2023 General Assembly

The 2023 General Assembly took place from Sunday June 4 to Wednesday June 7, and was held in-person at St. Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.  This in-person gathering provided an opportunity for the church to consider matters affecting the ministry and mission of our denomination.

The Assembly considers matters affecting the ministry and mission of our denomination. Commissioners, who are responsible for the business of Assembly, discern and make decisions. At Assembly, commissioners, young adult and student representatives welcome ecumenical and interfaith guests.

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The Rev. Dr. Robert Faris’ Sermon at the opening worship for General Assembly 2023.
Credit: Jimmy Howell: Documentary Film Producer.

Worship led by the Rev. Amanda Henderson-Bolton

Meditation led by the Rev. Jeffrey Murray.

Sermon by the Rev. Dr. Joon-ki Kim.

Election and Installation of the Rev. Mary Fontaine as the 2023 General Assembly Moderator. Mary is the first moderator of Indigenous descent.

Opening of business, orientation, and ecumenical visitors from the Korean Christian Church in Japan. Appreciation and gratitude expressed to the Rev. Dr. Robert (Bob) Faris for his encouraging and visionary leadership as Moderator of the 2022 General Assembly. Other business: Committee to Advise with the Moderator; Committee on Business; Committee to Nominate Standing Committees; Committee to Examine Records; Atlantic Mission Society; Women’s Missionary Society; Pension and Benefits Board; Presbyterian Church Building Corporation (PCBC), and the beginning of the report from the Clerks of the Assembly.

Continuation of the Clerks of the Assembly report.

Committee on Terms of Reference; Pension and Benefits Board; summary reports by the theological colleges (Knox College, St. Andrew’s Hall and Vancouver School of Theology, and Presbyterian College); Committee on Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations; McClean Estate Committee and Crieff Hills. Report by the International Affairs Committee.

Report of the Life and Mission Agency; the Committee on Church Doctrine.

Reports by the National Indigenous Ministries Council, the History Committee and the Assembly Council.

Reports by the Assembly Council and the Special Committee on Listening, Confession and Associations.

Reports by the Special Committee on Listening, Confession and Associations (continued), Committee to Nominate Standing Committees, Clerks of Assembly, Committee to Confer with the Moderator and Committee on Courtesies and Loyal Addresses, Young Adult Representatives, Commission re Matters Left Uncared for Omitted, Adoption of Minutes, Business Committee, and closing of the Assembly with prayer.

Narratives of Hope and Possibility.

The Rev. Laurie McKay and Karen Beattie from Trinity Presbyterian Church in New Westminster, BC share a Good News Story about their “Don’t Go Hungry” program – a food support program that has gone from feeding 7 families in 2020 to 1400 people a week in 2023. Find out more at dontgohungry.ca .

The Rev. Peter Coutts, Brian Hawko and Judy McKearny from St. Andrew’s PC in Calgary, AB share a Good News Story about a neighbourhood Powwow they will be co-hosting in 2024, partnering with the Kingsland Community Association and the Calgary Indigenous Friendship Centre.

The Rev. Yoichi Nakae, Moderator of the KCCJ and other delegates from the KCCJ are welcomed to the 2023 General Assembly. The PCC has a long and robust partnership with the Korean Christian Church in Japan, which has about 100 congregations.

The Rev. Dr. Carlos E. Ham is the Rector of the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Matanzas, Cuba. The ecumenical seminary trains Cuban, Latin American and Caribbean pastors from an ecumenical, contextual and liberating vision committed to social service.

Report by the Moderator of the 2022 General Assembly, the Rev. Dr. Robert (Bob) Faris—a look back at his year in the position.

Parents Circle–Families Forum (PCFF)—a joint Israeli-Palestinian organization working towards reconciliation and a just solution to the conflict—is this year’s recipient of the Cutting Edge of Mission Award. The award was accepted by two advocates representing PCFF, Laila AlSheikh and Robi Damelin. Laila and Robi recounted their own personal stories of loss, grief and the long and complex path of reconciliation and building a just peace, how truth-telling and apologies for harm caused can change lives, how “hope is an integral part of peace,” forgiveness, and finding joy in the darkest moments. You can also read more about Laila and Robi’s work here.

Rabbi David Ellis, Rabbi At Large, Atlantic Canada

National Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada.

Training sessions were held for participants on how to use PC-Biz at the General Assembly and one of those session is posted for your information.

Reports to the 2023 General Assembly are available on PC-Biz for both commissioners and others to see.

PC-Biz is the online platform that delivers all the reports to the General Assembly. Also, all information relating to the Assembly is found on PC-Biz in the resource tab.

Anyone can visit assembly.presbyterian.ca even without needing to log in to an account. Simply visit the ‘Committee’ tab and use the drop down menu to see each committee’s report, summary and recommendations. Make sure that the ‘Event’ tab next to ‘Committee’ says 2023 General Assembly.

Commissioners received an email with directions to create an account in PC-Biz and, once trained, received account credentials to use the full Assembly functions such as entering amendments and additional motions. During the Assembly all business was delivered automatically to commissioners via the ‘SessionSync’ tab. Observers without an account were able to use this tab to watch the business during the Assembly.

If there is a particular recommendation or subject you want to find in PC-Biz, use the ‘Search’ tab.

The General Assembly once again worked with PC-Biz, an online platform that is designed to display the business of a General Assembly meeting, and where the interaction of the Assembly’s business took place. All reports, recommendations and general information was posted to PC-Biz. Commissioners, Young Adult and Student Representatives, and resource people learned about using this platform during the PC-Biz training sessions offered prior to the Assembly.

Video of the event can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/presvideo
Find posts on our social media pages with #pccga2023

If you have any questions relating to the General Assembly arrangements, contact Terrie-Lee Hamilton .