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General Assembly Nominating Committee

Why Serve?

 

General Information

Who Are We?

The GANC:

  • Consists of one member from each of 16 synods and is fully representative of the diversity within the PC(USA). Ministers of the Word and Sacrament (both men and women), laymen, and laywomen of various ages and racial ethnic groups. It meets three times a year.
  • Solicits and receives applications for nomination of persons from governing bodies (sessions, presbyteries, and synods), from individual PC(USA) church members, and from other official PC(USA) groups. A person can be proposed for nomination when an Application for Nomination form and three Appraisal forms (personal references and governing body appraisal) have been received.
  • Maintains liaison with PC(USA) committees, councils, and boards in order to learn the skills required for each entity’s work on behalf of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
  • Proposes nominations to the General Assembly for election.
  • Holds files of persons for whom complete papers have been received for a period of two General Assemblies.

In order to ensure the competence, skills, diversity, and regional representation needed on General Assembly entities, we need your assistance in suggesting persons for consideration by the General Assembly Nominating Committee. The information you send us is greatly appreciated. We value this information and expect mutual confidentiality.

Am I Called to Serve?

  1. Review the entity descriptions and determine where your talents and interest can best be used. Seriously reflect on the skills and time required for the work of the entity you wish to serve.
  2. Get an Application for Nomination Form, from the GANC office, or the GANC member in your synod.
  3. Prayerfully consider the skills, qualifications, and time commitment expected for the work of the entity you wish to serve.
  4. Decide whether the Application for Nomination Form should originate from a session, presbytery, synod, other PC(USA) group, or an individual.
  5. State on the Application for Nomination Form the entity for which you are being suggested and the skills and experiences that qualify you for service on the entity.
  6. Complete the Application for Nomination Form and send it to the GANC office. You will need to ask the persons you have identified as your references to send in a Reference Form to the GANC office.
  7. Appraisals from the governing body of membership, (session for elder/lay person; presbytery for Minister of the Word and Sacrament) are necessary for all nominees. The GANC office will obtain the governing body appraisal.
  8. All currently serving GANC members have access to the nomination materials. Nomination material is confidential.
  9. All nominations are submitted to the General Assembly for election.

Can I Suggest Someone Else for Service?

  1. Reflect seriously on the person's qualifications and time availability. Obtain the person's permission and request an Application for Nomination Form.
  2. Complete the form or ask the nominee to complete the form. The applicant will need to send appraisal forms to three persons who will act as his or her references. These persons will need to return the appraisals to the GANC office.
  3. Submit the form to the GANC office. The GANC office will obtain the governing body appraisal.

What is the General Assembly Nomination Process?

Application for Nomination Packets are available from every GANC member, each presbytery and synod office, and from the Louisville office.

Persons may self-nominate (make application personally) or be nominated by a session, presbytery, synod, or by a committee or agency at any church level.

The Nomination form is to be completed and sent to the Louisville office as directed. For brevity's sake in this paper, the person whose name is on the form will be referred to as the "applicant" (as opposed to "potential nominee").

  1. Initiation of the Process
  1. When the form is received in Louisville, it is coded for:
    • Synod of origin,
    • General Assembly year of receipt,
    • GA committee on which nominee wishes to serve,
    • Applicant's status (synod/presbytery proposed slot or at-large).
  2. Coded information is entered into the database of nominees.
  3. The Louisville office sends a copy of the Nomination Form to:
    • All GANC members,
    • the GA committee on which nominee wishes to serve,
    • the GA Committee on Representation (GACOR), if nominee is under 26 years of age, disabled or a person of color.
  4. The GANC office sends an Appraisal Form with cover letter to the nominee's governing body of membership. The appraisal is sent to the GA Nominations office and a copy is sent to the GANC member from the applicant's synod. All GANC members have access to this confidential appraisal materials; all confidential materials are for the exclusive use of the GANC and will be reviewed and used in closed session deliberations and dealt with confidentially. (Note: Each presbytery will determine its own process for completion of the appraisal form; sessions will likewise determine their own process.)
  5. Each applicant is asked to send an appraisal form to three references. Those appraisals are returned to the GA Nominations office; a copy is sent to the GANC member from the applicant's synod. All GANC members have access to these appraisal materials; all confidential materials are for the exclusive use of the GANC and will be reviewed and used in closed session deliberations and dealt with confidentially.
  6. When the GANC has received appraisals from at least 2 of the 3 referenced persons and the governing body of membership, any GANC member may present the nominee for consideration by the entire GANC as committee slates are filled.
  7. The GA Committee on Representation (GACOR) is notified of entity vacancies. After the GANC takes actions on persons eligible for renominations, the GACOR is informed of renomination decisions and will/may provide additional appropriate advice prior to the GANC Spring meeting.
  1. At A GANC Meeting
  1. As each entity and its vacancies are considered by the GANC, the liaison to that entity gives a report regarding specific skills needed; and, second, any recommendation from GACOR is read.
  2. A GANC member may propose persons from his/her synod or any other synod, informed by:
    • Governing body and personal appraisals,
    • an understanding of the skills, expertise and particular needs as identified by each entity and liaison,
    • advice and counsel from the GACOR,
    • diversity needs of the particular entity, and entities in the aggregate.
  3. Each proposed nominee's qualifications are thoroughly discussed, and by elimination vote, a nominee is selected to fill each vacancy.
  4. The GACOR is informed of the full slate of nominees before the report is submitted, through the Reports to the General Assembly, to the General Assembly for election.
  1. C. At the General Assembly
  1. The GANC report, with process explanations, is made to the assembly.
  2. Nominations may be made from the floor to replace a specifically named GANC nominee. This is done according to a completely different and particular process.
  1. D. After the General Assembly
  1. The Stated Clerk sends a welcome letter to all persons elected by the General Assembly.
  2. The Stated Clerk sends a letter of appreciation to all persons who have completed service.
  3. Each GANC member sends a courtesy notice to each eligible nominee in his/her file, regarding the status of their papers, "unable to nominate", etc., and how much, if any time remains before they're outdated. (Papers are good for two Assemblies).
  4. Middle governing body personnel are informed of:
    • all persons within their presbytery/synod who were elected to serve, and the entity of service,
    • all persons within their jurisdiction whose nomination papers remain on file.
  5. GANC members are provided with a list of all persons whose names are in the active file.

Ordinarily about one-fourth of an entity's membership is chosen each year. Some incumbents may be renominated for an additional term, some nominations are for those proposed by synods and presbyteres for designated positions, and that diversity is a major criterion for selection.

In 2006—2008, 75 of approximately 290 elected were new nominations from a file of approximately 300 nomination forms.

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