Note #9110 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:
06068 Feb. 8, 2006
Missouri pastor elected as chair of GAC
Allison Seed: 'unapologetically Presbyterian'
by Alexa Smith
LOUISVILLE - A Midwestern pastor and a retired college vice-president have been elected to lead the General Assembly Council (GAC) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) for the next two years.
The Rev. Allison Seed, of Independence, MO, was elected chair on the second ballot, winning 29 of 57 votes cast. Elder Charles Easley Sr., of Atlanta, will be vice chair.
During their terms, the GAC will reorganize the denomination's mission structure and integrate a new council executive director. (A search is under way for a successor to John Detterick, who is retiring at the end of the 217th General Assembly in June.)
Seed was chosen over Easley, John Bolt, of Charleston, WV, and Carol Hylkema, of Dearborn, MI. Easley's 34 first-ballot votes garnered the vice chair position.
In a prepared biography, Seed identified the greatest challenges facing the GAC for the next year or two as:
Structuring the church to make the "best use" of scarce resources for mission and ministry
Inspiring Presbyterians support the church financially and funding the church's work more efficiently
Developing "a trusting, collegial relationship" with the new executive director.
Seed described herself as "unapologetically Presbyterian," and wrote: "Change and controversy do not daunt me.... I love our church, flawed as we are, and I have an enthusiasm for it that discouragement can never quench."
Seed graduated magna cum laude from Duke University in 1974 and from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1977. She earned a Doctor of Ministry degree in 1988 from Erskine Theological Seminary. She is now pastor of Trinity Presbyterian Church in Independence.
Easley is the current chair of the 2007-2008 Mission Work Plan team, which is charged with setting the denomination's mission goals and objectives for the next two years. The GAC will take up the plan here Friday.
In his biography, Easley described himself as a leader who is prepared to deal with conflict and misunderstanding in groups - and who tries to resolve conflicts before they cause harm. "My greatest gift," he wrote, "is a promise to provide spiritual leadership for the GAC that is rooted and grounded in my own personal faith and witness."
Easley is now serving temporarily as a development officer at Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary in Atlanta. He is a former college vice president and has served as an elder, trustee and choir member at Atlanta's Radcliffe Presbyterian Church. He also is a longtime leader of Presbyterian Men.
Seed and Easley will take office at the end of the upcoming General Assembly in Birmingham, AL. They will succeed the Rev. Nancy Kahaian of Michigan City, IN, the current GAC chair, and the Rev. Paul Masquelier of San Jose, CA, the vice chair.
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