Friday, June 17, 2016

222nd General Assembly: Gathering

Presbyterians Gather:  Our colleagues from all over the country and our partners from all over the world are traveling yesterday and today to Portland, Oregon for the 222nd General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA).  The GA convenes Saturday, June 18, at 2 p.m. EST (11 a.m. PST) for worship.  You can worship with the Assembly from home as it will be live streamed at http://oga.pcusa.org/section/ga/222nd-general-assembly-2016/  Opening worship is a special part of each Assembly as regional Presbyterians come for the day as visitors and all the liturgical stops are pulled for a special worshipful experience.  Join us if you can.

Following GA Business, News:  This link will also lead you to pc-biz where you can follow the business of the Assembly.  You don't have to sign in to use PC-BIZ. Another excellent news source is Presbyterian Outlook https://pres-outlook.org/  Watch for my daily blog, and Facebook posts through which I will share my perceptions, photos, and video clips.

GA Schedule:  The Assembly will open Saturday, June 18, select a moderator (co-moderators this time) Saturday evening;  worship with local congregations on Sunday.  Committees will meet Sunday evening for orientation, group building and after Bible Study/Devotions on Monday morning,  and will meet with overture advocates and listen to those who want to speak to matters before the committee.   The Committees will deliberate through Tuesday and Wednesday morning.  Observers like myself will float from committee to committee, explore the Exhibit Hall booths connecting with representatives of various ministries of the church, join conversations, and dinner banquets with speakers on various topics, award banquets, Seminary gatherings...  Commissions have no time for these, but observers do!  The GA will then meet in plenary Wednesday afternoon through Saturday morning to act on recommendations of the Committees, and adjourn midday Saturday, June 25th.  

The Presbytery of Lake Michigan Delegation:  We elected two ruling elders, two teaching elders and one Young  Adult Advisory Delegate.  They have been preparing all winter for this.  Following are biographies of our delegates.  Please pray for and with them as they gather for this time of service to the church.  Others like them come to be the 222nd General Assembly.  The GA is often thought of as some mysterious, confusing, and often annoying body of the church--"them."  Really it is local folks like you and me, gathering to listen closely to what God is calling the church to be and do in this particular moment in time.   Paul Tomlinson collected the following bios.

Daniel Van Beek is a Ruling Elder from Benton Harbor First. In his 4th year on Session and 3rd as a Trustee, he is also now serving as the Board's President. Daniel is also involved with leading the church's Open Wide Our Front Door capital campaign to expand and enclose the front patio space to better welcome the neighborhood into First Pres and offer more space for youth and fellowship activities. Daniel has also recently joined the Church Growth Committee of Lake Michigan Presbytery. Daniel is originally from Hudsonville (MI) and is a graduate of the University of Michigan, so he bleeds Maize and Blue. He's a writer at heart, and acts as a creative director by day at an ad agency in St. Joseph. 

Daniel met his wife Jen in the late 90s while both were working at Camp Tall Turf, a Christian summer camp near Walkerville/Hesperia that is focused on racial reconciliation. It's been at the core of his family's ministry ever since. Daniel is a father of 3, a baseball coach and league administrator, and even plays vintage baseball by the rules of the mid 1800s in his spare time for the House of David Echoes and Livery Brewers, both of Benton Harbor. Daniel is a relatively "new" Presbyterian, having transferred from the Christian Reformed Church 7 years ago. After serving for years in a multicultural CRC congregation in Chicago, he was delighted to find a similar mission-focused PC(USA) home at Benton Harbor First. Daniel is most looking forward to seeing God at work in all of his people at GA—the strains of change, the exhales of relief, the struggles of compromise, the joys of letting Our God honor us as we are used as tools of the Spirit's mission here on earth.  Daniel will serve on the Way Forward Committee, which will look at how the PC(USA) is organized and consider new ways...

