Presbytery Meetings
162nd Stated Meeting
Tuesday, May 13, 2025
at Emmanuel Presbyterian Church, Knoxville
hosted by Fourth United, Shiloh and Emmanuel
Dear Friends,
I’m looking forward to being with you all at Emmanuel United Presbyterian Church for our May presbytery meeting hosted jointly by Emmanuel United, Fourth United, and Shiloh. The theme for the meeting is The Meaning of New Life, which is quite appropriate for this Eastertide meeting. We will celebrate the ministries and new life in retirement of two pastors and one ruling elder. We will celebrate the completion of the first cohort in the newly revamped Commissioned Pastor program and subsequent new calls, and we will celebrate the reception of new members to our presbytery. We will also learn more about the creative and imaginative ways CRDT is seeking to provide all our congregations free access to quality Christian formation resources on Amplify.
At this meeting we will also vote on amendments to the Book of Order. The packet includes links to each amendment so you can learn about each one. Come join us for worship, fellowship, equipping, and good food. And remember, read the packet and come prepared so our work together is faithful, efficient, and effective.
Grace and peace,
Wendy
General Presbyter
2025 Presbytery Meetings
Saturday, February 8th – Zoom Only
Tuesday, May 13th – Emmanuel United, Fourth United and Shiloh will host together at Emmanuel United, Knoxville
Saturday, August 9th – Farragut Presbyterian Church, Farragut
Tuesday, November 18th – Second Presbyterian Church, Chattanooga
Who Attends Presbytery Meetings?
The presbytery is the council serving as a corporate expression of the church within a certain district and is composed of all the congregations and ministers of the Word and Sacrament within that district. The presbytery shall adopt and communicate to the sessions a plan for determining how many ruling elders each session should elect as commissioners to presbytery, with a goal of numerical parity of ministers of the Word and Sacrament and ruling elders. (G-3.0301).
How Many Elders?
The Presbytery’s formula for determining how many elder commissioners attend from each congregation is based on the size of the congregation.
- Membership of 1001 to 1500 members = 3 commissioners.
- Membership of 201 to 1000 members = 2 commissioners.
- Membership of 1 to 200 members = 1 commissioner.
- Additionally, elders serving on the Coordinating Committee not serving as church commissioners, Commissioned Lay Pastors, and a representative from the Presbyterian Women of the Presbytery all are given a voice and vote at each meeting.
Who Can Vote?
All elder commissioners, those additional elders noted above, and all minister members of the Presbytery have privilege of voice and vote. Ministers serving within the Presbytery, but whose membership is in a different presbytery are recognized as Corresponding Members and have privilege of voice, but not vote.
A Very Brief Guide To Parliamentary Procedure
The presbytery is responsible for the government of the church throughout its district, and for assisting and supporting the witness of congregations to the sovereign activity of God in the world, so that all congregations become communities of faith, hope, love, and witness. As it leads and guides the witness of its congregations, the presbytery shall keep before it the marks of the Church (F-1.0302), the notes by which Presbyterian and Reformed communities have identified themselves through history (F-1.0303) and the six Great Ends of the Church (F-1.0304) (G-3.0301).