A called meeting of the General Assembly is scheduled for May 1 at 4:00 p.m. EST to approve a motion to reschedule the 40th General Assembly from June 23-26, 2020, to September 17-18, 2020. The called meeting will be conducted as a video conference. Hope Presbyterian Church in Cordova, Tenn., will host the 40th General Assembly.
“With so many uncertainties about when meeting restrictions will be lifted—not to mention the safety of our attendees—the National Leadership Team unanimously agreed that rescheduling the 40th Assembly was in everyone’s best interest,” said Jeff Jeremiah, EPC Stated Clerk. “I am grateful for their wise decision to postpone GA until the fall, and for Hope Church’s flexibility in being able to host us in September.”
The motion that the called meeting of the General Assembly will be asked to approve is:
The 40th General Assembly of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church is rescheduled from June 23-26, 2020, at Hope Presbyterian Church, Cordova, Tennessee, to September 17-18, 2020, at Hope Presbyterian Church, Cordova, Tennessee.
The National Leadership Team approved the motion and the date and time of the called meeting on Tuesday morning, April 14. A quorum of registered Commissioners to the 39th General Assembly approved the motion later on April 14.
Commissioners to the 39th GA will be notified soon with the called meeting video conference details.
Book of Government 20-5B provides for a called meeting of the General Assembly. Ten percent of Ruling Elders and ten percent of Teaching Elders who were Commissioners to the 39th General Assembly in 2019 must “petition” for the called meeting. A total of 571 Commissioners attended the 39th General Assembly: 282 REs and 389 TEs. In order for the called meeting to take place, 29 Ruling Elders and 39 Teaching Elders needed to sign the petition. The Office of the General Assembly emailed all 571 Commissioners following the NLT action, inviting them to sign the petition. The required number to constitute a quorum had petitioned for the called meeting by 5:00 p.m.
Jeremiah said the proposed September 17-18 meeting will be “business only,” with no Leadership Institute on Tuesday or Wednesday. He added that the Office of the General Assembly staff is exploring the possibility of providing virtual as well as on-site participation for Commissioners at the proposed September meeting. The quorum for meetings of the General Assembly is five Ruling Elders and five Teaching Elders from three presbyteries (Book of Government 20-5C).
If the motion is approved, the following will occur:
- The fiscal year 2020 budget (July 1, 2019 – June 30, 2020) will be continued until the 40th General Assembly approves the fiscal year 2021 budget at its September 17-18 meeting.
- Permanent Committee members in the Class of 2020 will continue on their committee until the General Assembly acts on the recommendation of the Nominating Committee at its September 17-18 meeting.
- Online registration will open July 1.
Jeremiah noted that precedent for a called meeting of the General Assembly was set in September 2006, when a called meeting took place in which he was elected Stated Clerk.