On Saturday, the Moderators’ Conference closed just as it had opened on Friday — with worship led by the Co-Moderators of the 226th General Assembly, the Rev. CeCe Armstrong and the Rev. Tony Larson, with Armstrong offering up a sermon she titled, “Who Needs Jesus?”
Among the skills most highly valued by newly elected moderators and vice-moderators is the ability to run purposeful meetings.
New mid council moderators and vice-moderators were given a 12-item to-do list as part of a workshop during the Moderators’ Conference last week, along with guidance provided by April Davenport, the PC(USA)’s General Counsel.
“We collect experiences, and we want to know good news and challenges you are dealing with,” said the Rev. Tony Larson, who along with the Rev. CeCe Armstrong is Co-Moderator of the 226th General Assembly (2024). Larson was speaking to a room full of teaching elders during a Saturday workshop at the Moderators’ Conference, held last week at the Presbyterian Center in Louisville, Kentucky, and attended in person and online by about 130 moderators of mid councils in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
If there’s one thing that convinces the Rev. Jihyun Oh that she ought to say yes to a call, it’s “when a call scares me a little, a call I cannot do without God’s help.”
Presbytery and synod moderators and moderators-elect from around the country are at the Presbyterian Center in Louisville, Kentucky and online Friday and Saturday for the annual Moderators’ Conference, which commenced with thoughtful and winsome worship led by the co-moderators of the 226th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the Rev. Tony Larson and the Rev. CeCe Armstrong.
During the Moderators' Conference on Friday, the Rev. Jihyun Oh, Director of Mid Council Ministries in the Office of the General Assembly, led the workshop “Considering Equity While Moderating and Leading.”
Equity has been a focus of Oh’s long before this summer’s 225th General Assembly, when she collaborated with other OGA staff, members of the Committee on the Office of the General Assembly and Assembly planners to encourage more voices and disrupt bias during the denomination’s biennial gathering.
There is more to being a moderator in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) than simply running a meeting. The second day of the annual Moderators’ Conference took up that topic on Friday.
More than 140 people are taking part in the conference this weekend. Many will be assuming roles as moderator or vice moderator for the first time in their presbyteries. Leaders in the Office of the General Assembly’s Mid Council Ministries led discussion around the roles and responsibilities of moderator and how to navigate meetings dealing with highly charged issues.
The story is a familiar one in the Bible. The Gospel of Luke tells of two men on the road to Emmaus following the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. As they discuss the events that occurred, Jesus joins them for the walk, but they did not recognize him.
The Reverend Cindy Kohlmann, Co-Moderator of the 223rd General Assembly (2018) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) preached from Luke during the closing worship of the Moderators’ Conference in Louisville last weekend. She told how Jesus interacted with them about the crucifixion and how Jesus later revealed himself before vanishing from sight.
The 120 or so moderators and moderators-elect who gathered last week for training, support and networking at the Moderators’ Conference heard worship ideas and rationales Saturday from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s associate for worship in the Office of Theology and Worship, the Rev. Dr. David Gambrell.