“It is extremely humbling to think of serving in this role,” Ince said. “Of all of the qualified people who happen to be people of color, to get this opportunity to serve the church in this way blows me away.”

Below are the recommendations issued by the Overtures Committee on June 13.

The Overtures Committee has submitted the following grounds for its recommendations to the General Assembly.

Below is a summary of the decisions made by the Overtures Committee of the 46th General Assembly on June 12. The committee will reconvene on Wednesday, June 13, at 8 a.m. 

As a veteran of more than 30 General Assemblies, Ric Springer sums up his role as chairman of floor clerks succinctly: “Chief gopher, keep the Assembly moving, and meet the needs of the men on the dais.”

In addition to the business of General Assembly, commissioners participate in seminars and corporate worship and strengthen personal relationships.

Kevin Smith, chairman of the study committee, hopes that the report will help congregations begin to see racism as a moral issue, like abortion. And as with other moral issues, Smith notes, refusing to talk about the issue will not make it go away.

Just before press time, 24 overtures had been submitted to the 46th General Assembly. Below is a brief synopsis of most of them, grouped by subject

Keeping with the theme of this year’s General Assembly, “Love God and Love Neighbor,” the GA Host Committee will be offering several opportunities for families of commissioners to serve the metro Atlanta community. “All of Scripture and life hangs on these two great purposes … loving God with all our hearts and loving others as…

“[Children] are members of the covenant community and members of the church. It makes me sad to think that often we ship them down the hall and they don’t participate in the great event of the gathered church,” said Jason Helopoulos.