2020 GENERAL ASSEMBLY

June 7-11

Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario

The 146th General Assembly of The Presbyterian Church in Canada will begin on Sunday June 7, 2020, at Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario, at 7:00 pm with worship and the celebration of communion taking place in the Athletic Complex. All the Assembly activities will be held at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo.

General Assembly 2020 logo

Assembly Information

Throughout the coming months new information regarding the Assembly will be posted.

General Assembly Registration

Registration Materials
The registration mailing for General Assembly participants is now available. An email containing the letter with registration information is sent directly to each person. If you have been named a commissioner or a YAR and do not receive this information in the coming days, check with your presbytery clerk to see if your name has been submitted to the General Assembly Office.

GA 2019 Commissioners Voting

Commissioners, YARs, student representatives and resource people will find below the registration forms along with the travel regulations.

Travel Regulations
Before completing the General Assembly registration form, please read the travel regulations for your area:
East-West Travel Regulations
Central Travel Regulations
Resource People

Registration Forms
Commissioners / YARs – view | download

GA 2018 - Sampson

General Assembly Reports

The Book of Reports and other materials for the Assembly will be available in early May. An announcement will be made when this information is available. The Book of Reports will be available electronically. A tutorial on using the e-book of reports is available at presbyterian.ca/e-book.

Interim Reports of General Assembly Standing Committees

Due to the cancellation of the 2020 General Assembly, the following interim reports are posted for the information of the church. Standing committees may amend these reports and add to them, based on their ongoing workplans, prior to their consideration at the 2021 General Assembly. Proposed recommendations have been omitted in order to be clear that these decisions cannot be formally considered without the consent of a General Assembly.

Some committees have portions of their reports that would have been proposed for study and report this year. While they are not endorsed by a General Assembly for study, committees welcome feedback on these documents. These ‘study documents’ are posted under the committee’s interim report.

*Interim reports are posted as they become available.

General Assembly logo

Committee
Advise the Moderator, Committee to
Assembly Council #1
Assembly Council #2
2021 Minimum Stipend and Allowance Schedule
Atlantic Mission Society
Church Doctrine, Committee on
Study Documents
Living in God’s Mission Today
Preamble to Ordination and Induction of Ruling Elders and Ministers
Physician Assisted Suicide
Clerks of Assembly
Study Documents
Right to Dissent
Guidelines to facilitate calls and election of LGBTQI candidates (provisional)
Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations, Committee on
Education and Reception, Committee on
History, Committee on
International Affairs Committee
Life and Mission Agency Committee
Study Documents
“Declaration of Climate Emergency”, WCRC 2019
Effects of Colonialism
Calls for Justice
Guidelines for Dealing with Mental Health Issues
Maclean Estate Committee
Nominate Standing Committees, Committee to
Nominations
Pension and Benefits Board
Presbyterian Church Building Corporation
Remits, 2019
Special Committee re Listening (LGBTQI People) – Rainbow Communion
Theological Colleges
Presbyterian College Board of Governors
Knox College, Governing Board
St. Andrew’s Hall, Board of
Vancouver School of Theology
Trustee Board
Women’s Missionary Society
Referred Overtures
Unreferred Overtures
Petitions

2020 GENERAL ASSEMBLY

The Assembly Council met on Monday, March 23, 2020, and made the difficult decision to cancel the 2020 General Assembly. First and foremost, this decision was taken to ensure the safety of commissioners and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. The implications for all business that would normally come to the General Assembly has been referred to the Executive of the Assembly Council, who will report further, following their meeting on March 31, 2020.

The Clerks of Assembly will consult with all Standing Committees, agencies and colleges about essential decisions that need to be made and present a plan to the Executive. Additional information will be coming out over the coming days and weeks, and announced on the presbyterian.ca website.

Our current Moderator, the Rev. Amanda Currie, has indicated her willingness to remain in office until the next Assembly. The nominees for this year’s Assembly have been advised that a new election will take place next year. The current nominees will be eligible to be re-nominated.

The General Assembly is not just a place where important issues regarding the ministry, governance and mission of our church are decided; it is also a gathering of our broader church family. We will miss that important time to come together. In the meantime, we are already discovering new ways to connect faithfully with one another, to encourage one another and to be vehicles of God’s grace to a hurting world. May the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with each of you. Amen.

—The Rev. Stephen Kendall, Principal Clerk

Image of arrow pointing downPastoral Letter from the Moderator Re: GA Cancellation

For further information contact Terrie-Lee Hamilton at 1-800-619-7301, ext. 225