Sunday, 6-18-06

This is my first GA and it has been so much more than I anticipated. It has been overwhelming, humbling, affirming, and exhausting. Today is the first day we have had much of a break. While I anticipated we would be very busy, I did not anticipate 16-18 hour days. I will try to post daily after this, but I cannot make any promises as this is the first chance I have had to really sit down and type anything out.

I arrived on Wednesday. I got to the hotel at 4:30, got checked in and ran to a four hour TSAD orientation at 5:00. The orientation basically told us what to expect procedurally at GA. We had dinner during that meeting and it went until 9:00. I went back to the room, ironed my shirt, called home and was in bed by 10:00.

Thursday morning, I got up at 6:00 and caught the shuttle to the convention center to register at 7:00. The rest of the morning was sent exploring the convention center, going to sessions showing us how to use LES, the computer program that GA is using, and getting to know the four candidates for moderator. Then we had a break for lunch. After lunch, we officially convened to open the General Assembly. There we some small setbacks with LES, as there would continue to be over the next few days as they continued to work the bugs out. I say this with optimism that it is working now. We then split into three groups to rotate through three different orientation presentations. We then broke for dinner. I had dinner with several TSADs from various schools, and that was interesting to talk to people about their various seminary experiences and see how the schools are different. After dinner, we reconvened and started on the business of electing a moderator. We had four nominees. After almost an hour of speeches, they took questions for an hour. It was then time to vote. First the Advisory Delegates (Youth Advisory Delegates or YADS, Theological Student Advisory Delegates, or TSAD, Ecumenical advisory Delegates, and Mission Advisory Delegates) vote. Our vote does not count, but serves to advise the commissioners. The commissioners then vote. Since there were four nominees, this process was to be repeated until one nominee has a majority vote. I knew we were in trouble when the first vote was split almost perfectly among all four nominees. However, it only took two more votes before Joan Gray was elected. We then installed her as moderator, bestowed gifts upon the outgoing moderator, and had announcements. It was almost 11:30 before we stopped for the night.

Friday morning we started at 7:00 with the delegates breakfast and morning prayer. We then started our committee meetings at 9:00. I am serving on Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations. We started with some activities designed to help us get to know each other and build camaraderie among the committee because we would be working so closely for the next few days. This actually led to one of the most affirming moments of the Assembly for me personally. As somebody working towards parish ministry, I have always held in tension the elevated views I have of pastors and the idea that one day I would be a pastor. I have always felt that pastors were better than me (and most of them probably are). However, I found myself in a small group of 8, six pastors, an elder, and myself. For some reason they all turned to me for leadership. I felt like an equal with them and for the first time, I felt that I can actually be a pastor. Throughout the day we affirmed several overtures address issues such as who to invite as EADs to the next General Assembly, reaffirming the relationship between the PCUSA and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, and defining the difference between a union church and a federated church. I went to a luncheon hosted by the Covenant Network and dinner with several people from our Presbytery during the meal breaks. We finally ended the day's business at 10:30. I then caught a shuttle back to the hotel and went right to bed.

Saturday started off a little less hectic. I didn't have to be anywhere until committee meetings started at 9:00. I got to sleep in until 7:30. Our committee passed resolutions designed on helping to build relationships with the Presbyterian Churches of Ghana, Columbia, and Cuba. We also heard from leaders from the World Council of Churches, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church of America, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and the National Council of Churches. It was very interesting and really gave a sense of the Church worldwide as the Body of Christ. After lunch we returned for our hot button resolution, 07-01. This issue sought to affirm that a) Jews, Christians, and Muslims come from a common Abrahamic and should use this to build interfaith relations, b) Jews, Christians, and Muslims worship the same God, and c) the General Assembly should promote the common efforts of Christians, Muslims, and Jews to work together for peace, justice, and righteousness. Sections a and b were quickly struck from the resolution. As we debated some of the verbiage in section c, the YADs on our committee proposed a way to word it that highlights the common Abrahamic background of the three faiths and suggests that as a basis of building relationships between the faiths. Although, it was disapproved, the motion really sought to capture the intention of the original overture. I, with some other commissioners who supported it, helped them to file a minority report on it. This ended our committee business. Several committee went until midnight and some are meeting again today. To see any of the resolutions and what the committee recommended on them, you can see them on LES at http://72.54.6.218/ it is on the internet and open to anybody. You can see the overtures that all committees looked at, as well as their recommendations. After my committee adjourned, all the people from East Tennessee went to dinner. It was great to get together, touch base, and see what was going on in the various areas of the Assembly in which everybody is involved. Then I went home for a quick nap before heading to the Witherspoon Ball, a social function that is held at every GA.

Today has been a bit of a Sabbath. I went to lunch with several TSADS, called home, caught up on some correspondence, and wrote this book that you are currently reading. I am about to go to the Moderator's Reception before going to a joint worship and communion service held with both the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and the Cumberland Presbyterian Church of America. After that will be dinner, and open house held by the Covenant Network, and then bed. Tomorrow will be a long day with Plenary starting again.

If you have any questions, feel free to post them or email me at cdeacon@lpts.edu and I will do my best to respond.

Faithfully,

Chris Deacon
Graystone Presbyterian Church
TSAD, Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary