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Connection
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
General Assembly Moves Online
8 SPRING 2021
PRESBYTERIAN
presbyterian.ca
 By the Rev. Stephen Kendall, Principal Clerk, General Assembly Office
The year 2020 was a year of strug- gle and change. It was also the first year in our history that the General Assembly was cancelled. The global pandemic has moved much of the life of the church online and, in 2021, this will also be the case with the General Assembly.
Following a survey of presbyter- ies about whether we should move online for a 2021 Assembly, hold an Assembly in-person as soon as possible, or delay by another year, the Assembly Council authorized an online General Assembly to be held during the dates of June 6–9, 2021. While the vaccine rollout car- ries much hope, the council could not, with confidence, recommend planning to meet in person this year, much as we would have liked to.
We will not be the first to hold an online General Assembly. Several
other denominations have already done so or are in the planning stages to do so.
The online Assembly will maintain many of the elements that take place in person. Commissioners will be responsible for the business of As- sembly and its decisions. There will also be worship, ecumenical and interfaith guests, young adult and student representatives, and lots of breaks. The wider church will have the opportunity to follow the Assem- bly through live-streaming.
The General Assembly Office will work with the General Assembly De- sign Team on making the Assembly as meaningful and effective as possi- ble under these new circumstances. Issues of how many hours we can reasonably meet, what business can and should be dealt with and how we can facilitate the participation of all commissioners are top of mind.
It will not be possible (and perhaps not advisable) to attempt to complete
all the business that has accumu- lated since the 2019 Assembly. As they always do, commissioners will determine how Assembly business is dealt with. They will decide what can be dealt with quickly by consent, what should be discussed as part of the online meeting and what should be deferred to a future Assembly. The General Assembly Office is working on a method to assist commission- ers with that process.
Commissioners are ultimately re- sponsible for the Assembly. They will need to authorize its very existence when it starts, decide on the busi- ness and approve any procedures that will be necessary to facilitate the online Assembly. For example, if there is a process to decide what business should be deferred, commissioners will need to agree to both the process and the matters to be deferred. While we will, of necessity, need to find new procedures to facilitate the Assembly, the Clerks of Assembly will strive to
ensure that all procedures conform with the principles of our polity as laid out in the Book of Forms.
PC-Biz (pc-biz.org), an online plat- form that has been in use successfully for 15 years within the Presbyterian Church (USA), will be used for pre- senting the repor ts and recommenda- tions—and facilitating the business to commissioners in real time. PC-Biz also enables voting and tracking of all business. It will be customized for The Presbyterian Church in Canada and our decision-making processes. Staff from PC-Biz will train those who will facilitate the Assembly and every commissioner, so that all are suffi- ciently confident to fully par ticipate. At the 2020 online General Assembly of the PC(USA), they found that only one of close to 600 commissioners was unable to manage the technology after the training.
The staff in the General Assem- bly Office are excited about serving the church in this new way and look
in 2021
forward to working with a team of volunteers and staff to help the As- sembly be a positive and memorable experience. As plans continue to de- velop and unfold, the Assembly web- site will be updated at presbyterian. ca/ga2021.
 Presbyterians Sharing provides the funds for the General Assembly, the body that brings people together across the church to collaborate and set the strategic direction of the church’s ministry.
 What Does a General Assembly Commissioner Do?
June 2021 will mark the first time in the history of The Presbyterian Church in Canada that the General Assembly will meet entirely online. This will necessitate some modifications as to how the Assembly is conducted, but the fundamentals remain unchanged. Ministers and elders from across Canada will still unite in worship and discernment and the decisions made will shape our denomination and help us fulfill the ministry to which we are called.
Before the Assembly, commissioners will receive reports from the various committees, councils and agencies. The more commissioners familiarize themselves with the reports, the more effectively they will be able to participate. During the Assembly, commissioners will be expected to attend every sederunt (sitting) of the Assembly. Reports will be presented. Some of them will have recommendations that call for decisions to be made, others will not. Ecumenical and interfaith guests will be invited to address the court. After the Assembly, presbyteries will invite commissioners to report on their Assembly experience. Your clerk of presbytery should let you know how to go about submitting your evaluation.
The church is blessed when commissioners, embracing God’s inexhaustible love, seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit and discern the mind of Christ together.
 Opening worship at the 2019 General Assembly.
 Pre-Assembly Q&A Sessions
For the benefit of commissioners to the General Assembly, some committees will offer online Q&A sessions in advance of the Assembly’s meetings. These gatherings will give commissioners an opportunity to meet some committee members, learn more about the content of the reports and ask questions about proposed recommendations. Details about the timing and format of the meetings can be found at presbyterian.ca/ga2021.
  Young Adult Representatives at the 2019 General Assembly.
Commissioners vote at the 2019 General Assembly.




































































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