Youngil: I’m going to ask our pastor to change the time of Sunday worship this summer. We need it earlier so I can get to the lake.
Gloria: Oh, the pastor won’t be able to decide that. We’ll need a congregational meeting — that’s how we did it in my former church.
Payton: Youngil, that might be a good idea, but the pastor doesn’t make that decision. And, Gloria, neither does the congregation, though it will be consulted. This is a decision for the session.
Youngil: What is a session?
Gloria: Why would the session decide, rather than the congregation?
Payton: Well, it’s all about how decisions are made throughout the councils of our church.
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has a presbyterian form of government. We don’t place much decision-making authority with individuals, who are prone to “idolatry and tyranny” (Book of Order, F-2.05). Neither are we congregational, where most decisions are made by the entire congregation. Instead, we are representative, electing ordained leaders to meet in councils to make decisions about our mission, ministry and governance.
These ordained leaders are called presbyters (teaching elders or ministers of the Word and Sacrament) and ruling elders.
There are four councils, one at each level of the denomination composing a tiered system of government. Each council is responsible for its own program, staffing, worship life, budget and administration of mission.
The session is the most local council. Each congregation is led and governed by its session, which is responsible for the congregation’s worship, programs, property, finances and membership. The session is composed of persons elected by the congregation — ruling elders and installed pastors (G-3.0201). In the session there are more ruling elders than teaching elders, but in all the other councils we strive to maintain parity between the two.
The next-larger council is the presbytery, composed of all the congregations and ministers of the Word and Sacrament within a certain district. It must have at least 10 sessions and 10 teaching elders. The presbytery is charged with oversight and nurture of its congregations and ministers. It may organize, dismiss and dissolve congregations; oversee congregations without pastors; establish and dissolve pastoral relationships; receive, dismiss and discipline its members; oversee the process by which individuals become teaching elders; and maintain ecumenical relationships. The presbytery elects commissioners (voting delegates) to synod and to General Assembly. Powers not specifically delegated “are reserved to the presbyteries” (G-3.0101).
The synod is the next-most-inclusive council, with at least three presbyteries in its region. Synod is responsible for the life and mission of the church and for supporting the presbyteries throughout its region (G-3.0401). There are currently 16 synods, each with a distinct ministry and mission.
The General Assembly is the council of the whole church. It meets biennially and deliberates on matters of governance, mission, social witness and doctrine (G-3.0501).
When councils are meeting, they make decisions by majority vote, after debate and discussion and opportunity for discernment (F-3.0205). They use "Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised" to conduct their meetings (G-3.0105). They are “not simply to reflect the will of the people, but rather to seek together to find and represent the will of Christ” (F-3.0204).
The councils are both independent and interconnected. The decisions of one become the decisions of the whole church (G-3.01), but each council has certain responsibilities reserved to it alone. For instance, only a session can ordain ruling elders and deacons and only a presbytery can ordain teaching elders — but once they are ordained, they are for the whole church.
All the requirements placed upon the councils and their various roles and responsibilities are explained in the Book of Order, which is the second part of our church’s constitution.
Oh, Gloria and Youngil, our congregational meeting to elect session members for the coming year is in a couple of weeks. I hope you will be there to see who our new session members will be!
For Reflection:
- As a ruling elder, how have you seen your impact on the church?
- What are some decisions of the session that have helped you reflect on your faith and life as a spiritual leader?
- In what ways have you witnessed the presbytery assisting its congregations?
- What is the goal of decisions made by councils?
Alyson Janke is a sixth-generation Presbyterian. A ruling elder, she has served as the Stated Clerk in John Knox Presbytery for 31 years and been commissioned to limited pastoral service at Wild Rose Presbyterian Church in Winnebago Presbytery for 25 years. She served on the PC(USA) Advisory Committee on the Constitution and taught Presbyterian Polity at the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary. She and her husband have retired from dairy farming.
Throughout 2026, monthly Regarding Ruling Elders articles will focus on some of the foundational aspects of ruling elder service and spiritual leadership in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
Subscribe to receive notifications of monthly Regarding Ruling Elders articles. Visit the PC(USA) Leader Formation website for more resources for ruling elders and deacons. For more information, email Martha Miller, editor of Regarding Ruling Elders.
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