The gracious congregation of First Presbyterian Church of Lufkin ("Crossroads of the Piney Woods") is hosting Saturday's presbytery meeting. So I'm off on a road trip tomorrow so's to avoid arising Saturday morning at o-dark-thirty.
Presbygirlfriend will be accompanying me on the drive. El Jefe is staying home because his office is being moved Saturday to a temporary space while his floor is being remodeled and all hands have to be on deck at the law firm.
Presbygirlfriend will be accompanying me on the drive. El Jefe is staying home because his office is being moved Saturday to a temporary space while his floor is being remodeled and all hands have to be on deck at the law firm.
Saturday's meeting will feature the installation of the Moderator and the Moderator-elect (yours truly). My RevGal readers will be interested to know that the Moderator is a RevGal. I'll try to post pictures afterwards. Craig Barnes will be speaking during morning worship.
The main business comes in the afternoon session as the presbytery will be asked to approve a budget severely impacted by and a plan to repay the The Million Dollar Problem. As Moderator of General Council, I have to present the plan which it approved to the presbytery for approval. A super-majority will be required to approve it because of previous presbytery actions, and the vote has to be ratified again at a special meeting if it passes Saturday. If you're interested in the details of the report, it is posted here, see pages 13-17. It's a complicated proposal, which I drafted for the task force, so I'm praying for the ability to respond accurately and clearly to questions from the floor and to keep my wits about me if amendments are offered.
Having a plan in place to cover these unexpected and devastating financial obligations will help those responsible for the financial side of presbytery determine the resources available for presbytery. There's a lot of work ahead, and we want to remain faithful to our call to grow disciples and churches in southeast Texas.
Please keep us in prayer on Saturday!
6 comments:
This is where you keep your Stated Clerk close to your side...esp. for procedural clarifiacation regarding amendments, and substitute motions that can become main motions, etc.(or, will there be another designated parliamentarian?)
It is complicated, but a good example of how the church can pose a constructive and creative solution to a serious problem
that points to a hopefull outcome.
Good job, Madame Moderator! :)
PresbyG
You will really enjoy Craig Barnes. I have had him as a professor and he is a wonderful teacher and speaker.
FWIW ... getting a current copy of Robert's Rules is also not a bad thing !!
B.P. ... totally agree, I heard him once when he was still Senior Pastor at National Capital Presbyterian Church.
Prayers for your trip and meeting!
Prayers for productivity and peace.
Agree with anonymous - you keep track of what's going on with regard to the substance of the discussion and let the stated clerk keep track of the procedure. That way you won't miss that important amendment that ruins the whole strategy because you're trying to figure out if the speaker is proposing an amendment or a substitute motion! You'll also appear more receptive to discussion and sympathetic to each speaker's concerns. The over-emphasis on Robert's RoO is one reason, IMHO, that GA is sometimes seen as overly-focused on minutiae and insensitive to the issues before them. Blessings!
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