Eileen Best is a Ruling Elder at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Portage, where she leads the Congregational Life Team and the Green Team. She is married to John Best, the General Presbyter of the presbytery and they have three young adult children. As a lifelong Presbyterian, she has served the church her for her entire career, which began as a mission co-worker in Brazil with John. Eileen is a church educator and graduate of the Presbyterian School of Christian Education in Richmond, VA. She is active in the Association of Presbyterian Church Educators, serving as historian. She has three part time jobs. At Westminster, she is the Connections Coordinator, a broad educator position with the task of keeping the church family connected to each other and the community. At the presbytery, she is the Resource Center director. She also staffs the Discipleship Ministry Team and provides leadership the Educator Fellowship group. At the Synod of the Covenant, she coordinates the Mission to the USA program, which brings church leaders from around the world to spend time with churches in the synod. At the upcoming General Assembly meeting in June, she will be the moderator of the Mission Coordination Committee. This completes her active involvement in every level of the church--congregation, presbytery, synod, and General Assembly. At the General Assembly she is excited about being a part of God's Spirit working through the church.

Paul Tomlinson, a Teaching Elder, is the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Cadillac.  He has been there since 2002.  The first 14 months he served as the Director of Christian Education and then became the pastor of the church in the fall of 2003.  Paul was ordained into the ministry in the PCUSA in June of 1982.  He is currently serving his fifth year on the Committee on Ministry.  Paul met his late wife, Nancy Tomlinson, while attending the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary where he received his Master of Divinity degree.  He has three grown children and 5 grandchildren. 

Paul loves watching sports.  He attends many high school sporting activities and watches college and professional sports on TV.  He plays on (although a little less lately) and coaches the church slow pitch softball team.  Two years ago he took up bicycling and spends many hours during the warmer weather bicycling around Lake Cadillac and Lake Mitchell and on the White Pine Trail.  In his ministry he loves preaching, providing pastoral care and enjoys singing solos and in the church choir.  He is looking forward to worshipping with fellow Presbyterians from around the country and being a part of the work of our General Assembly.  Paul will be serving on the Peacemaking and International Issues Committee of the General Assembly.

Ann Conklin, the Teaching Elder at Eastminster Presbyterian Church in Grand Rapids, is in her seventh year of serving God alongside this faithful congregation. Ann attended Western Theological Seminary in Holland, MI, and was ordained as a Teaching Elder in the PC(USA) in May of 2010. While in seminary, Ann served as the Minister for Membership Development at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Grand Rapids which she considers to be her "home church" as it was where she was baptized and confirmed her faith and baptismal vows. At Westminster, Ann also served two terms as an Elder, served on the Camp Henry board, and moderated Presbyterian Women of Westminster. Prior to her call to seminary, Ann had a 15+ year career as a physical therapist, having received a MS in PT from Duke University and a BS in Biology from the University of Michigan.

Ann is married to Peter and this summer they will celebrate their 29th wedding anniversary. They have a daughter, Lily, who is finishing her sophomore year at Valparaiso University and a son, Lewis, who is finishing his junior year in high school. Their golden retriever, Bailey, completes their family. Ann enjoys running, biking, kayaking, traveling, and reading. She is looking forward to witnessing God's Spirit at work in Portland and feels blessed to have been called to be a part of this work. She will serve on the Social Justice Issues committee, an assignment for which she is grateful as working for social justice has always been a driving force in her life.

Gigi Goshorn is a senior enrolled at Niles High School and the Berrien County Math and Science Center. She lives in Niles, Michigan and is a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Niles. Gigi lives with her mom, her younger sister, and her one dog and one cat. She is involved in her school band and was drum major this past year. She has played the piano since third grade and the alto saxophone since sixth grade. This fall she plans on attending college for business and is currently deciding between two different schools. 

Gigi is the only youth elder at her church and was recently installed and ordained in January 2016. She will serve on the Theological Issues, Institutions, and Worship committee and is looking forward to learning more about the issues and perspectives impacting the Presbyterian community.

Others:  Fran Lane-Lawrence (Stated Clerk and Niles First), Ainsley Herrick (candidate/Jackson First) and Ashley Bair (inquirer/Holt First), Janice Jasperse (Lake City First), Bill and Pat Fuerstenau (Honorably Retired) and myself are here as observers, volunteers, and support.  If you know of others, let me know.  We will be gathering for a dinner together on Tuesday.

In Christ's Service,
John


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