ST. LOUIS – On Tuesday, June 19, the Office of Immigration Issues of the Presbyterian Church hosted a rally at Baer Park in downtown St. Louis. This was an organized event of the 223rdGeneral Assembly. More than 100 Presbyterians attended the rally and heard impassioned speeches given by Presbyterian leaders. The rally was also covered by local St. Louis television and print media. The rally was started with a welcome and opening prayer from J. Herbert Nelson, Stated Clerk. Nelson’s prayer reminded those gathered that God is ever present with all people, particularly children and immigrants. He invoked the words on the Statue of Liberty, and stated that the rally is not in vain. He encouraged those gathered to not just do this type of action in St. Louis, but to carry this spirit back home to our churches and communities and continue to fight for justice. He closed by saying, “Justice now, justice for all people, let justice rule as the guiding light of love in our … [Read more...]
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Outlook Reporting 3 hours ago
Immigration rally inspires and equips Presbyterians to faithful action at St. Louis General Assembly
ST. LOUIS – On Tuesday, June 19, the Office of Immigration Issues of the Presbyterian Church hosted a rally at Baer Park in downtown St. Louis. This was an organized event of the 223rdGeneral Assembly. More than 100 Presbyterians attended the rally and heard impassioned speeches given by Presbyterian leaders. The rally was also covered by local St. Louis television and print media. The rally was started with a welcome and opening prayer from J. Herbert Nelson, Stated Clerk. Nelson’s prayer reminded those gathered that God is ever present with… continue reading... -
Outlook Reporting 3 hours ago
Shuffling the deck: Way Forward votes to reconfigure the PC(USA), A Corporation, board
ST. LOUIS – The Way Forward Committee of the 2018 General Assembly voted 51-5 on June 19 to approve the recommendations from the Way Forward Commission. There were some amendments to those recommendations along the way, but the committee essentially voted to ask the assembly to approve all of the report, including a joint recommendation from the Way Forward Commission and the All Agency Review Committee to reconfigure the board of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), A Corporation. That matter has been hugely controversial for months now at the top levels… continue reading... -
Outlook Reporting 5 hours ago
Panel agrees PC(USA) should defend right to boycott over human rights
ST. LOUIS — In its final day of work, the Middle East Issues Committee sent forward what its advocates call a free-speech measure — one that could potentially set the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) at odds with legislation that has drawn strong support in Congress. On June 19, the committee endorsed a call for the church to resist federal and state efforts to levy penalties for boycotts, divestments or sanctions (BDS) aimed at human rights violations in Israel and Palestine. The measure (overture 12-01, from the Synod of the Covenant) describes… continue reading...
Parties in Stamford case had tried to expedite process in order to get a ruling on the merits of the case January 1, 1995 Uncategorized104 views The General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission -- in sidestepping the question of exactly how deeply a session should be required to probe into the private life of a gay elder who has acknowledged being in a committed, life-long relationship but has declined to say whether he is sexually active -- has put the question off but has not put it to rest.- Ministering with the Earth January 1, 1998 Book Reviews111 views By Mary Elizabeth MooreChalice. 1998. 226 pp. Pb. $19.99. ISBN 0-8272-2323-4 Ministering with the Earth is a quiltwork, both the on-the-ground activity and Moore's book about so ministering. Moore, professor of theology and Christian education at Claremont School of Theology, is fond of the metaphor, suitably pastoral and feminist.
- Remembered Voice: Reclaiming the Legacy of 'Neo-Orthodoxy' January 1, 1998 Book Reviews101 views By Douglas John HallWJKP. 1998. 145 pp. Pb. $18. ISBN 0-664-25772-0 It was in this order. I first read Tillich's Dynamics of Faith. Riveting. Next came The Courage to Be. Gripping. Then I went back and read the first volume of the Systematic Theology. Things began to make sense. Next came Biblical Religion and the Search for Ultimate Reality. Positive.
Proposed per capita increase will go to General Assembly February 9, 2018 Outlook Reporting3 comments LOUISVILLE – With no debate, the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board voted Feb. 9 to approve a sizeable proposed increase in General Assembly per capita – from $7.73 per member in 2018 to $10.71 in 2019 and to $11.45 in 2020.
That would amount to a 39 percent increase from 2018 to 2019 and a 7 percent increase from 2019 to 2020. The proposal now will go to the 2018 General Assembly in June in St. Louis for its consideration.
Ken Godshall, who is chair of the board and a pastor from Kentucky, had voted against the proposed increase Feb. 8 when it came before the board’s executive committee, saying the increase...
Assembly approves child protection policy June 23, 2016 Outlook Reporting2 comments PORTLAND, Ore. – The General Assembly Procedures committee only had time to present one item of business from its report before the 2016 General Assembly adjourned for the evening June 22 – but it was a matter of both deep significance and emotional resonance.
The assembly voted on Item 03-14, a policy created for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to protect children, youth, and vulnerable adults. The committee’s moderator, Mary Lou Cox, introduced the item by shari...
