Welcoming the Moderator to Presbytery

This was a Presbytery Meeting to write home about. We hosted the Reverend Bruce Reyes-Chow, Moderator of the 218th General Assembly, we celebrated the retirement of our Executive Presbyter, the Reverend Ken Moe, and we examined and approved the candidacy for ministry of our current Moderator of Presbytery, Glyndon Morris.

The day began early with the Moderator's Breakfast, hosted by the Women's Ministry Committee. About thirty people gathered over eggs Benedict and pastries to get to know Bruce. Several of us have come to know him on-line, on Facebook and Twitter as well as on his blogs, so it was a pleasure to encounter him outside "virtual reality." He spoke briefly then entertained questions about his own church in San Francisco, his work as the Moderator and his ideas about where the church is heading in the future. His gesture pretty much sums it up.

After breakfast the Presbytery meeting opened with prayer and liturgy immediately following items of procedural business. Then Bruce addressed the Presbytery, touching on ways we use technology and the difficulties we have in reaching across generations. He called us to be open to unexpected changes in the future, including the possibility that while the Presbyterian witness will endure, the institution as it now exists may need to pass away. God may call us to be faithful in ways we cannot yet imagine.

Because Desert Palms' sanctuary is filled with light, we moved to the fellowship hall for the report and Powerpoint presentation by Rocky Mackey and David Hicks of the Planning Committee. After months of meetings, interviews, and hard work, their initial report recommended significant changes in the organization, structure and staff of the Presbytery, all with a substantially lowered budget. An extensive question and answer period followed the presentation; many difficult questions were raised to which the answers are not yet clear.

A highlight of our afternoon business was the examination and enrollment of Glyndon Morris as a Candidate for Ministry. As Moderator Bruce Reyes-Chow observed, we are probably unique among Presbyteries in examining our current Moderator of Presbytery as he moves from Inquirer to Candidate status.

Reports followed on stewardship, nominations and the Agua Fria Food Bank, then we came to the celebration of Ken Moe's retirement (honorable) after ten years as our Executive Presbyter. As always, we prayed and sang and read liturgy, then long lines of people came to the microphone to proclaim Ken's virtues and accomplishments. That was all very nice, but merely prelude to certain smart-alec staff members who demonstrated the many hats Ken has worn throughout his career, culminating with a Presbyterian Bishop's Miter and a Harry Potter Sorting Hat. (Upon seeing the Bishop's Miter, Moderator Reyes-Chow became faint with envy.)

Once everybody settled down, the Presbytery celebrated the Lord's Supper with both Ken and Bruce officiating. We may not know what God holds in store for the future of either our Presbytery or our denomination, but for now, we know that the Presbytery of Grand Canyon maintains a strong and joyful witness in this time and place. As Moderator Bruce Reyes-Chow quipped on Twitter later that afternoon, "Grand Canyon Presbytery is busting me up. Much fun having they are."





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