PASTORAL LETTER INTERIM COMMITTEE

SUMMARY OF WORK

1. The committee met five times: twice in person at the Office of the General Assembly in Orlando, and three times by Zoom.

2. The committee engaged in preparation through reading important books.

3. The committee shared Scriptures deemed essential for the task, personal hopes and fears, and prayers.

4. The committee created an outline of the Letter.

5. The committee formed writing teams to work on sections of the Letter.

6. The committee designed and prepared a Networking Lunch presentation for the 43rd General Assembly.

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RECOMMENDATIONS

The Interim Committee has no recommendations for the 43rd General Assembly. However, we are one year into a two-year task. Our recommendation now is a plea for continued prayers and input.

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WORK OF THE COMMITTEE

August 16, 2022: Co-chairs Meyers and Dawson meet with the National Leadership Team in Orlando to get briefed on the task and those appointed to the committee.

August/September 2022: Communications with committee via email. Resumes uploaded to Box. Members given assignment to: A) read Esau McCaulley, Reading While Black; Voddie Baucham, Fault Lines; and Lausanne Movement, Reconciliation as a Movement of God; and B) fill out and share preparatory questionnaire which included topics such as hopes/fears, Scriptures essential to our task, people with whom you’d like to talk, and a written prayer for our work.

September 20-21, 2022: The committee convened in person in Orlando with 10 of 12 members present, and with past and present GA Moderators Brad Strait and Rosemary Lukens, OGA staff Dean Weaver and Michael Davis, and visits from other staff. The emphasis was on personal sharing and committee bonding. We shared our essential Scriptures and personal prayers; we shared our personal stories related to race. We wrote lament prayers and shared them aloud. We considered definitions, questions, and conflicts. We left with the assignment each to conduct at least 3 interviews with people who had expertise and experience in racial reconciliation.

November 30, 2022: The committee met by Zoom. 12 committee members and Moderator Lukens attended. We each shared a summary of what we learned and experienced from the interviews we conducted. We discussed an outline for a Pastoral Letter presented by Dawson and Meyers, and approved the format in general. We also discussed the kind of writing we want to do.

December 2022/January 2023: Co-chairs Dawson and Meyers discussed creating 3 working/writing teams from the committee and contacted Williams, Rose, and Dawson about leading groups. Dawson also contacted Chang about leading a definitions section.

January 31-February 1, 2023: The committee met in person in Orlando. The primary emphasis was on working in 3 writing teams in order to populate each section of our outline with content. We met our goal of creating a draft of an outline in three sections, with bullet points of essential content listed. Williams, Rose, and Dawson were assigned to edit and polish the draft outline for committee consideration at the next meeting.

March 29, 2023: The committee met by Zoom with the goal of approving an annotated outline of the letter to give to the National Leadership Team. With Meyers needing to limit activities due to health reasons, NLT Chairman Brad Strait appointed Joe Kim to serve as Assistant Co-Chairman and TE Rufus Smith to serve as Advisor. Next, the writing teams will work on drafts of their sections.

June 7, 2023: Zoom meeting. The writing teams will have presented drafts to the committee for comment. The team will have discussed General Assembly and our Networking Lunch.

Next Meeting: August 15-16 at Hope Church in Memphis. The committee will continue honing drafts, praying, and visiting the National Civil Rights Museum.

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RECOMMENDATIONS (DETAILED)

The Interim Committee has no recommendations for the 43rd General Assembly. However, we are one year into a two-year task. Our recommendation now is a plea for continued prayers and input.

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COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Glenn Meyers, (Co-Chairman)
RE, Presbytery of the Alleghenies

Rufus Smith (Advisor)
TE, Presbytery of the Central South

Ken Chang
RE, Presbytery of the West

Marcos Ortega
TE, Presbytery of the East

Annie Rose
TE, Presbytery of the Rivers and Lakes

Michael Davis (Assistant Stated Clerk)
TE, Presbytery of the Central South

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MEETING DATES

September 20-21, 2022: Office of the General Assembly (Orlando, Florida)
November 30, 2022: Video Conference
January 31-February 1, 2023: Office of the General Assembly (Orlando, Florida)
March 29, 2023: Video Conference
June 7, 2023: Video Conference

Glenn Meyers, Co-Chairman
June 2023

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