In a called meeting on May 1, Commissioners to the EPC’s 39th General Assembly approved a motion to reschedule the 40th General Assembly from June 23-26 to September 17-18, 2020. The called meeting was conducted virtually with electronic voting.

The 40th General Assembly will be held at Hope Church in Cordova, Tenn., with the theme of “Always,” based on 2 Corinthians 2:14.

“Given the uncertainties with the coronavirus pandemic, our National Leadership Team recommended that we reschedule the Assembly from June to the fall,” said Jeff Jeremiah, EPC Stated Clerk. “A number of states around the country have begun to lift their shelter-in-place restrictions over the past few days, but I believe postponing our meeting is wise.”

Tom Werner, National Leadership Team Chairman and a Ruling Elder from the Presbytery of Mid-America, said the National Leadership Team (NLT) worked closely with Hope Church leadership to ensure that a September 17-18 meeting would not disrupt the church’s fall schedule.

“I am thankful to Pastor Rufus Smith and his team at Hope for being flexible and gracious hosts,” Werner said. “They are in the same boat we all are, trying to minister to their congregation and community and at the same time keep their staff and members safe and secure. I know they will be ready to host us in September with their usual Hope Church level of excellence.”

Jeremiah noted that the now-September General Assembly will be “business only” with no Leadership Institute. The Office of the General Assembly staff is exploring the possibility of providing virtual as well as on-site participation for Commissioners.

“Because there are so many moving parts and guest speakers involved in our Leadership Institute, the schedule change gave us no option but to take this year off,” he said. “But this is only a brief hiatus—the Leadership Institute will be back next year and for the foreseeable future. In fact, we have already discussed with our plenary speakers the possibility of being with us at a future Assembly.”

Online registration will open on July 1. Registration fees have not been finalized, but Jeremiah said he “fully expects the registration fee to be reduced, with a strong possibility that meal costs will be included to make the process easier on everyone.”

For more information and regular updates about the 40^th General Assembly, see www.epc.org/ga2020.