Presbytery meeting

I have spoken briefly to a Cincinnati Presbytery meeting for work, but I went to my first ever presbytery meeting as an "elder commissioner," which my manager let me off from work. All meetings of national and regional Presbyterian bodies are supposed to feature an equal number of Presbyterian ordained ministers and ordained non-ministers, and I was the elder (from our church) serving as a commissioner at this meeting. I tried to get there for lunch, but stayed late at work. During breaks at the meeting I was also negotiating with a sign company to make us promotional signs for our youth fund-raising plant/art sale/tea this coming Saturday. Our friend Sarah (see earlier blog), Pastor Jane, several other people from our church (pastoral associates Mary and Rick, plus Martha (see earlier blog entries), a number of different people from work, and other people from around the presbytery whom I've met (plus a few former work clients from around the presbytery). The former Louisville presbytery is now the mid-Kentucky presbytery, with an office a few blocks away from our office.

The Fourth Presbyterian Church sanctuary was initially packed but it thinned out heavily by the end (3 1/2 hours later). Two women who preached - Judy Hockenberry, a person from work whose husband is the presbytery Stated Clerk - and presbytery executive Betty Meadows - were good, and a high point was the introduction of new ministers, including a new "stated supply pastor" at a church in Lebanon, Kentucky, who talked about how in 2007 he was driving a garbage truck for Rumpke, until he got fired for backing into things three different times. (I also - surprise - got to speak, when I read the names of two Crescent Hill elders - recently deceased - who I'd never heard of. And I was there to support one of five people who will represent our presbytery at the General Assembly meeting (which I'll apparently be at two, the youth advisory delegate - Clara - who's from our church).) Two bits of controversy: There was a very close vote on an effort to join a General Assembly resolution proposed by the San Joaquim presbytery that recognized the denomination's numerical decline and called for a series of solemn assemblies across the country, which the presbytery council opposed as vague and redundant (and probably to critical of the denomination). I thought the "yes" and "no" votes were pretty even, but, with the resolution subtlely critical of the national denomiantion which I work for, but sponsored in part by the session at Sarah's church - I abstained. Afterwards, I also asked and found out that the church that started the Presbyterian Community Center (see an earlier blog), a historically black church in the Smoketown neighborhood, near where I used to live (whose elder commissioner I had just spoken to) - its pastor is being brought up on charges of financial improprieties. On the whole, there was a lot of energy at the meeting at the beginning, but then worship was not short and the meeting was a little heavy on bureaucracy. But it was still interesting to watch (Martha and Pastor Jane, with whom I sat, both had to take off after less than 45 minutes). I can see, since many ministers are there every quarter, but many elders rotate in and out as commissioners, ministers may have a proponderant voice (because they know more and know more people). A year or so ago our church hosted the meeting.