The four declared candidates for moderator of the 218th General Assembly (2008) were together for the first time in two back-to-back forums on April 25 held at Presbyterian-related Bloomfield College in Bloomfield, N.J., and Lawrenceville Church in Lawrenceville, N.J.

The different formats of the two events gave candidates opportunities to present their ideas in different ways. The Bloomfield College forum was more like the election process at the General Assembly with each candidate offering opening and closing statements, with a timed portion for Questions & Answers. The Lawrenceville forum had each candidate make an opening statement, followed by each one sitting at four different tables, rotating in a round-robin style every 15 minutes, to talk with smaller groups of participants. Both events also allowed General Assembly commissioners, advisory delegates, and others to meet and talk with each other prior to arriving in San Jose.

Each candidate made the points he determined were key to his candidacy.

Bill Teng from the Presbytery of National Capital sees the potential impact of the Form of Government (FOG) report on the church. While calling it a “sleeper” issue that could potentially have wide-reaching consequences, he sees that his role as moderator would be to guide the discussions. Asked about what he sees his role if elected moderator to address the current divisions in the Church, Teng said that he was saddened in his spirit at churches pulling out and that he would desire for churches to see hope by staying together and continuing dialogue for, as he put it, “in Christ, we have our hope.”

Teng also took the time to applaud and thank the missionary efforts of the Presbyterian churches for bringing his family to our faith in China.

Bruce Reyes-Chow from the Presbytery of San Francisco highlighted at both forums his deep Presbyterian roots and his desire to bring a fresh vision and voice to the Church. Citing a conservative friend of his who described his leadership style as “excruciatingly fair,” Reyes-Chow sees the role of moderator as bridging the theological divide and asking the question to the Church, “How do we move with dignity?” About his emphasis on mission that engages a young generation of present and future leaders, Reyes-Chow expressed, “I desperately hope there is a church for them [his three daughters], a church that is relevant.”

Carl Mazza from the Presbytery of New Castle spoke of his Irish Catholic background and the impact of seeing and being with Jesus in the stranger. He spoke of the most pressing issue coming before the Assembly as “Jesus will be coming before us. How will we relate to the Presence of Jesus in our midst.” Asked about how he would balance the issues he cares about with what the Assembly says on those issues, Mazza asserted, “It’s all about building relationships, not about proclaiming issues.”

Roger Shoemaker from the Presbytery of Homestead would like a grassroots movement from congregations. Often referring to what he perceived were the deficiencies of “Louisville and the General Assembly Council” Shoemaker would use his moderatorial term to “find ways to be in relationship” with our churches and model servant leadership. Finding Internet social utility network sites such as Facebook a present challenge, he hopes to learn about them and use them to communicate for he sees it as “key to the communication process.” He sees the top issue coming before the Assembly will be the Form of Government Task Force report. Shoemaker sees an opportunity for the FOG report to open up the Book of Order to congregations.

Following the New Jersey forums, some of the candidates met for subsequent forums in the Baltimore and Washington D.C. areas.

The election for moderator is scheduled for Saturday, June 21 at 7 p.m. Pacific time.

Neal D. Presa is North and Central Jersey Moderatorial Candidates Host Committee representative and Mark Smith is Central Jersey Moderatorial Candidates Host Committee representative.

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