April 13, 2009
Dear Colleagues in Ministry,
Thank you for your recent prayers on behalf of the General Assembly Council. As you have probably read by now, we have taken action to revise our budgets to be in line with updated revenue projections for 2009. In September, we will revise the 2010 budget approved by the General Assembly.
We have been fortunate to have already been engaging in strategic discussions, both among the GAC, and with many of you, so that our decisions have not been dictated solely by financial necessity, but rather by careful assessments of where God is leading us to focus our ministry in the days ahead. We know that many of you face similar decisions. You are in our prayers.
By now many of you have heard, and for those of you who haven't, the General Assembly Council has decided not to hold the GAC - MGB meeting in September this year. We reluctantly made this decision as a cost saving measure, and because the dates conflicted with at least 20 presbytery meetings. We consulted with the MGB Advisory Group and the planning team for the GAC-MGB meeting prior to making the decision; the decision was not made lightly.
We have found the last two GAC-MGB meetings to be valuable for building relationships, and engaging in discussion about important issues about how we work with each other and together in serving the PCUSA. All of this prompts us to be even more intentional about finding and creating other opportunities for GAC staff and elected members to engage with MGB executives. We have identified several that we will pursue, including
- Board of Pensions Regional Gatherings – Kansas City (April 22-23), Tampa (April 29-30), and San Francisco (May 6-7)
- Big Tent conference (June 11-13)
- Conference calls (series of one-hour calls over the summer with GAC leaders)
- Webinar (September 22)
- Feedback Forums (a variety of forums, including the MGB Advisory Group on May 12, and ongoing feedback groups for various GAC ministries)
- Conference calls (another round to be held in the Spring of 2010 as we head toward the 2010 General Assembly)
The first of these will be receptions at the upcoming Regional Benefits Conferences. We hope you will join immediately following dinner on the Wednesday night of whichever conference you attend.
Central - Kansas City Marriott Hotel, Independence Room (Wednesday, April 22 at 7:30pm)
Eastern – InterContinental Tampa Hotel, Suncoast Room (Wednesday, April 29 at 7:30pm)
Western – Westin San Francisco Airport, Oak Room (Wednesday, May 6 at 7:30pm)
I, Carol, have genuinely appreciated the time that GAC elected members have been able to spend in partnership and dialogue with you as leaders of the middle governing bodies. I think we have learned to listen to each other in our efforts to build trust between us.
We both join in saying that time together is important for us. So we hope that you are able to take advantage of these opportunities to help us deepen that relationship.
Blessings to you,
Carol Adcock
Chair, General Assembly Council
Linda Valentine
Executive Director, General Assembly Council |
