GA06075

Forward thinkers

Developers of Les have deep Presbyterian roots

by Barry Creech

BIRMINGHAM, June 18 — Les, the new electronic system for conducting Assembly business, is more than just five miles of wire, 50 wireless access points and 800 laptop computers. Instead, the vision for a connected and transparent online method of presenting Assembly recommendations lies in the imagination of two forward-thinking Presbyterians, the Rev. Kerry Clements, and elder Andy Browne, of Denver.

"It is important that the church not fall behind in using new communication tools as technology advances," Clements said. "We need to find ways to use the best tools available to facilitate our deliberative processes." 

Browne, an elder at Central Presbyterian Church in Denver, and immediate past moderator of Denver Presbytery, agrees. "The 21st-century church has to use 21st-century tools."

Browne's Presbyterian heritage runs deep. His father, Jim, is a pastor outside Columbus, OH. His uncle, Will, is associate director for ecumenical partnerships in the Worldwide Ministries Division of the General Assembly Council. His grandparents were Presbyterian mission workers in India.

Browne worked for several years as an Assembly volunteer in the tracking office before his company, ABS Computer Rentals, won the contract for rental computer services at General Assembly sessions. Browne and his colleagues, Erik Wainionpaa and Jeff Schmidt (also the son of a Presbyterian pastor), have been the primary contractors working on the Les project.

"We are excited about the opportunities for openness and transparency that Les provides the PC(USA)," Clements notes. "Les gives us the ability to put information in front of people the moment it becomes available, rather than waiting for the reports to go through word processing, editing and printing." In this way, he observes, the whole church can see for themselves the documents the Assembly considers."

Of course, nothing is perfect. Browne said, "The launch of any program this large has bumps along the way. Sometimes you don't know what some of the bumps are going to be until the real event happens. And we've had some bumps here in Birmingham, but we're learning from them and Les will only get better because of them."