08294
April 16, 2008

Prayerful reflection

Bible study pack for General Assembly designed for commissioners, churches

by Toya Richards Hill
Presbyterian News Service

LOUISVILLE – A downloadable Bible study pack for the upcoming General Assembly (GA) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is available to preorder through The Thoughful Christian.

The 2008 Presbyterian General Assembly Study Pack, which will be released May 14, is for all commissioners to the 218th GA slated for June 21-28 in San Jose, CA, and for churches to use before, during and after the meeting. The effort is a collaboration between The Thoughtful Christian and the Office of the General Assembly (OGA).

“We were really excited to hear that OGA wanted to do it with us,” said the Rev. David L. Maxwell, executive editor for Geneva Press and The Thoughtful Christian, entities of the Presbyterian Publishing Corporation (PPC). “The hope is that churches will use this at the same time that GA is going on.”

Two studies and nine daily devotions developed by Presbyterian leaders, including Old Testament scholars Gene March and Beth LaNeel Tanner, make up the study pack. The studies include participant handouts and leader’s guides for 45-minute sessions, and the devotions guide users through each day of the Assembly.

All of the materials center on this year’s Assembly theme, “Do justice, love kindness, walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8)”

For users of the studies, “I hope they get a broader view of Micah and God’s call through Micah to us to live out the walking humbly and seeking justice,” said Kerry Rice, OGA’s manager of meeting services and an assistant stated clerk.

He said Assembly planners hope commissioners and others on site at the Assembly can use the devotions to “prepare … for the day” and “help center themselves.” For those not at the Assembly, the hope is that people will use the devotions “as a way to be in solidarity with and to pray for the Assembly,” Rice added.