Governance & Church Leaders

Our polity, processes, and accountability structures for joining God’s work in the world.

The Presbyterian Church USA

Local Church Session

The leadership body of our church is known as the Session. It’s made up of elders elected from the congregation.

Salem Presbytery

The church’s regional body of leadership is called the Presbytery. First Pres Salisbury belongs to the Salem Presbytery. We strive: To be a visible witness to Jesus Christ, REACH, to equip and strengthen our congregations and leaders for ministry in the world, EQUIP, and to inspire and model local and global mission, SEND.

Synod of the Mid-Atlantic

The greater regional body of the church is the Synod which is made up of presbyteries within a particular geographic area. Our presbytery belongs to the Synod of the Mid-Atlantic.

General Assembly

The national body of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is the General Assembly. Meetings of the General Assembly occur every other year.

The Session

The Session’s primary responsibilities are to support and supervise the work of the church and assure appropriate stewardship of resources. Ruling Elders (members who are called to serve on the Session) are nominated each year in January and serve three-year terms. Teaching Elders (our ordained Clergy) also sit on the Session. Polity, processes, and accountability structures for joining God’s work in the world. Our current Clerk of Court is Richard Miller.

Session & Ministry Teams

The Session oversees the work of the various ministry teams of the church. From children’s ministries to finance, the nuts and bolts of ministry happen in these groups. Download our organizational chart to visualize how it all comes
together!

Maxwell Chambers Trust

All former Elders of the church serve on Maxwell Chambers Trust. The trust manages the land of the Session house and Utzman-Chambers House. The Trust is led by an Executive Team led by Bob Steele (President), Lynn Miller (Secretary), and Scott Johnson (Treasurer).

Constitution

All PC(USA) bodies are governed by a constitution, which has two parts:

Book of Confessions – The doctrinal statements that convey what the church believes.

Book of Order – The policies and procedures of the church to enable it to carry out its ministries.