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March 27, 2025


Greetings! The Administrative Commission continues our work. Today I want to highlight three areas that are pulling a great deal of our attention right now.

The first is the structure of presbytery leadership committees and commissions. We are in the process of establishing five new committees—Budget and Finance, Grants, Property and Loans, Investments, and Human Resources—all of which will have begun their work within the next couple of weeks. Each of these committees is staffed by a combination of Presbytery of Detroit people and experts from other presbyteries within our synod. These “outside experts” (whose commitment will not extend past the end of 2025) are helping to bring in alternate ways of doing things and best practices in their respective fields. AC members are trying to attend as many of these meetings as possible.


Secondly, we are working with the presbytery’s Strategic Planning committee to consider new organizational and leadership approaches in the POD. I’ve heard presbytery execs describe strategic planning as “building the plane while flying it,” but we’re trying to be significantly more intentional about our work in this area. We’re starting with the work the Strategic Planning committee has done. Many thanks to Rev. Rebeka Fergusson-Lutz (Clergy, Geneva), Rev. Chris Hallam (Clergy, Northminster, Troy), Rev. Kara Hildebrandt (Clergy, Lincoln Park), Elder Kevin Smith (First Warren), Elder Rhonda Smith (Calvary, Detroit), Rev. Paul Stunkel (Clergy, Retired)!


And thirdly, we have been working for some time to define benchmarks for returning jurisdiction to the Presbytery of Detroit. In other words, we’re trying to define how we’ll know that the time has come for the POD to retake its own management and direction. The new strategic plan is one of these benchmarks—it needs to be designed, approved, communicated and launched. Another is a completed manual of operations with all policies—work that Stated Clerk Melissa Alison has been managing for many months (with many more months to come).


Finally, I wanted to let you know that with the withdrawal of Rev. Calvin Bremer, the Synod of the Covenant AC for the Presbytery of Detroit has added the Rev. Barry Chance to our membership. Barry is the General Presbyter/Clerk of Session of Eastminster Presbytery in eastern Ohio.


From the Synod AC:


Rev. Jeanne Gay, Chair


Rev. Barry Chance, Robert Sullivan, Alice McCollum, and Jim Wilson