Each Assembly has a character, an ethos, all of its own. This year the Assembly was placid, most of the time. The Assembly was intent on giving everybody an opportunity to be heard through minority reports and amendments. The Assembly, after hearing from everybody on the issues, then vote the recommendations of the Commissioner Committees. This drew out the business sessions, but nobody can say anything was "railroaded" through.

While Erin and I were at the Assembly I am told that a 40 unit wagon train made it way through Yatesboro, right past the office. Now it looks like AmTrack will go on strike. Maybe it felt like the Assembly was moving more like a wagon train than a speeding passenger train, but this year that was not so bad.

Prior to going to the Assembly Carol Mock dutifully pulled together the massive amount of paper reports and information into a three ring binder for me. After I got to the Assembly we acquired a CD with all the pre-Assembly materials. After the Committee Reports were out we would download them from the internet. It was so much easier to track both the pre-Assembly materials and coordinate them with the Committee Reports using the computer than trying to flip back and forth in the massive binder, for which there would not have been enough room on our table. We will encourage our Commissioners and YAD for next year to become e-commissioners. They can use a "softbook" or a laptop. I am convinced except for a few hold outs that future Assemblies will be more and more digital than paper. I can see the time when all committee rooms and the Assembly room will be wireless digital. The work we are doing in this presbytery, in the digital realm, is more and more noticed by others in the church. Carol Mock is glad to hear that I will be using the digital format in the future instead of the paper format. I have given Lynn Rising the CDs with the pre-Assembly and Committee reports for the Resource Center.

One of the last actions the Assembly took on Saturday morning was to approve the $40 million Mission Initiative. This is a major fund raising effort, over the next few years, to support New Church Development, International Mission, and many other mission efforts. The whole denomination will have opportunity to contribute to this effort to expand our mission beyond that funded through normal mission budgets. I hope our congregations and our presbytery will enthusiastically and faithfully participate in this Mission Initiative. The Assembly also voted to increase the GA per capita by 19 cents. Earlier in the Assembly the Commissioners upheld an Authoritative Interpretation which makes it clear that Presbyteries are responsible to paid the full per capita to General Assembly and Synod whether it is collected from the congregations or not. Again, I am so happy our Sessions have been so faithful in remitting the per capita allocation.

Next year’s Assembly will be in Denver, if all of Colorado doesn’t burn down this year. It was nice this year in being able to do the short 4.5 hour drive and not having to deal with airport security and cattle car packed planes. Next year the Assembly will meet May 24-31. I wonder if it will still be snowing in Denver at that time of year? (A quick check on the Net reveals their snow season is October thru April). Maybe we will miss the snow, but I bet they will still have some chilly temperatures.

Do I agree with everything the Assembly did? You know me better than that, I never do. Whether I agree on not the Assembly made the best possible decisions it could. Will some of the decisions be back before us in the future with some wanting to reverse course or to go in another direction? Most probably. Was this a good Assembly? Yes, I think so. Let us pray for good fruits from the work of the Commissioners this year.