Over nearly a year, the United Korean Presbyterian Church in Bethesda, Maryland, undertook what the Rev. Josh Park calls “a significant project” to amend its bylaws to align more closely with the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
Three governing bodies of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) made history meeting jointly online and at the Salt Palace Convention Center on Tuesday, unanimously approving a proposed unified budget for the Presbyterian Mission Agency, the Office of the General Assembly and the Administrative Services Group.
The above words came from a Syrian woman displaced from her homeland and forced to flee to Italy, but they’re words that could be voiced by thousands who face a similar migration journey to often-unwelcoming countries; a journey that frequently leads refugees to be terrified, broken, and fragile at their destination.
Several Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) mission co-workers and other employees are moderating workshops and leading discussion groups at the People on the Move partner conference which convened Sunday in Rome, Italy.
On Saturday the Unification Commission took its first major step toward unifying the Office of the General Assembly and the Presbyterian Mission Agency, combining communications ministries in the two entities as well as the Administrative Services Group. Their senior leadership has until the commission’s next meeting Nov. 12 to determine who will run the combined efforts and to whom that leader will report.
The Unification Commission had two main items for discussion during its Sunday meeting: what commissioners have learned after 17 consultations with various groups, boards and committees; and preliminary talks about what needs to happen ahead of the unification of the Office of the General Assembly and the Presbyterian Mission Agency on July 1, 2025.
Dividing its time almost evenly between closed and open sessions on Sunday, the Unification Commission — which is working to unify the Office of the General Assembly and the Presbyterian Mission Agency — voted to approve a timeline to complete its work by the 227th General Assembly in 2026.
On Saturday the Unification Commission, which is working to unify the Office of the General Assembly and the Presbyterian Mission Agency, unanimously approved a 2025-26 Unified Budget Process that features the development of key unified priorities to help lead development, beginning in 2025, of a unified budget among the PMA, OGA and the Administrative Services Group.
Following an 8 p.m. dismissal on Thursday evening — which was the first day of what will be a three-day meeting of the Unification Commission at the Presbyterian Center — commissioners reconvened on Friday in closed session to continue their discussion around personnel and budget matters, on which no action was taken Friday morning.
