COGA/GAMC meetings in Louisville

 Last week I returned home from Louisville attending the Committee on the Office of the General Assembly (COGA) meeting last week. For those who are not familiar with their work they are responsible for the ecclesiastical arm of the church that gives support to the governance and structure of the denomination. Moderator Bruce Reyes-Chow was also there and while I left mid-week, he stayed on for the General Assembly Mission Council (GAMC) meeting that lasted until last Friday.

The past two years I have really gotten to know the scope and breadth of the work of OGA. This time of year they are busy making preparations for the 219th General Assembly in Minneapolis July 3 - 10. If you have not seen the GA website you can check it out here. The Minneapolis Convention Center is a very nice place and I think you will be pleasantly surprised at their facilities! 

Other actions of interest:

*The Docket for the 219th (2010) was approved

*The 222nd (2016) General Assembly will be in Portland, OR

*Bruce and I gave our last reports as Moderator and Vice-Moderator

*To date 56 overtures have been received in the Office of the Stated Clerk. Of these 56, 10 deal with G-6.0106 citations and 5 deal with the definition of marriage.

*We had a conversation with representatives from the Association of Presbyterian Executives (AEPS) on how they are dealing with upcoming issues and will be praying for the Assembly as well.

On Tuesday evening we had a joint session with the GAMC Executive Committee and Wednesday morning with the full GAMC as we had a joint plenary session focusing on Future Leadership needs of the church. Each of the presenters did a very good job laying out the current church and societal landscape. We heard reports on Phyllis Tickle's The Great Emergence and a report on the study of Commissioned Lay Pastors (CLP). Overall everything turned out well and I will definitely miss being around the COGA table in the future.

Tomorrow I leave for Atlanta for a few days. I will go to my alma mater, Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary to participate in our annual Founders' Day Celebration where I will be recognized as the first Vice-Moderator from the school and participate in a panel discussion on African-American Presbyterian Church leadership. I have to admit that I have not been back on campus since I graduated 15 years ago and I'm looking forward to seeing my friends and classmates once again!