(AP) — Houses of worship around the world, a place of reflection and peace, have been targeted for attack by extremists. Here are some of the deadly assaults over the last decade: Oct. 31, 2010: Al-Qaida in Iraq militants attack Our Lady of Salvation Catholic Church in Baghdad during Sunday night mass, killing 58 people in the deadliest assault targeting Christians since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion there. Al-Qaida in Iraq later became the Islamic State group. Dec. 15, 2010: Two suicide bombers from the Sunni extremist group Jundallah blow themselves up near a mosque in southeastern Iran, including six Revolutionary Guard commanders. July 16, 2010: Jundallah group kills 27 and injures 270 after it carries out a double suicide bombing against another Shiite mosque in southeastern Iran. Aug. 5, 2012: Six members of the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, in Oak Creek, are fatally shot by a white supremacist, Wade Michael Page. Page was shot by a responding officer and later killed … [Read more...]
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Outlook Reporting 3 days ago
Woven together: NEXT Church conference knits together stories of people and place
SEATTLE — The story of Ruth served as the backdrop for three days of discussion on story, community, lament, displacement and God’s provision. The 2019 NEXT Church national gatheringhad as its theme “Woven Together: Stories of Dissonance, Sacrifice and Liberation,” as the conference held Mar. 11-13 at Seattle First Presbyterian Church invited participants to consider how God weaves individual stories together to shape community and live out the church’s call to freedom and faith. About 575 people – about half of them pastors serving churches and the rest ruling elders,… continue reading... -
Editor's viewpoints 3 days ago
Prayer for our Muslim brothers and sisters in New Zealand and around the world
Another act of brutal violence, more innocent people gunned down while gathered for worship, broadcast on social media, reported around the globe, followed by moans of lament, cries of pain and breast-beating pleas of “How, long, O, Lord?” You, Holy Lord, command us: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On this day of grief and sorrow, we seek to love You, Lord, with all our heart, soul, mind and strength by loving our neighbors as ourselves. The greatest commandment and the one like unto it ripples through the universe… continue reading... -
Looking into the lectionary 4 days ago
2nd Sunday in Lent — March 17, 2019
Genesis 15:1-12,17-18; Luke 13:31-35 Lent 2C This week we are grateful to John Wurster for providing the lectionary reflection. In this short passage from Luke, Jesus is lamenting over Jerusalem, foreshadowing the suffering that awaits him there in the days to come. As he laments, he says, “How often I have desired to gather your children as a hen gathers her brood under her wings.” How often I have desired.Desired. That’s a strong word. And it’s a rare word in the Gospel of Luke, appearing only one other time when… 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 Uncategorized86 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 Reviews70 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 Reviews65 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.
The Hawk is flying February 12, 2019 Benedictory2 comments “Who let that Hawk out? Whew, the Hawk is flying high today!” I exclaimed as walked into my office from a bone-chilling 21-degree Atlanta morning.
A weird silence fell over the room. As I removed my hat, I saw five co-workers looking at me as if I’d grown another head. One turned his head hard-left like the terrier staring at the gramophone in the old RCA trademark. Suddenly, I realized that the room was filled with folks under 40 and none of them had a clue of what I was talking about.
According to limited published information, the old phrase used to describe biting, gripping, chilly winds originat...
“Move on out!” — Co-moderator challenges Next Church participants to be bearers of good news March 12, 2019 Outlook Reporting1 comment SEATTLE — How can congregations be bearers of good news to their neighborhoods? Co-moderator of the 223rd General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Cindy Kohlmann led a workshop at the Next Church national gathering called “The gospel mandate: Beloved communities and neighborhood churches” highlighting the one church, one book chosen by Kohlmann and co-moderator Vilmarie Cintrón-Olivieri.
Kohlmann and Cintrón-Olivieri have asked Presbyterians to read “
Who are your people? Jennifer Harvey connects race and social connection at Next Church March 14, 2019 Outlook Reporting1 comment SEATTLE – “Who are your people?”
That’s the question that Jennifer Harvey, a professor of religion and ethics at Drake University and the author of “Dear White Christians: For Those Still Longing for Racial Reconciliation” and “Raising White Kids: Bringing Up Children in a Racially Unjust America,” put to Presbyterians at the NEXT Church 2019 national gathering March 13.
