Chris (left) and Brian Kilbert were able to reconnect while serving their presbyteries at the 226th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in Salt Lake City this summer.
Many people describe their experiences at the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) as a family reunion. People see friends and colleagues from the larger church that they haven’t seen in some time, reconnecting and catching up for lost time while overtures are being discussed, debated and voted on around them.
For Chris and Brian Kilbert, this year’s GA in Salt Lake City was literally a family reunion. The 45-year-olds from the Synod of the Trinity region who were GA commissioners in Utah in late June and early July are not only brothers, but also twins. It made for an extra-special time for the two to bond over Presbyterian work while also getting in some sightseeing and hiking after their GA work was complete.
“During General Assembly, I was very thankful to be able to share that experience with Brian,” Chris said. “Obviously we were with our own presbytery commissioners in different parts of the Assembly room, but for meals and evenings, we were able to be together and that was special.”
Chris Kilbert represented West Virginia in Salt Lake City. The pastor at Riverlawn Presbyterian Church in St. Albans, WV, he served on the Financial Resources Committee at GA. Brian, the pastor at Puckety Presbyterian Church in Lower Burrell, PA, in the Presbytery of Redstone, spent his time on the General Assembly Procedures Committee.
The Kilberts were roommates at GA, allowing them to connect after busy days in their committees, a hectic schedule that sometimes prevented them from talking throughout the day.
“We were in absolute opposite corners of the plenary conference room,” Brian said. “I was up in the front right and he was in the back left. Most of the meals we were able to have together. It was interesting because we would be with different people for some of those meals, with some of our different presbyteries and some of our different pasts of knowing various people, but when we were finally able to wrap up around 9-10 o’clock at night, we would come back and share a little bit about what we thought.
“Most of the time we would have honed in on one or two things that we both had similar feelings about, probably because we have similar theological centers. But there were a couple times where we definitely had a different kind of opinion – not really opposed, just interestingly different – about things.”
Brian admitted that there weren’t too many surprises at GA this year. If he had to pick one memorable moment during the gathering, it would be during the debate over the fossil fuel industry, a vote that originally went in favor of full divestment and then swung the other way in a landmark decision.
“They were very long,” he said of the discussions. “I did not expect to see God’s Spirit move in the midst of all the parliamentary procedure, but I did. One particular item of business had to be around four hours long.
“What surprised me was not only that they reconsidered, but the significant amount of the ‘winners’ who were willing to hear those that didn’t feel like they had been heard. When I watched the process and the people being open to make sure that everyone had been heard, even though everyone was tired, I said that’s got to be God because I don’t see that in the world. You don’t see it in Congress, you don’t see it in other places with human beings, particularly when they have ‘won,’ they’re not going to reconsider.
“I was very encouraged by how the church showed love, respect, openness and humility. It was so neat how it ended up working in the end.”
While Brian was clearly encouraged and thankful by what he saw regarding people on both sides of an issue being heard, Chris agreed that this was an encouraging sign.
“When someone would present an amendment at the beginning of a discussion for an overture, that amendment sometimes will come from the opposite end wanting to bridge the gap,” Chris said. “In at least one instance that bridging the gap was brought by both sides. It was an amendment where all those representing different views on the issue still felt the need to put that up front for the sake of the larger church. I have a bigger respect for that now since that GA.”
Chris added that he was also excited about the relationships that were made in Utah that will benefit the denomination going forward.
“It was interesting, once we got to Salt Lake City, whether it was our own committee or whether it was just random connections through meals or different kinds of conversations, to see the spirit of the people, the love of the people, the connectedness of the church,” he said. “It is something that you can hear about and cherish about our own church tradition, but to see it really lived out was incredibly encouraging. It’s something to cherish and be thankful for just to see brothers and sisters as the larger church seeking the will of Christ for his church.”
The brothers admitted that the newly elected co-moderators, the Revs. CeCe Armstrong and Tony Larson, were an inspiration, from the time they were elected through their handling of the meeting. The co-moderators were also responsible for honoring Chris and Brian in front of the 600-person plenary on July 3, as that date coincided with the 20-year anniversary of their ordinations.
“They took the time to honor us, and that was pretty neat,” Brian said.
The Kilbert twins hiked four national parks in the Salt Lake City area following their five days at the General Assembly this summer.
Following the five days at General Assembly, the Kilberts hiked four national parks in the area. Chris developed his love for hiking during his college years when he spent three summers serving with “A Christian Ministry in the National Parks,” which is a student-led Christian community for the people working in, living in and visiting national parks. For Brian, he has run a half marathon in the Grand Canyon and is closing in on visiting 20 different national parks over the years.
The fact that the two brothers ended up at the General Assembly wasn’t a coincidence. Brian was nominated as a teaching elder commissioner for Redstone about a year prior to GA. When Brian found out he was making the trip, he shared the news with Chris, which led to him inquiring to see if he could also find a way to represent West Virginia.
“We don’t get to see each other much,” Chris said, recalling his thinking process regarding attending GA. “I had never been to a General Assembly. I thought to myself that this would be neat to serve the denomination in that way.”
A short time later Chris was approved to represent West Virginia, putting the wheels in motion for this reunion of sorts in Utah with Brian, who had been to a General Assembly before as an overture advocate in Pittsburgh in 2012.
The Kilberts grew up in Sharon, PA, and attended Grove City College together. They went separate ways to seminary, with Brian attending Pittsburgh Theological Seminary while Chris studied at Gordon-Conwell Seminary in South Hamilton, MA. Despite serving congregations roughly 4 ½ hours apart, they stay connected but usually only see each other during holidays. That helped make GA special.
“We’ve stayed close over the years,” Chris said. “We’re always there when we need each other. So, even though geography has separated us, I don’t think it’s really changed that connection.”
In 2028, the General Assembly will be held in Milwaukee. Both Chris and Brian said they would be open to attending another General Assembly.
“It was a very unique and humbling way to serve the larger church and our presbytery,” Chris concluded.