In Review: PC(USA) 226th General Assembly
Last week, our presbytery sent representatives to participate in the General Assembly in Salt Lake City. We offer prayers of thanksgiving for the leadership, time, and devotion given by Adrian McMullen, Christine Kaplunas, Annika Lister Stroope, and Ian McMullen as they worked to guide the future of our denomination. Here are some of the key takeaways from their time together.
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Rev. Jihyun Oh, director of Mid Council Ministries in the Office of the General Assembly, was elected and installed as the next Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). The Rev. CeCe Armstrong and the Rev. Tony Larson are selected as Co-Moderators of the 226th General Assembly.
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Both portions of the ‘Olympia Overture’ were approved. POL-01, which had been divided into two parts, will amend the Book of Order to include sexual orientation and gender identity among the categories against which this Church does not discriminate. The item will be sent to presbyteries for ratification.
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Commissioners agreed to per capita levels for 2025 and 2026 and approved the unifying budgets for both years. They approved FIN-14, setting per capita rates of $10.84 for 2025 and $11.26 for 2026. Those figures include 64 cents during each of those years for items with financial implications approved by the Assembly. By approving 14 items of business with financial implications for 2025 and 10 items for 2026, commissioners added about $625,000 to the 2025 budget and about $607,000 to the 2026 budget.
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The passage of RSG-05, a resolution addressing diversity, equity, inclusion and the realities of Hispanic Latino-a-é ministry was cause for major celebration by the Racial Equity Advocacy Committee.
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After tough and lengthy discussion on the topic of fossil fuel investments, GA commissioners voted to disapprove ENV-02, and to instead go with an amended version of ENV-06. Among other things, this version directs the Presbyterian Mission Agency’s Committee on Mission Responsibility Through Investment (MRTI) to immediately identify the top 10 fossil fuel companies that derive most of their profits from the exploration, development and production of fossil fuels and immediately divest from those companies.
