Preachers announced for 227th General Assembly . . . . . 1
Kairos Collective Re-Imagines Worship in Milwaukee
Ruling Elder Shares His Experience as a Young Adult on the Unification Commission
GA Community Day on June 27 to include Walk to End Gun Violence .
Teaching Elder shares his UC experience
Bill Myers Throws Hat in the Ring for Moderator of the General Assembly .
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Preachers announced for 227th General Assembly
Worship at the 227th General Assembly (2026) is rooted in the theme of “Persevering Toward Wholeness” and the image of the tree of life, with leaves “for the healing of the nations” (Rev. 22:2). Services will include passionate preaching, stirring song, fervent prayer, and inspiring testimony to the healing and reconciling work of Christ among us.
SERVICES AND LEADERS
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All times are Central Daylight Time (CDT).
Opening Worship - Planting and Feeding
Monday, June 29, 8:30–9:30 a.m. CDT
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Preachers and Presiders: Revs. Cecelia Armstrong and Tony Larson
Luke 24:13–35
The Revs. Cecelia Armstrong and Tony Larson are CoModerators of the 226th General Assembly (2024). This service will include the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper.
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GA 227 Deadlines
180 Day - Dec. 24, 2025
Commissioner names
120 Day - Feb. 22, 2026
Constitutional implications, all reports
60 Day - Apr. 22, 2026
All overtures and the ACC report
45 Day - May 7, 2026
All comments, concurrences, minutes
30 Day - May 22, 2026
GANC report
Commissioners ResolutionsJune 23, 2026
Ecumenical Service - Walking Together Toward Wholeness
Tuesday, June 30, 8:30–9:30 a.m. CDT
Preacher: Rev. Dr. Kevin Vandiver
Revelation 22:1–5
The Rev. Dr. Kevin Vandiver is senior pastor at Lutheran Church of the Reformation in Washington, D.C.
Evening Prayer - Remembering, Lamenting, Hoping
Wednesday, July 1, 8:30–9 p.m. CDT
This service will include the commemoration of ministers of the Word and Sacrament who have died between Jan. 1, 2024, and Dec. 31, 2025.
Closing Worship - Sending with Healing in Our Hands
Thursday, July 2, 8:30–9:30 a.m. CDT
Preacher: Rev. Laura Mariko Cheifetz
Isaiah 58:6–12
The Rev. Laura Mariko Cheifetz is transitional executive presbyter for the Presbytery of San Francisco.
Kairos Collective Re-Imagines Worship in Milwaukee
General Assembly attendees will have a chance to encounter some of the creative and vibrant worshipping communities within the Presbytery of Milwaukee and surrounding areas.
Grounded in practices of contemplation, relationships and just action, Kairos Collective strives to live out Jesus’ command to love their neighbors. Operating without a building and with support from the Presbytery of Milwaukee, Kairos has woven itself into the fabric of the city through partnerships with community organizations and other religious groups.
Ruling Elder Carson Brown Shares His Experience as a Young Adult on the Unification Commission
Unification Commission member Carson Brown describes the camaraderie and collegiality between members as “really quite special” and “unlike anything [he’s] experienced in working with a church organization before.” He says he felt warmly welcomed as a younger adult member of the commission, and he especially appreciated the way members led with grace and love throughout the decision-making process.
“What we appreciate most is that — exhausted and tired though we may be when we get to the Assembly … we’re only just beginning in the ways that our church will continue to grow and thrive in this century and beyond.”
GA Community Day on June 27 to include Walk to End Gun Violence
This year’s General Assembly will include a Community Day on June 27. All General Assembly participants and local Presbyterians are invited to begin their Saturday by joining in a public witness focused on gun violence prevention called “Healing Not Harm: A Walk to End Gun Violence.”
Gather first at Pere Marquette Park (across the street from the Hyatt Hotel) to see a Guns to Gardens blacksmith demonstration and hear speakers from the national offices and the area. Around 10 a.m., we will walk together the short distance to City Hall, encircle the building in prayer and then walk back to the Baird Center (1 mile total).
Those not able to come to the park or join the walk are encouraged to come to the Baird Center North lobby for related activities and resources, including a Guns to Gardens sales table and video resources.
This Community Day action is coordinated by the Presbytery of Milwaukee and the Office of Public Witness of the Unified Agency.
Join us to:
• witness to PC(USA) efforts toward policy change
• listen to stories from those impacted by gun violence
Gun violence remains a public health crisis in the United States and is the leading cause of death among children and teens. In 2025 alone, there were 408 mass shootings, 233 of which were at schools, and gun deaths by suicide account for over 58% of total gun deaths annually. According to a report by the Commonwealth Fund, U.S. states have a higher firearm mortality rate than most other countries, and those rates are on par with countries experiencing active conflict.
• learn from churches working to make a change in their community
• see a live demonstration from a Guns to Gardens blacksmith and
• hear more on this initiative from the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship
• gather around Milwaukee City Hall (a seat of power) to pray for systemic change
• pick up resources and ideas you can take back to your congregations and communities.
If we envision a future centered on the promises of God where the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations, then Healing Not Harm: A Walk to End Gun Violence helps us take faithful steps toward that future.
Bill Myers Throws Hat in the Ring for Moderator of the General Assembly
The Presbytery of West Virginia announced on April 22 that the Rev. Dr. Bill Myers will stand for Moderator at the conclusion of the 227th General Assembly. Myers serves as pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Charleston, West Virginia, and has been endorsed by the presbytery in his call to stand.
According to a press release from the presbytery, Myers feels called to represent the smaller communities shaped by steady, creative and deeply resilient faith.
“In many ways, they are closer to the heart of who we are being called to become — congregations learning to trust God with less, to stay rooted in community, and to keep showing up with quiet, persistent hope,” Myers said. “What I’ve witnessed here has changed me. It has reshaped how I understand strength in church and deepened my conviction that the Spirit is at work in ways we don’t always recognize. I want to help lift those stories, not to romanticize them, but to let them speak. Because when we begin to see more clearly where God is already at work, it changes how we imagine the future.”
Myers’ sense of call is also informed by years of ministry in congregations going through conflict and renewal.
“We are living in a time marked by division, fatigue and uncertainty. The instinct is to move quickly — to resolve, to decide, to move on. But I don’t believe the church’s deepest need right now is quicker answers. I believe it is deeper faithfulness,” he said, later adding, “I’m comfortable in those spaces, not because they’re easy, but because I believe the church belongs together, even when it’s struggling.”
In addition to Myers, the Rev. Dr. Kristopher D. Schondelmeyer and the Rev. Marta PumroyCordero as well as the Revs. Drs. Sean Chow of San Diego Presbytery and Frances Lin have each announced their intent to stand as CoModerators.
The Rev. Dr. Bill Myers, and his wife, Margie. photo courtesy of the Presbytery of West Virginia