Harvey contends that it’s...
A look at attacks on houses of worship over last decade
Evidence of improper voting raises questions about Methodist gay clergy vote
(RNS) — United Methodist Church officials admitted this week that some of the votes cast during its recent special session on sexuality may have been invalid. During a special session of the UMC General Conference in St. Louis, Missouri, which met last month, delegates from the largest mainline Protestant denomination made headlines for backing measures to strengthen bans on LGBTQ clergy and same-sex marriage. However, an independent review of credentials, name badge barcode scans, seating records, attendance forms and other records was conducted after the meeting raised concerns. “Upon completion of the review, it appears possible that a very limited number of ineligible persons who were correctly denied credentials by General Conference staff were later able to procure them,” the UMC’s Executive Committee of the Commission on the General Conference said in a statement released on Thursday (Mar 14). But it remains unclear as to how — or even if — the church will respond to … [Read more...]
Board of Pensions approves 3.6 percent experience apportionment
Concluding its meeting Saturday, directors of the Board of Pensions of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) voted a 3.6 percent experience apportionment for the Pension Plan for the seventh consecutive year, despite tumultuous markets. According to the “Spring 2019 Board Bulletin,” directors also approved new grants intended to bring more ministers into Pastor’s Participation, which is designed to meet the needs of pastors and their families and to provide financial assistance for dental services and hearing aids. Michael F. Fallon, Jr., the Board of Pensions’ Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, told the board that investment assets available for benefits and programs stood at $9.8 billion for all plans as of the end of 2018, with each plan above the minimum funding adequacy levels. The experience apportionment is effective July 1. The seventh in as many years, it results in a seven-year cumulative increase of 23.9 percent. For retirees and eligible … [Read more...]
O God, We Grieve the Hatred (hymn for New Zealand)
At least 49 worshippers were killed – and 48 wounded – in shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand, on March 15. Carolyn Winfrey Gillette has graciously offered this hymn for free use in congregations as we grieve the violence and lives lost. O God, We Grieve the Hatred AURELIA 7.6.7.6 D ("The Church's One Foundation") O God, we grieve the hatred, the ugly, racist fear that hurts our common living and harms those you hold dear. For Muslims who were gathered to worship and to pray soon found their lives were shattered as violence filled their day. We pray for those now grieving for loved ones who are lost; we pray for people suffering because of hatred’s cost. For all of us, now frightened by what extremists do, we pray: O God of mercy! May we find strength in you! We grieve our lack of courage: we tolerate the wrong of people who are racist; we simply go along. We let the fear continue; we’re slow to challenge hate. We say, “It’s not our issue,” until it is too … [Read more...]
Woven together: NEXT Church conference knits together stories of people and place
SEATTLE — The story of Ruth served as the backdrop for three days of discussion on story, community, lament, displacement and God’s provision. The 2019 NEXT Church national gatheringhad as its theme “Woven Together: Stories of Dissonance, Sacrifice and Liberation,” as the conference held Mar. 11-13 at Seattle First Presbyterian Church invited participants to consider how God weaves individual stories together to shape community and live out the church’s call to freedom and faith. About 575 people – about half of them pastors serving churches and the rest ruling elders, Christian educators, youth leaders, entrepreneurs and people serving in other ministry contexts – attended the conference. NEXT describes itself as a network of Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) leaders “who believe the church of the future will be more relational, more diverse, more collaborative, more hopeful and more agile,” and the gathering attempted to live into that vision by providing opportunities for worship, … [Read more...]
The God-powered church: Regarding ruling elders
The Church of Jesus Christ was created from the beginning to be God-powered. On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples, who were then empowered to be God’s hands and feet and mouths to the world. What about our churches today? Where does our power come from? Below are some characteristics of God-powered churches. Read them prayerfully and think about how you see your church exhibiting these characteristics. God-powered churches experience church as a divine-human partnership. This is the way Jesus intended the church, his body, to operate. In this partnership what we do is important. What God does is essential. God’s will for us unfolds as we are drawn into this partnership. God-powered churches make nurturing relationship with God a top priority. All deep relationships involve paying attention to the other. Our commitment to this God-relationship requires that we invest ourselves in practices, postures, habits, etc., that build the … [Read more...]
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