Archives for June 2013

MRTI reports record proxy votes for environmental shareholder resolutions

June 19, 2013 by Jerry L. Van Marter, Presbyterian News Service

The Presbyterian Church (USA), through its Committee on Mission Responsibility Through Investment (MRTI), helped achieve the best results ever in shareholder voting on environmental issues this spring. MRTI ― which advocates for compliance with General Assembly policy with corporations in which church investors hold stock ― filed three shareholder resolutions on environmental issues for the 2013 spring season of corporate annual meetings. MRTI’s most resounding victory was with CF Industries, a major fertilizer company, which was asked in a shareholder’s resolution to develop and publish a sustainability report, particularly related to risks posed by global climate change. The company had no publicly available policy on its environmental responsibility, and disclosed no comprehensive performance data. CF Industries did not respond to a request for dialogue ― MRTI’s key tactic for pressing for changes in corporate behavior ― opting instead to challenge the resolution … [Read more...]

Concelebrating: a practice whose time has passed

June 19, 2013 by Charles Wiley

You see it at celebrations of communion all over the PC(USA), at presbytery meetings, in congregations where there are more than one teaching elder, at almost every Presbyterian-related group meeting: somewhere between two and six people presiding at communion together. It has become so common that a couple of years ago when one person presided at communion at a major Presbyterian meeting, those involved in the service were buzzing, “She’s going to preside alone?” Concelebration is all around us. Its literal meaning, to celebrate together, sounds like such a good idea. And the practice emerged for very good reasons, and has served us well, but it is a practice whose time has passed. Why did the practice emerge among Presbyterians? I don’t know for sure, but here’s my hunch. Before the ordination of women, male pastors in solo pastorates and in multi-staff congregations presided at the table alone. Also at communion celebrations in presbyteries, synods and general … [Read more...]

Kenya’s Christians and Muslims unite to combat addiction

June 19, 2013 by Fredrick Nzwili, Religion News Service

NAIROBI, Kenya (RNS) Fractious religious groups in this East African nation are uniting to tackle alcohol and drug abuse, amid concerns the substances could wipe out a cross section of the younger generation. From Sunday schools to Islamic madrassas, the groups are providing preventative education, public awareness and life skills training. Some also offer addicts rehabilitation and psychosocial support. The drugs of choice are mostly alcohol, heroin, cocaine, as well as the milder bhang (marijuana) and khat. As Kenya’s economy has grown, the misuse has reached crisis level in cities and villages, prompting religious leaders to declare a national disaster. In Central Kenya women have staged protests and destroyed local breweries, blaming increasing marriage breakups on alcohol and drug abuse. “We have been taking a leading role for some time, since the community and the government have been in denial,” said the Rev. Wilfred Kogo, head of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa’s … [Read more...]

Pastor’s family takes on the ‘Food Stamp Challenge’

June 19, 2013 by Leslie Scanlon, Outlook national reporter

Dad, we’re almost out of food here. Will we have enough? Lent is gone, but Ivan Herman can’t forget. His family’s Lenten discipline this year was intended to be life-changing — not to end with Easter. He wanted to know firsthand: what is it like to constantly worry about food — to struggle to feed your family? To find that out, for the 40 days of Lent, Herman, his wife Susan and their two children ate the way a family would if they were earning just $23,000 a year and subsisting on food stamps. A Presbyterian pastor, Herman lives in Sacramento — a fertile agricultural swath of California abounding in produce (almonds, tomatoes, garlic, artichokes, citrus and more) that gets shipped all over the country, gracing other people’s tables. He also knows, from his work in ministry, that many in his community go hungry — as he puts it, “there is no ZIP code that is free from hunger.” The congregation he serves as associate pastor, Carmichael Presbyterian, operates a … [Read more...]

Outpost blog: Thanks, Lilita

June 19, 2013 by Lolimarta Ros Reiter

What a great opportunity to be in some form of conversation with my fellow Presbies! I am grateful for your time and communal pondering. Grateful is a good place to start our conversations, and I would like to first thank Lilita. Lilita was my great grandmother. She went Home in 2000, but I am sure that as I write this se lo esta gozando en el cielo (“she’s dancing a jig in heaven”). This is what my dad always says when a child in our family is baptized or is singing in the children’s choir or when Lilita’s great-granddaughter is writing for the Presbyterian Outlook! We believe she must be reveling in heaven as she watches the seeds she planted grow and bear fruit since it is because of her that we are counted among the “decent and orderly.” The last time I saw her was at the San Juan Airport. I was 8 years old. We were catching the red-eye flight to San Jose, Costa Rica for a 2-year mission call. She was at the airport waiting for us … [Read more...]

Thanks, Lilita