wfn.org | Top Elected Church Leaders Host Live Presbyterian Town Hall Meeting

[George Conklin <gconklin@wfn.org>]

10-June-1998 
98205 
    Top Elected Church Leaders Host Live 
    Presbyterian Town Hall Meeting 
    by Julian Shipp 
LOUISVILLE, Ky.-Preceding the General Assembly for the second consecutive 
year, a two-hour Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Town Hall Meeting was held 
here June 4, hosted by the denomination's top elected leaders. 
    Broadcast live via satellite from 8:15 to 10:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight 
Time, the meeting included among its participants Pat Brown, moderator of 
the 209th General Assembly (1997); Eugene Sibery, vice moderator of the 
209th General Assembly (1997); the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, General 
Assembly stated clerk; the Rev. Frank Diaz, interim General Assembly 
Council (GAC) executive director; Fred Denson, GAC chair; and Lynda Ardan, 
GAC vice chair. 
    Each Town Hall Meeting participant presented a message during the 
opening phase of the program. The comments of each were primarily directed 
to business that will come before the 210th General Assembly (1998) in 
Charlotte, N.C. 
    For instance, Kirkpatrick said that key issues coming before this 
Assembly include church growth, new leadership and standards of sexual 
behavior. Although the 562 commissioners will address more than 800 items 
of business, Kirkpatrick said he hopes the Assembly will not be dominated 
by one issue as in years past, adding, "I believe it will be a very good 
Assembly in Charlotte." 
    With the primary purpose of providing Presbyterians as much opportunity 
as possible to receive information and ask questions, the teleconference 
was conducted interactively. More than 45 minutes of air time was devoted 
to receiving telephone calls from Presbyterians across the country. 
    For instance, callers Keith Conover of Uniontown, Pa., and Bob Courtney 
of Cumberland, Md., both inquired about the Walt Disney Company's 
Celebration, a planned community on the outskirts of the Magic Kingdom. The 
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is the only denomination to construct a church 
building there during the first phase of the project. 
    The church's three-wing complex, including an 800-seat sanctuary, is 
expected to be completed this summer at an estimated cost of more than $7 
million. It will serve the projected 20,000 residents of the Osceola County 
community and thousands of anticipated national and international visitors 
to central Florida's tourist sites. 
    Responding to the questions, the Rev. Curtis A. Kearns Jr., National 
Ministries Division director, said he could not address specific 
arrangements by Disney officials since construction was negotiated by 
Central Florida Presbytery executives. However, he said, the cost of the 
project poses "a very involved question" since the church will be Internet 
capable and able to communicate electronically with all buildings and 
facilities in the Celebration community. 
    "That type of technology is expensive, so yes, it is an expensive 
prototype project," Kearns said. 
    Another caller,  Betsy Cooper of Batesville, Ark., asked whether or not 
professors teaching at theological institutions related with the PC(USA) 

should be permitted to attend controversial events like the 1998 
Re-Imagining Revival in Minneapolis. 
    Responding to the question, the Rev. Marian McClure, Worldwide 
Ministries Division director, said that while the theological institutions 
have an affiliation with the denomination, they "do not fall under the 
aegis of the General Assembly." 
    Responding also to Cooper's question, Sibery praised the May 25, 1998, 
edition of "The Presbyterian Outlook," which included an article on the 
event by the Rev. Jeanne Stevenson Moessner, a special correspondent to the 
event. She is an assistant professor of pastoral theology and Christian 
formation at the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary. Sibery 
described the coverage of the Re-Imagining event by the "Outlook"as 
"balanced and objective." 
    However, other questions, like the one from Cincinnati resident Shirley 
Vincent, proved easier to answer. Vincent asked Pat Brown what the most 
significant image she will remember as a former moderator will be? Brown 
responded by highlighting her speaking engagement at the University of 
Stellenbosch in South Africa, a CultureFest Event at Lewis & Clark College 
in Portland, Ore., and her recent visits to Nepal and India. 
    "It was an incredible honor for me, as a person of color, representing 
one of the largest mainline denominations in America and to be among people 
who looked like me, who were of the same gender and the same height," Brown 
said. "The harmony and power of those moments was unbelievable." 
    According to Claude L. Brock, the GAC's coordinator for church and 
public relations, the teleconference had 31 registered downlink sites in 20 
states. Brock said these included seven colleges and universities and two 
public service television stations. 
    This year's event was particularly significant given the fact it marked 
the last time the six participating GA and GAC leaders will speak to the 
denomination as a group via a nationwide teleconference. 
    The 210th General Assembly (1998) marks a new era of denominational 
leadership, with stated clerk Kirkpatrick being the only top leader 
continuing as the church enters the new year. Pat Brown completes her 
moderatorial service this month, as does vice moderator Eugene Sibery. 
    The Rev. Frank Diaz will relinquish the GAC interim executive director 
position to John Detterick, who is expected to be confirmed at the 
Assembly. Fred Denson and Lynda Ardan also complete their terms as chair 
and vice chair of the GAC this month. 

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