2014 GA Commissioner Nomination Material
Nomination of Commissioners to the 2014 General Assembly
June 6, 2013
Dear Ruling and Teaching Elders of National Capital Presbytery,
One gift of our Presbyterian form of government is that it invites participation – participation on all levels, in our local congregations and in all of our judicatories from NCP committees to General Assembly committees. There are exciting benefits of serving at the higher judicatory levels, that of gathering with Presbyterians from all over our country to build up the body of Christ and to discern how our denomination can best be Christ’s instrument. Biennially there is an opportunity to do this in an especially meaningful way, the meeting of the General Assembly.
It is the responsibility of the NCP Nominating Committee to solicit nominations for commissioners to the G.A. and present a slate of nominees to the November meeting of this presbytery. To that end, nomination of Commissioners to the 2014 General Assembly takes place between June and September of 2013.
• Who may be a commissioner? Any Ruling Elder (sitting or not currently serving on Session) or Teaching Elder in good standing in National Capital Presbytery may be either self-nominated or nominated by another presbyter.
• Who may be a Young Adult Advisory Delegate (YAAD)? Anyone between the ages of 17 and 23 who is a member in good standing in one of the churches of National Capital Presbytery may be either self-nominated or nominated by a presbyter.
• Who may recommend a nominee to the Nominating Committee? Any member in good standing of a congregation within NCP or, in the case of teaching elders of the Presbytery, may make a recommendation.
Below are links to the nomination forms for Teaching Elder and Ruling Elder Commissioners to the 221th General Assembly to be held in Detroit, MI, June 14-21, 2014. Also included is the form for the Young Adult Advisory Delegate (YAAD). The forms are based on the criteria adopted by Presbytery (found here). Transportation to the General Assembly as well as room and board during the Assembly are paid for commissioners in accordance with General Assembly policy.
The Nominating Committee of National Capital Presbytery has made small changes to the forms from two years ago that we feel clarify the information being requested. One of those changes will be found in the theological spectrum on the second page. It is our mandate to nominate commissioners who reflect the theological diversity that exists in this Presbytery. Assuring an appropriate balance of clergy/lay, male/female, age and racial/ethnic groups, geographical areas, and sizes of congregations is challenging, but possible, because these characteristics are easily discernible. Assuring a diverse representation of theological positions is difficult when the Nominating Committee is not familiar with the theological perspectives of the nominees. We sincerely hope that giving nominees the opportunity to place themselves on a continuum and then asking them to explain why they placed themselves in that particular spot will draw out nuances that mere labels only confound, thus enabling this committee to provide a slate of candidates that represents the theological diversity of this Presbytery.
Another very important change this year is that the forms may ONLY be submitted electronically. No paper copies will be accepted. Since commissioners to General Assembly must be familiar with electronic communication in order to receive all the information needed for the Assembly, we feel this is a first step in determining that capability.
• Clergy will complete the form and should then attach it to an email to me, as indicated on the forms.
• Elders and those seeking to be YAADs will complete the form and send it electronically to their Clerk or Moderator of Session. The Clerk or Moderator shall complete the form after the Session has endorsed the nomination, and then send the form electronically to me as an email attachment.
• Reference forms (required for elder and YAAD nominees, and recommended for minister nominees) are to be submitted by the person writing the recommendation and sent as an email attachment to me.
• A photograph of each nominee should be sent to me either electronically or by mail.
PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL FORMS ARE DUE BY SEPTEMBER 30, 2013.
The committee will post its slate online by November 1, 2013. Anyone not nominated who wishes to be nominated from the floor must submit a completed form to the Presbytery office two weeks before the November 12, 2013, Presbytery meeting, i.e., by October 29, 2013. The criteria for nominating commissioners from National Capital Presbytery to the General Assembly, including nominations from the floor, may be found here.
If you have questions about this process, please contact me at mary.hill.nominating@gmail.com.
Peace be with you,
Mary Hill
Chair, NCP Nominating Committee
The forms below are in Microsoft Word format so that they can be filled out and returned electronically. To download you need to Right Click on the appropriate form, choose “Save As” and save it on your computer.
+ the Ruling Elder Commissioner form
+ the Teaching Elder Commissioner form
+ the Young Adult Advisory Delegate form
+ the Reference Letter instruction sheet