Your Role and Responsibility

The first four chapters of the Form of Government outline the principles of representative government in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), including "Presbyters are not simply to reflect the will of the people, but rather to seek together to find and represent the will of Christ." (G-4.0301d)

Assembly commissioners are free to deliberate together, seek Christ's will, and by majority vote reach decisions on the business before them. Commissioners are not the representatives of the people that elected them, but instead they represent the " . . . unity of the synods, presbyteries, sessions, and congregations of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)." (G-13.0101)

Commissioners may not be instructed on how to vote nor on what positions to support.

The Assembly Schedule

The assembly convenes at 1:00pm on Saturday, June 26, and will adjourn before noon on Saturday, July 3. You are expected to attend all sessions.

If you are traveling by air, select flights that arrive in Richmond before noon on June 26, and depart after 1:00 pm on July 3, to allow for travel to the airport.

The schedule in the registration page includes the official meetings and many other activities. You will see that commissioners and advisory delegates have little free time. Many of the mission tours and other activities coincide with assembly committee or business meetings; these are planned for those who are not required to attend all the assembly meetings.

Serving on a Committee

All commissioners and advisory delegates are assigned to one of the assembly committees by a random selection process. You will be notified of your committee assignment in late April.

The assembly committees meet from Sunday evening through Tuesday afternoon, to consider the business referred to them and develop recommendations for the assembly’s action.

Training and Orientations for YADs and TSADs

NOTE: YAD Permission Authorization form - This document must be completed by the parent/legal guardian of a Youth Advisory Delegate to the General Assembly who will be under the age of 18 on June 25, 2004.

Special orientation sessions are planned for advisory delegates prior to the Assembly. See below for the schedule for YADs and TSADs. While these will help you understand the unique role and responsibilities of advisory delegates at the assembly, please make every effort to attend orientation sessions scheduled by your presbytery or theological school this spring, and to view the orientation videos provided by the Office of the General Assembly before you leave home.

Youth Advisory Delegates (YADs)
The orientation for YADs will start with dinner on Friday, June 25, and continue Saturday morning. It will be conducted by the Stated Clerk’s YAD advisors and by staff from the Youth Ministries Program Area of the General Assembly Council’s Congregational Ministries Division.

To be there in time for this orientation, when you make your travel plans select a flight or train that arrives in Richmond by 5:00pm on Friday. The OGA will NOT pay the change fee or other additional costs to change your ticket later if you do not make your initial reservations correctly.

The cost of your accommodations for Friday night and additional meals will be covered by the OGA.

YADs should not register for the pre-assembly conference on Saturday morning.

There will be other special activities for YADs during the assembly, including a YAD dinner on Saturday evening, a social event sponsored by the Committee on Local Arrangements on Tuesday evening, and YAD caucuses most evenings. You will receive more information about these later.

YADs will be assigned to the Sheraton Richmond West, and evening caucus meetings for YADs will take place there.

Theological Student Advisory Delegates (TSADs)
The orientation for TSADs is scheduled for Friday, June 25, at 6:30pm. Dinner will be included.

To be there in time for this orientation, when you make your travel plans select a flight or train that arrives in Richmond by 5:00pm on Friday. The OGA will NOT pay the change fee or other additional costs to change your ticket later if you do not make your initial reservations correctly.

The cost of your accommodations for Friday night and additional meals will be covered by the OGA.

One of the Stated Clerk’s assembly assistants will conduct the orientation and help facilitate the participation of TSADs throughout the week.

The TSAD orientation will conclude on Friday evening, so you may plan to attend the Pre-Assembly Conference on Saturday morning, if you are interested. Register for this through the ticket purchase process – the registration fee is your expense.

TSADs will be assigned to the Radisson Hotel, and you will receive more information before you leave for the assembly about the orientation, etc.

Reports to the General Assembly (RGAs)

The Reports to the General Assembly contain the overtures, reports and recommendations that will be considered by the assembly. To be most effective at the assembly, you will want to read these materials before you arrive in Richmond.

These materials will be available online and will be published and mailed in three or more editions during the spring. Please use your assembly registration form to indicate which version you will use.

