Final day of Denver meeting brings consensus to work objectives

by Gregg Brekke | Presbyterian News Service

Mihee Kim-Kort addresses colleagues at the Denver meeting of the All Agency Review Committee. (Photo by Gregg Brekke)

DENVER – Day two of the Denver meeting of the All-Agency Review Committee began with an expression of gratitude by committee moderator Deborah Block, who asked the group to review the mission directives discussion from yesterday and look toward the work of future meetings.

“We’re going to need some help to get to the next steps,” said committee member Eric Beene of the analysis of the six agencies’ mission statements. “It feels that like, even in the pattern of the mission statements of the agencies, there’s siloing involved.”

Focusing on what she hoped would be a “General Assembly mission directive,” Block asked Beene to lead a review of findings from the previous day’s discussion that voiced concerns about the lack of an overarching directive for the work of the PC(USA).

Clare Lewis, vice president of sales and marketing at the Presbyterian Investment and Loan Program, said a common mission statement could “muddy” the focus of each agency — given their distinct work — to which Chris Mason responded such a common mission or vision statement would provide clarity, and avoid the siloing present in existing mission statements.

“If we focus on doing what we do well, we will not be a smaller church; we will grow,” said Mason. “Our problem is often that people don’t know why they should be involved with us.”

Claire Rhodes speaks at the All Agency Review Committee meeting in Denver. (Photo by Gregg Brekke)

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