In keeping with the Manual of Operations, the Presbytery of Baltimore announces its slate of nominees for Commissioner to the 222nd General Assembly meeting to be held June 18-25, 2016 in Portland, OR. The 2014 General Assembly moved the date for reporting commissioners to a General Assembly from 120 days to 180 days before the Assembly. That means that we must elect our four commissioners, two Teaching Elders, two Ruling elders and a Young Adult Advisory Delegate at our Nov. 14 Gathering, following the Leadership Conference on Race, Class and Poverty.

  

The Nominating Committee has worked diligently to find nominees that represent the diversity within our presbytery. They have, according to the rules in our Manual, nominated one person for each position and are still looking for several alternates. Serving as a commissioner to the General Assembly is an honor, but it is also a lot of work -- and, ultimately, extremely rewarding. Months before the General Assembly officially begins, each commissioner will be assigned to a particular committee and will be bombarded with information --  pros and cons -- for each issue that the committee will be acting upon or recommending to the General Assembly.

Once in Portland, the commissioners will begin working in the assigned committee for the first few days and then they will meet in plenary sessions to act on the recommendations from other committees. In addition to engaging in the work of the Church, there are also wonderful opportunities for worship and fellowship with so so many other Presbyterians from across the nation. The Presbytery of Baltimore's nominees for PC(USA)'s 222nd General Assembly of the are:

Merrit Schatz	TE Merritt Schatz has served as pastor of Grove Presbyterian Church for five year; she has over 31 years in the pastorate at four churches.  TE Schatz has also served eight years as a member of the National Response Team of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance. She currently serves the Presbytery as vice chair of the Committee on Ministry as well as a convener of the Transitions Team.
Mark Hanna.	TE Mark Hanna has served as pastor of Roland Park Presbyterian Church since 2007.  As a member of the Presbytery, TE Hana has assumed an active role in the leadership of the Personnel Committee, former Peace and Justice ministry and Clergy Care Committee.
Anita Bishop Johnson	Anita Bishop Johnson is a Commissioned Ruling Elder for Living Faith Fellowship. She has served six years on Committee on Ministry and was formerly a convener for the West Side Story Ministry Group.
Guy Moody	Guy Moody has served as a Ruling Elder of St. John United Methodist/Presbyterian Church for nearly 30 years. He has served on Session twice and chaired multiple church committees. He is also a co-convener of the West Side Story Ministry Group and a member of the Commission on Spiritual Leader Development.
Hannah Tennies	Hannah Tennies, the nominee for Young Adult Advisory Delegate (YAAD), is a member of Roland Park Presbyterian Church where she served as a deaconess, liturgist, head usher, choir member, Sunday school teacher and volunteer for various church events.  She enjoys being a part of the life of the church and seeks to grow her faith and leadership abilities while giving back to the community.