“We want to conceive of a presbytery that promotes the mission of the church composed of missional networks that are both intra, inter and co-centric with the presbytery itself. The new presbytery of the Allegheny presbytery represents a good example of what this might look like elsewhere.”

The 460 commissioners of the 31st General Assembly of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church meeting in Cordova, Tenn voted unanimously to form two new geographic presbyteries.

The first new presbytery was carved out of parts of the presbyteries of the Midwest, East and Mid-Atlantic. The new Allegheny presbytery consists of all member churches and teaching elders within the geographic boundaries of western New York, western Pennsylvania, the western two counties of the state of Maryland, the northern part of West and the eastern portion of the state of Ohio.

The second new presbytery was created by dividing the presbytery of the West. The new Pacific presbytery consists of the states of California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Hawaii and Nevada and the western portion of Idaho.

Both recommendations arose from the Presbytery Boundary Study Committee. The chair of the committee Mike Glodo acknowledged that the work of the committee includes two primary mandates:

* Think philosophically about what a presbytery ought to be, and
* Address immediate boundary issues.

Glodo said, “We have a two year commission and we will be prepared at next year’s General Assembly meeting to offer you a philosophy of what a presbytery ought to be the furthers and promotes the mission of the church.”

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