Presbygeek

In July, I had the opportunity to head to Minnesota and join with lots of other presbyterians as we converged on the city of Minneapolis for our General Assembly. Actually, I got to go a bit earlier for the Campus Ministry Summit, held at Macalester College in St. Paul. That was a great chance to see colleagues from all over the nation, hear from our keynote speaker, the Rev. Dr. Steve Haynor (new prez of Columbia Seminary) and generally enjoy time with others who "get" why campus ministry matters. The time together was good fun, worship coordinated with folks from "The Table" was wonderful - check them out at http://www.thetableatcpc.org/ - and it was all over much too quickly!

But for the uber-presbygeek there was still General Assembly, so I crossed the river to Minneapolis. I was officially there as an exhibitor for the group PACHEM (Presbyterian Association for Collegiate & Higher Education Ministries). There was much to do - between daily worship, hanging out schmoozing in the exhibit hall, connecting with presby-friends from all over and testifying on behalf of campus ministry I kept busy. I even got the chance to grab a meal with the pastor from my hometown church and another friend from the presbytery where I grew up.

Some explanation - for those of you who don't speak presbyterian, the General Assembly is our big national meeting that happens every two years now. We gather, worship, and have big meetings with representatives from all over the country where we vote on all sorts of things. It is what we do to prayerfully discern who God is calling us to be & where God is calling us to act, pray, etc. in the world. A presbytery is a regional grouping of churches - the one I grew up in is called Palo Duro Presbytery, named for the beautiful canyon found in the panhandle of Texas. And the reason these two guys are holding their fingers up by their heads is that the restaurant we picked was called Hell's Kitchen. Which we found amusing since we are all presby ministers - therefore the devil horns - I know, I know, but we were amused! And the food was AMAZING - I totally recommend it to anyone headed to the twin cities!

This is only the third GA I've been to - and I find them an interesting mix of meaningful worship, family reunion, business meeting, and politicking. But regardless of whether I find the day uplifting or frustrating, I can't deny that this is my faith family and I enjoy getting to see us in action. May God bless the work of my fellow presbys, now all back in their home congregations.