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MILWAUKEE 2026
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Issue 6 | December 2025 e Pr e sby
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Contents
14 Overtures Submitted So Far for GA227. . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Newly elected commissioner Kari Olson shares her hopes and excitement for GA227. . . 2 UC Member Bill Teng talks about importance of shared purpose and the work ahead. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Unification Commission votes to recommend San Juan, Puerto Rico, as the site of the 228th General Assembly in 2028. . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Dates to Know December 24, 2025 Commissioner and Advisory Delegate names submitted Spring 2026 Business deadlines Available here June 22-24, 2026 GA Committees meet online June 27, 2026 Community Day - service and education opportunities, ministry fair, and community gatherings June 28, 2026 Worship in local congregations and convening of plenary
to the 227th General Assembly
14 Overtures Submitted So Far for GA227 by Ken Tolley
One of my great privileges is getting to see overtures to the General Assembly as they roll in. Witnessing the amount of work and care that went into each one is moving and serves as a reminder of how many people are so wholeheartedly invested in the future of the church. Our polity is such a joy in many ways but perhaps most especially in the way it showcases our emphasis on communal discernment. For those unaware, the quickest way to view all of the currently posted overtures can seem a bit counter-intuitive. If you navigate to the Business tab of MyGA, just hit “Search,” and it will pull all of the available overtures for the current assembly. Search for nothing to find everything. (I know that sounds like a Vonnegut quote, but it isn’t.) We’ve received 14 overtures thus far, although if you looked at the numbers, we are on OVT-24. Our system tags each submitted overture, and the text of OVTs 4-6 were each submitted by four different presbyteries. The first submitted copy (in these cases, from the Presbytery of the Cascades) becomes the overture and the others are migrated as concurrences. Committees are formed later in the process when we’ve received the majority of the business and can better sense the common themes of the issues coming before the assembly. Although there is not yet enough data to form committees, one can note that several of the overtures that have been received for GA227 either build upon or call for review of business passed by the 226th General Assembly. There is also great encouragement to be found in seeing those overtures rising to this GA, the one before, and so many of those prior that are concerned with equity, justice, and love for our neighbor.
June 29-July 2, 2026 GA Plenary 1