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God, Church, and the General Assembly – July 2, 2010
The term General Assembly (GA) is very confusing. Beginning today, Presbyterians from all over the US and some Presbyterians from different parts of the world will be gathering in Minneapolis, MN for worship, fellowship, listening to reports, and decision making. I am writing about GA as the term refers to commissioners (clergy and elders) from the 173 presbyteries in the PCUSA who will listen to reports and elect officers from the six agencies that form the General Assembly. The six agencies:

· The Board of Pensions (BOP). This is funded by organizations paying 31.5% of total effective salary for their employees for health insurance and pensions.

· General Assembly Mission Council (GMAC). This is where mission dollars go.

· Office of General Assembly (OGA). This is where per capita goes.

·        Presbyterian Foundation is self funded.
·        Presbyterian Investment and Loan Program (PILP) is self funded.
·        Presbyterian Publishing Corporation (PPC) is self funded.

Adding to the confusion is the agencies have headquarters in Louisville, KY (4), Jeffersonville, IN (1), and in Philadelphia, PA (1). These six agencies work to be God’s ministry advocates for the denomination, assist congregations and officers of the church, and work out God’s mission as Presbyterians understand our call.

Yes, I know that you will be reading mostly about overtures coming from presbyteries over the next week. Often the heaviest responsibilities of the denomination never get any coverage. Two of the elected Presbyterians carrying some of the burden are the Reverend Deborah Block (Milwaukee, Immanuel) who is being nominated to serve as President of the Board of Directors for Presbyterian Publishing and Elder Jan Martin (Mequon, Crossroads) a member of the General Assembly Mission Council. I am thankful for their leadership.

I am off to General Assembly to worship, learn, and play.
Gregg Neel, Executive Presbyter

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