her benediction that worshipers should be both comforted and agitated by God’s presence as they move forward from this place into new things.

COGA members and others gather for a photo at Zephyr Point Presbyterian Camp and Conference Center in Zephyr Cove, Nevada. (Photo by the Rev. Joe Chu)

“The spirit was one of gratitude for the community and its work, deep appreciation for the personal relationships that have grown, and hope for the ways in which the Church may live into being a new thing for a new time and new context,” Trigger Duffert said.

Tuesday

The Rev. Tony Larson, Co-Moderator of the 226^th General Assembly, said he and fellow Co-Moderator the Rev. CeCe Armstrong have begun to travel extensively, visiting people across the denomination and participating in conferences, ordinations and installations. Oh shared her goal of attending a governance meeting for every agency of the church during her first year in the PC(USA)’s highest ecclesial office. “She also shared her desire to connect with presbyteries that do not regularly see staff and elected members from the national level,” Trigger Duffert said. Oh is also attending ecumenical gatherings, including one in the Caribbean in which she’ll be able to gather with other heads of communion.

After lunch, Trigger Duffert presented results from an extensive survey completed by Research Services following the most recent Assembly, which can be seen here. Trigger Duffert said that using the data, conversations held in plenary and the insights of COGA members, “we reflected on three planning priorities to help guide the process: Improving the appointment process and training programs for committee leaders, creating space for community gatherings, and refining the role of Equity Support Managers” and the use of Equity Primes.

Deputy Stated Clerk Kerry Rice led a reflection on the various formats of recent Assemblies: the traditional model for GA223 in St. Louis, the fully online plenary-only GA224 in 2020, the in-person committee and online plenary model for GA225 in Louisville, and the online committee and in-person Assembly in Salt Lake City this summer. “They recalled the priorities and influences that had led to decisions around format in the past,” Trigger Duffert said, “and explored what of those conversations may continue to hold true as they begin thinking about a recommendation for the format of the 228^th General Assembly (2028) and beyond.”

Wednesday

COGA “engaged in deeply intentional conversation about how to refine the format of online committees and in-person plenaries” for the 227^th General Assembly to be held online and in person in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 2026. “Throughout the conversations, it was clear that COGA continues to hold in balance the need for fiscal/environmental stewardship, the changing context of denominational service, and ensuring that plans prompt equity and inclusion of those whose voices have long been kept out of assembly proceedings,” Trigger Duffert said. The committee “was deeply engaged in reviewing the calls for community gathering spaces that emerged during the 226^th General Assembly and has begun working with staff on ideas for how to create added space for participants to gather with one another as well as connect with the larger church.” Those plans “will continue to be shaped into October with the hope that any large improvements to the format for GA227 are in place before the sunsetting of COGA.”

Those attending COGA’s final in-person meeting this week took a moment for a group shot. (Photo by the Rev. Joe Chu)

Prior to sunsetting, COGA also plans to have a proposal regarding a format for the 228^th General Assembly, Trigger Duffert said. That proposal would then be submitted to the 227^th General Assembly by the interim governance established within the Unification Commission. “Once a formal recommendation has come from COGA to the UC, staff will begin working alongside the interim governance to discern a location to live into said format,” she said. “Location [of GA228] will then be a part of the recommendation to GA in 2026.”

Thursday

Following closing worship, COGA members traveled to the Reno airport to catch their flights home.

“I would say the big takeaway is COGA has a clear focus on what they have been tasked to do before sunsetting, including any improvements to GA227 and the recommendation of format for GA228. The work is continuing to be done with intention and care,” Trigger Duffert said. During the meetings this week, there was “significant space for the committee to reflect on the ways in which not being able to continue to see the work through in the exact same way causes grief.” Yet, she said, the spirit that was continually expressed was one of gratitude and hope.