E-Reports and Paper Reports

If you have access to the Internet and can bring a laptop computer to the assembly, you can help conserve paper and postage by signing up to use
E-Reports. You will access the RGAs online, and will not receive printed copies. You will receive a CD in Richmond containing all the advance materials and you will use your laptop to follow the business in the plenary meetings.

If you choose to use the printed version of the RGAs (P-Reports), you will receive the reports by mail as they are published during the spring, and you will need to organize these in a binder and bring them with you to Richmond.

Other Mailings

Expect to receive many mailings from various organizations and individuals. They seek to share information or express their concerns about business before the assembly. Prior assemblies have supported the principle of enabling groups and individuals to communicate their concerns directly, trusting the wisdom and discernment of commissioners and advisory delegates in this matter.

Commissioner Lists

The list of commissioners and advisory delegates is published in PC(USA) News during the spring, and will be accessible online.

Changes and Cancellations

If at any time prior to the assembly you find that you are unable to serve as a commissioner/advisory delegate, immediately contact your presbytery (or in the case of TSADs, your seminary) so that plans for an alternate can be made.

Making Your Travel and Housing Arrangements

The OGA has made arrangements with an official travel agency, designated airlines and hotels in Richmond to make these arrangements easy and cost effective.

Travel: Use Carlson Wagonlit, the official assembly travel agency, in order to charge your airfare directly to the Assembly. Tickets booked through another travel agent or directly with an airline are not reimbursable.

Book your airline ticket at least 60 days in advance of your travel to the assembly for the best fares and schedules; and no later than 30 days in advance to avoid higher last minute fares.

Housing: Use your registration form (or register online) to reserve accommodations in one of the assembly hotels. Please complete the form, including your arrival and departure dates, and return it as soon as possible.

Please do not contact the hotels directly, and please note that if you make your own arrangements at any other hotel or property, the charges are NOT reimbursable.

If you wish to share a room and you do not have a roommate, the GA Meeting Service will match you with another commissioner/advisory delegate.

Assembly Expense Reimbursement Procedures and Policies

These procedures and policies have been developed in the interest of good stewardship, and to provide fairly for the comfort and convenience of all participants. If you feel there are special circumstances related to your travel plans, housing needs, etc., contact the GA Meeting Service.

Traveling to Richmond

Air Travel: Use Carlson Wagonlit, the official assembly travel agency, in order to charge your airfare directly to the Assembly. Tickets booked through another travel agent or directly with an airline are not reimbursable.

Book your travel as soon as possible, and no later than April 25 for maximum saving and best choice of schedules. In order to avoid incurring very high last minute fares, the OGA limits payment for airfare to the 30-day advance-purchase amount.

The OGA will pay for travel between your home and Richmond at the lowest logical round trip fare. If you make arrangements that add to the cost (a stopover in another city, traveling outside of the "window" for the assembly discounts, etc.) you will be responsible for the additional amount. Carlson Wagonlit agents will specify this difference when you book your ticket, and the OGA will invoice you for that amount.

Most discounted fares require a Saturday-night stay. If you cannot travel on or before June 26, you will be responsible for the difference if your airfare exceeds the Saturday-night stay fare.

Discounted fares are non-refundable, with fees for changes. Be sure of your schedule when you make your reservation. The OGA will pay change fees only when the assembly requires the travel change.

By Car: Drivers will be reimbursed at the IRS rate in effect at the time of the assembly, plus meals (up to $25 per day) and lodging (up to $45 per night) en route. If this total exceeds the discounted air or train fare that you and commissioners/ advisory delegates who are your passengers would incur, reimbursement will be limited to the equivalent of the lowest available discounted air or train fare(s), as determined by Carlson Wagonlit.

Train: For some attendees it will be convenient and economical to use Amtrak. Check schedules and fares, and book tickets at Amtrak.com. Carslon Wagonlit does not book Amtrak tickets, so the OGA will reimburse train fare, up to the equivalent of the available discounted airfare (as determined by Carlson Wagonlit). Upgraded services (sleeper cars, etc.) are not reimbursable.

Ground Transportation: Assembly shuttle service will operate from the Richmond airport to the assembly hotels at peak times on June 25 and 26, and from the convention center to the airport on Saturday, July 3.

Car rental and other ground transportation expenses in Richmond are not reimbursable.

Parking: Hotel parking charges in Richmond are reimbursable if your total driving costs - including parking - are less than the lowest available airfare. Some assembly hotels offer complimentary parking.

