Jihyun Oh elected Stated Clerk of the PCUSA general assembly
Jihyun Oh is joined by her family during the litany of her installation as the next stated clerk of the PC(USA) general assembly on July 1. (Photo by Rich Copley)
In a 420-2 vote, Jihyun Oh was elected and then installed as the next stated clerk of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) general assembly Monday. Oh, who’s currently director of Mid Council Ministries in the Office of the General Assembly, begins her new work on August 1.
Oh is the first Korean American, the second woman, and the first woman of color to serve in the denomination’s highest ecclesial office.
“I love this church, the part of the body of Christ that is the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.),” Oh told the assembly. “I love this church for who we have been, warts and all, and for who we are now, and who we will become as we faithfully discern God’s call for us.”
After the vote, members of Oh’s family joined her on the platform to lay hands on her and participate in the litany of her installation, along with members of the Stated Clerk Nomination Committee. One committee member, Nelson Capitan, sang Oh an honor song, and the entire assembly sang, “Be Thou My Vision.”
“Someone along the way said to me, ‘Jihyun is always the smartest person in the room—any room,’” said Sallie Watson, the nomination committee’s moderator.
“But along with her intelligence, we were impressed with her wisdom, moved by her humility, thrilled with her passion for soccer, delighted by her sense of humor, and just blown away by the breadth and depth of her experience in, and love for, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).”—Presbyterian News Service