Taxation without representation? Mid council leaders release statement addressing proposed per capita increase April 18, 2018 Uncategorized2 comments A group of 40 mid council leaders has written a statement urging the 2018 General Assembly to vote down a proposed General Assembly per capita increase– saying the proposed increase of 39 percent from 2018 to 2019 and another 7 percent from 2019 to 2020 feels like “taxation without representation.”
These mid council leaders contend the number of congregations not remitting per capita will “dramatically increase” if per capita goes up, and that presbyteries would bear the financial burden.
J. Herb...
Immigration rally inspires and equips Presbyterians to faithful action at St. Louis General Assembly
Tagged With: GA223
Shuffling the deck: Way Forward votes to reconfigure the PC(USA), A Corporation, board
ST. LOUIS – The Way Forward Committee of the 2018 General Assembly voted 51-5 on June 19 to approve the recommendations from the Way Forward Commission. There were some amendments to those recommendations along the way, but the committee essentially voted to ask the assembly to approve all of the report, including a joint recommendation from the Way Forward Commission and the All Agency Review Committee to reconfigure the board of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), A Corporation. That matter has been hugely controversial for months now at the top levels of the denomination – but the assembly ultimately voted in favor of this recommendation and did not support the approach recommended by the Governance Task Force of the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board. The committee also voted 58-0 to approve the recommendations of the All Agency Review Committee. Conrad Rocha of the Governance Task Force asked the committee on June 18 to refer the A Corporation question to the Presbyterian … [Read more...]
Panel agrees PC(USA) should defend right to boycott over human rights
ST. LOUIS — In its final day of work, the Middle East Issues Committee sent forward what its advocates call a free-speech measure — one that could potentially set the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) at odds with legislation that has drawn strong support in Congress. On June 19, the committee endorsed a call for the church to resist federal and state efforts to levy penalties for boycotts, divestments or sanctions (BDS) aimed at human rights violations in Israel and Palestine. The measure (overture 12-01, from the Synod of the Covenant) describes legislation embodied in Senate Bill 720 and House Resolution 1697 as a looming threat that would impose civil and criminal penalties for nonviolent BDS actions. The overture passed on a 50-2 vote with some slight change of wording. Like other actions passed by the committee, it will go next before the plenary session of the denomination’s 223rd General Assembly. Referring to the defense of free speech, one advocate told … [Read more...]
Prayer labyrinth, a hidden gem of the General Assembly
There is a sacred space in the middle of the St. Louis Convention Center, a place of reflection and respite, a circular room in the far corner of the building with almost 360 degrees of windows. On the floor of that room is a hand-painted labyrinth, prepared with love for the General Assembly by a thoughtful team of volunteers from the Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy. The presbytery hopes all who are present at the assembly will have the opportunity to experience this sacred space, and offers the invitation: “We hope you will take the time to visit this light-filled room with walkable art beckoning you to a time of meditation and prayer with God.” Walking a labyrinth gives people the opportunity to find serenity in the midst of the chaos of the General Assembly. Walkers are encouraged to work through three stages: release, receive and return. Walkers are invited to quiet their minds, and release the daily details of their lives. Then they are invited to receive what God has to … [Read more...]
Way Forward and ACC grapple with corporate authority, church authority
ST. LOUIS – The Way Forward Committee began making progress on parts of its work June 19, plowing through recommendations involving translation services, the role of the stated clerk of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and more. That followed a long, unusual delay while the Advisory Committee on the Constitution (ACC) sorted through constitutional implications of a recommendation from the Way Forward Commission regarding the PC(USA), A Corporation. “It’s been a real crazy 24 hours,” said Dan Saperstein of the ACC. Here’s a short version. The ACC met during the lunch break June 19 to draft advice to the assembly on constitutional implications in sections of bylaw changes the Way Forward Commission is proposing. At the heart of that advice is the principle that in the PC(USA,) corporate authority needs to be subordinate to church authority. The PC(USA), A Corporation, is a civil corporation that the denomination uses to interact with the secular world (for example, to … [Read more...]
GA Procedures Committee takes up the statistical report and commissioners’ resolutions
ST. LOUIS – Who do you say that I am? That’s the question clerks, sessions and sometimes the church administrator answer in the annual statistical report. Annual statistical reports And therein lies the problem, according to Barb Gaddis, moderator of the Committee of the Office of the General Assembly. When presenting the Session Annual Statistical Report (SASR) Update (03-09), which recommends replacing a number of questions on the current report, Gaddis said, “You don’t decide who other people are.” And yet, in practice, this is exactly what happens with the SASR. Gaddis pointed out that whoever is filling out the report asks: “How many people are black? How many disabled people do you think we have?” This reality (and 10 years of work) prompted COGA’s recommendation to change several questions in the report and eliminate others, including the breakdown of men and women in the congregation. The General Assembly Procedures Committee’s questions focused on categories of race … [Read more...]
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