Accommodations

Assembly Housing: To reserve a room in one of the assembly hotels, register on line or return your completed registration form as soon as possible. Your allowable housing costs will be paid directly to the hotel by the OGA.

As the assembly is contractually obligated to use a certain number of rooms at the assembly hotels, charges for accommodations elsewhere are NOT reimbursable.

Accommodations are paid for at the shared rate of one-half the hotel room rate. This means that if you share a room with another commissioner or advisory delegate, both your share and your roommate's share of the room charge are paid by the OGA.

If you request a single room, or if your spouse or family shares your room, only your half of the room cost is covered by the OGA, and will pay the hotel for the other half, plus tax.

Roommates: If you want to share a room but do not have a roommate, the G.A. Meeting Service can assist. If you would like us to select a roommate for
you, indicate this on your form and fill in the requested information.
If you select your own roommate, fill in his/her name when you register on line or fill in your registration form. Make sure that he/she registers and lists you as the roommate. The reservation is not made until both forms are received.

You will pay the full room cost for any nights your roommate does not share the room, so choose a roommate with the same arrival and departure dates as yours to avoid incurring such additional costs.

Length of Stay: The OGA normally pays for up to 7 nights (Saturday through Friday). Lodging costs for Friday, June 26, will be paid for commissioners and advisory delegates who register to attend the pre-assembly conference, and for those who must travel on Friday in order to be present when the assembly convenes at 1:00pm on Saturday.

If you arrive before June 26 or depart after July 3 for personal reasons, you may reserve your hotel room for the additional night(s) through the G.A. Meeting Service, at the assembly rates. The additional room charges are at your expense.

If you drive to Richmond, hotel charges prior to June 26 or after July 2 are considered a driving expense. Include these with related costs on your voucher. These are reimbursable provided the total (mileage, parking, lodging and meal costs en route) is still less than the lowest available airfare.

Payment: You will need a major credit card or a cash deposit upon arrival to cover any room charges for which you are responsible, and incidental charges such as meals and phone calls.

Other Expenses and Services

Meals: Six group meals (including lunch on Sunday and the G.A. Breakfast on Monday) are provided; your badge will admit you to these. Do NOT order these tickets unless you are purchasing them for a spouse or others.

The OGA will reimburse you within 2 weeks of the Assembly for other meal expenses, at the per diem rate of $38 ($9-breakfast, $8-lunch, $21-dinner).
The per diem will begin with lunch on Saturday, June 26 and end with lunch on July 3.

Families: Spouses and children are welcome as assembly observers, at their expense. You may use your registration form to reserve a double room, in your name.

The OGA covers one-half the hotel room charge for commissioners and advisory delegates, so if you are accompanied by your spouse or family you are responsible for paying the hotel directly for their half of the room charges.

Spouses will need to register and have an official assembly name badge in order to observe plenary sessions, but they may wait and register in Richmond for the $10 on-site registration fee.

There is an option on the on-line registration process and the registration form for paying the $50 advance registration fee for spouses who wish to receive a tote bag, Program, and other materials and services provided with advance registration.

Child care: The General Assembly is a business meeting, with very long days and few family- oriented activities. You will be in meetings from 8:30am to 9:30pm most days, and should carefully consider whether to bring your children to the assembly.

Childcare options in or near downtown Richmond are very limited. Please check the box when you register to receive information on a few facilities and programs that may be able to accommodate a few children during the assembly. This will include information on Camp Hanover (affiliated with the Presbytery of the James), which is holding a limited number of spaces for children of assembly attendees for its camps for 4th graders and up. Registration before the end of March is required, so act quickly if you are interested in this option.

Child care expenses (up to $30/day) are reimbursable for commissioners who would not otherwise be able to fulfill their duties.

Expense Vouchers

Prior to leaving home, you will receive an expense voucher to complete and turn in to the treasury office on Saturday, June 26. Keep track of your assembly-related expenses, such as transportation to your home airport, your round trip mileage if you drove, etc. Receipts are required. Reimbursement checks will be mailed following the assembly.

Questions?

With any questions about arrangements and policies for travel, accommodations and meals, contact:

GA Meeting Service at (888) 728-7228 x2417
Email: GA Meeting Service