Moderator of the 219th General Assembly (2010) of the PC(USA).

Unsung Heroes Pt. 1

It's hard to believe that the 220th General Assembly is only two months away. And it's even harder to believe, given the enormous amount of work and effort that goes into having a General Assembly, that we used to do this every year!

There are a lot of unsung heroes without whom a GA could never happen. I hope to highlight some of these over the next couple of months. Today, I want to hold up for thanks and appreciation those commissioners who have agreed to serve as the moderators and vice moderators of the 21 -- count 'em, 21 -- GA committees. They take on the task of molding a fairly large group of folks who have never before met each other into a group that can deal effectively with difficult and often contentious issues. Let's face it, if our committees don't operate effectively, the GA won't operate effectively. So, our thanks go to these folks who will use their leadership skills, wisdom, patience, and good humor to help make the 220th GA effective and productive: Eustacia Marshall, Tom Harmon, Lyn Bova, Claire Rhodes, Joan Fong, Rhonda Kruse, Larry Hayward, Ariel Mink, Emily Anderson, Eunkiung Hahm, Charles Collier, Martha McDonald, Barbara Ross, Lawrence DeLong, Jane Dempsey Douglass, Scott Mann, Sam Evans, Marci Glass, Nancy Ramsay, David Adamson, Joann Lee, Jose Gonzales-Colon, Aimee Moiso, Ben Trawick, Laura Philips, Tim Womack, Jack Baca, Valerie Putnam, Chad Herring, Addie Peterson, George Hunsberger, Mary Lou McMillin, Todd Jones, Nicholas Yoda, Kirk Dorn, Sandra Marcial-Ramirez, Doug Megill, Emily Proctor, Diane Bostic Robinson, Charlotte Poetschner

I'm Back

I'm chagrined at how long it's been since I've written a blog post. Clearly, I will never be a social media leader. But a lot has happened since my last post.

Mostly what has happened is that I have been overwhelmed with the prayers, messages of support, gifts, and all sorts of encouragments from across the entire church, since my surgery in February and the diagnosis of cancer.

It has taken me awhile to recuperate from the surgery -- longer than I had hoped, but everyone warned me that recovering from abdominal surgery does not happen overnight.

It looks as though chemotherapy will begin at the end of this month. I have made clear that a non-negotiable is that I have to be not just hale and hearty, but looking FABULOUS, at the opening of the 220th General Assembly on June 30. Do you all have any idea how hard it is to describe to surgeons and oncologists what a General Assembly is, let alone what a Moderator does? But they have, eventually, caught on, and, I think, have at least a dim understanding of what will be happening in Pittsburgh.

Because of the continuing recuperation, and the upcoming chemo, my travel between now and Pittsburgh will be curtailed. But I hope to be more active over the coming weeks in this blog, talking about our journey as a denomination towards Pittsburgh and the 220th General Assembly.

More than anything, what I want to say right now to everyone across the church is simple: thank you. Thank you for your support. Thank you for your encouragement. Thank you, above all, for your prayers. All of this has meant more than I can ever describe in words. Thank you.