The 217th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) begins in Birmingham, Ala., Thursday (June 15), meeting simultaneously with the General Assemblies of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America.

While the Rev. Roger Rabey (First, Huntington) and Kathryn McCrary (Village Chapel, Charleston and CLP at Montgomery and Falls View) are the commissioners, several other West Virginians will be attending in various capacities, including Executive Presbyter Gay Mothershed, Stated Clerk John Harris, Davis & Elkins Chaplain Vicki Moss, First Huntington DCE MarthaO’Dell and yours truly. (There are probably others, as well.)

For those who are interested, I’ll file periodic reports — my goal is daily or better — on the goings on beginning Thursday. If you have any questions, or particular interests you’d like to hear about, let me know by email or post a note here.

The first major action will come Thursday evening with the election of the moderator. (You can find information on the four candidates here.)

The Assembly Committee on Ecclessiology will be discussing the report of the Theological Task Force on Peace Purity and Unity beginning Friday, and is scheduled to vote on the various recommendations Saturday.

Another place you can follow Assembly activity, including streaming video, is the denominational website; Roger and Martha will also be posting thoughts on First Huntington’s site.

I look forward to the conversation.

(These postings will also be sent to the presbytery e-mail list)