EVANSTON, Ill. (RNS) — A decision this week by the United Methodist Church’s top court hints at what the denomination’s planned special session on sexuality will look like. And it has some worried that the special session of its General Conference, called for February 2019 in St. Louis to settle questions of ordination and marriage of LGBT members, could become mired in the same opposing petitions and points of order that led the 2016 conference to defer all discussion of sexuality to a commission. One delegate proclaimed at the time, “I believe we are confusing God at this point.” “That is certainly a major concern — that the body gets so bogged down with rules and procedure and questions and points of order that the body doesn’t make any kind of determination,” said Stephanie Henry, rules committee chair for Commission on General Conference. The Judicial Council decided Friday (May 25) to allow any organization, clergy member or lay member of the United Methodist Church … [Read more...]
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Commentary 3 days ago
Mental health matters: The role of congregations
Guest commentary by Kathy Dale McNair Good Mental Health is important. But what does faith have to do with it? A lot. All of us go through life experiences that challenge our mental health. But mental illnesses are more serious than the common ups and downs that most of us experience. Anxiety is the number one mental illness in America. Depression is second. With mental illness, the desire to be part of a faith community, to worship, to participate in outreach activities and even the desire to pray can fall… continue reading... -
Looking into the lectionary 3 days ago
Trinity Sunday — May 27, 2018
John 3:1-17 Trinity Sunday, Year B “Born OK the first time,” the bumper sticker read. Many who read it likely wondered what it meant. Of those who knew what it meant, many of those were likely offended. A small handful of people knew what it meant and chuckled. Born OK the first time, no need to be born again. All is well here. I admit to being in the third category of people named above. I knew what the bumper sticker meant and I chuckled. A Presbyterian growing up in… continue reading... -
Book Reviews 4 days ago
Fearless Dialogues: A New Movement for Justice
Gregory C. Ellison II Westminster John Knox Press, 160 pages Reviewed by Angela Williams “Baby, I don’t know how to change the world, but I can change the three feet around me.” These words from Gregory Ellison’s Aunt Dotty inspire the root of a new movement for justice: “Fearless Dialogues.” Weaving poetry, prose and theory, Ellison introduces a powerful new approach to having difficult conversations with people from all walks of life. Such a “fearless dialogue” does not mean a conversation without fear. Instead fear + less is defined as… 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 Uncategorized69 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 Reviews81 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 Reviews75 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.
Dispute over Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), A Corporation appears to be headed to the 2018 General Assembly April 26, 2018 Outlook Reporting2 comments CINCINNATI – The Presbyterian Mission Agency Board voted April 26 to send a set of comments to the 2018 General Assembly regarding the proposals of the Way Forward Commission and All Agency Review Committee.
Those comments (P.002 Governance Task Force WFC AARC comment) express the board’s disagreement with the recommendations involving the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), A Corporation, saying the proposal
Vision before structure: Presbyterian Mission Agency Board scrutinizes recommendations from other groups April 25, 2018 Outlook Reporting2 comments CINCINNATI – The Presbyterian Mission Agency Board is considering asking the 2018 General Assembly to take the next two years to vet both the details and the vision of recommendations from the Way Forward Commission and the All Agency Review Committee, so that “a more comprehensive and sustainable recommendation can be brought to the 2020 General Assembly.”
That language is contained in a proposed set of comments (P.002 Governance Task Force WFC AARC comment) to the assembly that the bo...
PC(USA), A Corporation: Everything you wanted to know, but were afraid to ask April 25, 2018 Outlook Reporting2 comments Confused, confused, confused.
So many say they are confused by the octopus-like discussions involving the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) corporate structure. (Others just shake their heads and walk away.)
The issue will come up again at the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board meeting in Cincinnati April 25-27. Discussions are ongoing, which means that what’s on the table may change between now and when the assembly convenes in June in St. Louis: these proposals may morph.
Dear readers, we cannot tell you where to align yourselves in this dispute. We can, however, attempt to offer a primer of some of the te...
