There are about 650 voting commissioners at the GA. Well, 650 commissioners at least. The voting part could be debated. But we'll get to that in a minute.
The highlights for today begin with worship. It started with bagpipes, liturgical dance, and singing. We reaffirmed our baptism during the prayer of confession around the baptismal font (oh yes, that liturgy will show up at Alex's baptism on July 6). The sermon was on one of my favorite texts: the Road to Emmaus. We then celebrated communion together with pottery made especially for this assembly (and yes you can bet I bought one of these fabulous communion sets). We closed with more singing. It's amazing to be a part of 1,000 Presbyterians all worshipping together. I'm also excited to share that communion will be served each day that plenary meets. No matter our viewpoints we will all gather together at the table. I love that worship will daily bring us together to remind us what we have in common in an atmosphere that often reminds us what our differences are.
The second highlight was a video that blew me away, well if you are a diehard presbyterian that is. You gotta see this! http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=M0iYniL2WKg It is HILARIOUS!! It was a great way to laugh at ourselves with the most influential leaders of our denomination. This video showed we can have fun even as we do the ministry of the church. Plus, I just love Les Miserables!
A third highlight was actually a lowlight. Despite our efforts to enter the 21st century, the online voting system was a complete catastrophe. After it became clear this system was not working, we went to plan B as clickers (like remote controls) were handed out. We then spent even more time practicing our voting procedures. After OVER AN HOUR we finally decided to move on, even considering Plan C, using paper votes for the 650 commissioners. So much for technology! One of the more frustrating moments of the first day of GA, for sure.
Finally, our most important task for the day was to choose a new moderator for not only the General Assembly, but for the next two years until the next assembly meets. The moderator is the face of the PC(USA), the spokeperson for our denomination. There were three candidates: John Wilkinson, a pastor in New York; Heath Rada, an elder who is the former President of Presbyterian School of Christian Education; and Kelly Allen, a pastor in Texas. There was about an hour of debate before the first vote was cast. And yes...we used good ole paper ballots. Because a candidate needs 51% of the vote it was very likely that we would have to vote two times. But Heath Rada received over 50% of the vote on the first ballot.
I voted for Heath also. He brings a sensitivity to diversity that I appreciate. He intentionally chose a young, female, Chinese American pastor as his running mate because he knew his face needed a different partner to complete the image of the church. He is very inclusive of all people and will make all feel welcome in the PC(USA). He describes himself as a bridge builder, a needed gift in our denomination in these times. A picture of what he believes is below as well as him being installed as the new moderator. That's him secon from the right and Larissa is on the left holding her young child.
It was a long but fulfilling day at the General Assembly. The Spirit was present in a number of ways (except in the technology). May the Spirit continue to move among us and within us in the days to come.
No comments:
Post a Comment