227th General Assembly of the PC USA

This month, the 227th General Assembly of the PCUSA meets in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Rev. Dr. Kati Collins (FPC-Columbia) and Elder Sami Shirk (FPC-Kirksville) are the two commissioners from Missouri Union Presbytery.

They have already spent hours in training and orientation sessions in preparation for their work at the assembly. They will be attending committee meetings via Zoom from June 22 to June 24 and attending meetings in Milwaukee, June 27 – July 2.

It’s an arduous, but extremely important service to the church. As they prepare and embark on this journey, please keep them and the Assembly in your prayers.

For those of you not familiar with this process, here’s how it works –

1. Our Presbyterian Polity is designed to be governed by representative councils made up of Ruling Elders and Ministers of the Word and Sacrament.

2. The session is the ruling body of a congregation, made up of elders elected by a congregation. It usually meets monthly. Session votes one of its members to attend and vote at Presbytery meetings.

3. The presbytery is the ruling body of a specific geographic area of the country, made up of all Ministers of the Word and elder commissioners elected by each session. It usually meets quarterly. Presbytery votes for four people to represent them at Synod meetings. Presbytery also votes for three people to represent them at General Assembly meetings every two years.

4. The synod is a supporting rather than a ruling body, the purpose of which is to resource a geographic grouping of presbyteries. It is made up of minister and elder commissioners from each presbytery within its bounds. It meets twice a year.

5. The General Assembly is made up of ministers and elder commissioners from every presbytery in the PCUSA, including Puerto Rico. It meets every other year. “We” are GA.