United Methodist court opens door to petitions for special session on sexuality
Presbyterians are making their voices heard ahead of Colombia’s presidential election
BOGOTÁ, Colombia – Colombia’s presidential election will be held Sunday, May 27, using a two-round system. If no candidate receives a majority of the vote Sunday, a runoff will be scheduled for June 17 between the top two candidates. Incumbent Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos is not eligible for re-election, having already served two terms. Protestant and evangelical Christians throughout the country are being courted by presidential candidates as a potentially decisive voting bloc. Ivan Duque, a right-wing candidate who has taken a strong position against Colombia’s still-nascent peace process, is one of the candidates jockeying for this vote. Viviane Morales, former Attorney General and ex-presidential candidate, is an evangelical icon in Colombia. Last week she circulated an email to Protestant and evangelical church leaders supporting Duque’s candidacy. She encouraged evangelical pastors to “vote responsibly in defense of our families” and identified some of the … [Read more...]
Mental health matters: The role of congregations
Guest commentary by Kathy Dale McNair Good Mental Health is important. But what does faith have to do with it? A lot. All of us go through life experiences that challenge our mental health. But mental illnesses are more serious than the common ups and downs that most of us experience. Anxiety is the number one mental illness in America. Depression is second. With mental illness, the desire to be part of a faith community, to worship, to participate in outreach activities and even the desire to pray can fall away. Most people with a mental illness isolate and withdraw from normal activities. They feel hopeless and helpless, weighed down and shut down by the stigma attached to mental illness. Mental illnesses are disorders of the brain, affecting behavior and mood. Although behavior and mood disorders are the identifying markers, mental illness is felt in the whole body. Mental illness is an illness just like cancer. Just as there are many kinds of cancer, there … [Read more...]
Trinity Sunday — May 27, 2018
John 3:1-17 Trinity Sunday, Year B “Born OK the first time,” the bumper sticker read. Many who read it likely wondered what it meant. Of those who knew what it meant, many of those were likely offended. A small handful of people knew what it meant and chuckled. Born OK the first time, no need to be born again. All is well here. I admit to being in the third category of people named above. I knew what the bumper sticker meant and I chuckled. A Presbyterian growing up in the South, I’d run up against being asked, “Are you saved?” or “When were you saved?” multiple times. I’d even been asked if I had been born again. Nope. Born OK the first time. Saved a few thousand years ago with Jesus’ death and resurrection. All is well. Nothing to see here. Thanks (no thanks) for asking. I stand by my Presbyterian response to the “Are you saved?” question. I lean toward the Study Catechism’s answer to question 38: “Will all human beings be saved? No one will be lost who can be saved. … [Read more...]
Paige Patterson removed as head of Southern Baptist seminary in #MeToo shake-up
(RNS) — Paige Patterson, the embattled president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s largest seminary, was asked to step down after an outpouring of criticism for his comments on women, including advice he gave to a woman to stay with her abusive husband and new reports he asked another woman not to report a rape. The departure represents the most dramatic example of the #MeToo movement pervading the top reaches of the Southern Baptist Convention. The board of trustees of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, met for 13 hours Tuesday (May 22) before issuing a statement thanking Patterson for his contributions and service to the school, after voting to make him president emeritus with compensation. Last month a tape from the year 2000 surfaced in which Patterson said he never counsels divorce for abused women and then recounted an incident in which he told an abused woman to pray beside her bed at night and be “submissive in every way that you … [Read more...]
Fearless Dialogues: A New Movement for Justice
Gregory C. Ellison II Westminster John Knox Press, 160 pages Reviewed by Angela Williams “Baby, I don’t know how to change the world, but I can change the three feet around me.” These words from Gregory Ellison’s Aunt Dotty inspire the root of a new movement for justice: “Fearless Dialogues.” Weaving poetry, prose and theory, Ellison introduces a powerful new approach to having difficult conversations with people from all walks of life. Such a “fearless dialogue” does not mean a conversation without fear. Instead fear + less is defined as a compound word that names the fears that come with having difficult dialogues in hopes of lessening the impact of those fears. Approaching unlikely partners from this place of humility creates space for radical relational change. More intriguing than a basic facilitator’s guide, this book invites the reader to join the dialogue and creates a full-body experience with each turn of the page. This blend of art and science seeks to overcome the … [Read more...]
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