Continous Discipleship - Glossary

Prayer: We only have one source of life and that is you, God. We pray that our Presbyterian order and our learning and growing in that system had the purpose of directing us to you. Amen.

Church – the body of Christ, the provisional sign of the kingdom of God, the individual congregational to which one belongs.

Session – the governing council of a congregation elected by the congregation to represent God in the administration of the church.

Minister – a person ordained to the office of Minister of Word and Sacrament.

Elder – a person elected and ordained who serves on the session to care for the administration and spiritual nurture of the congregation.

Deacon – a person ordained to serve in the caring body of the congregation.

Trustee – some churches have a third governing group to handle the financial and property concerns of the church.

Clerk of Session – official record keeper for the session of an individual congregation.

Stated Clerk – official record keeper and sometimes spokesperson for the presbytery, synod, and general assembly.

Presbytery – the council of churches of a region that supports the ministry of the churches with decisions made by commissioners.

Synod – a collection of presbyteries that supports the work of the presbyteries.

General Assembly – elders and ministers from all the presbyteries gather every other year to consider motions that have been generated by the presbyteries that shape how we function.

Polity – refers to the system of government of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

Book of Confessions – eleven statements of faith, creeds, confessions, and catechisms that state what the church believes.

Book of Order – the constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) including the Form of Government, Directory of Worship, and Rules of Discipline.

Prayer: We know that words can offer connections or barriers. We pray that the words that we use build up the body of Christ and continually offer welcome within the church. Amen.