Members of Maryland Presbyterian Church in Towson, Maryland, take part in the 2017 People’s Climate March in Washington, D.C. Photo provided by the church (PNS) Presbyterians will be joining millions of people worldwide on April 22 to commemorate Earth Day, an annual awareness campaign focusing on earth care and the need to protect the planet from harmful pollution and degradation. Earth Day began in 1970 when millions protested the negative impacts of industrial development. The day is now commemorated by nearly 200 countries and coordinated by the Earth Day Network. “The environmental work we do in the Presbyterian Hunger Program is grounded in Scripture, Reformed theology and the numerous General Assembly policies that call us to care for creation, including the 1990 foundational policy ‘Restoring Creation for Ecology and Justice,’ ” said Jessica Maudlin, PHP’s associate for sustainable living and earth care concerns. “As a church, we have Earth Day Sunday, where … [Read more...]
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Looking into the lectionary 23 hours ago
4th Sunday of Easter — April 22, 2018
Psalm 23; 1 John 3:16-24; John 10:11-18 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep.” No equivocation. No qualifiers. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The good shepherd, in contrast to the hired hand, never abandons the flock entrusted to him. The good shepherd knows the sheep and the sheep know him. The good shepherd described in Ezekiel searches for the sheep, rescues them, gathers them, feeds them, binds up the wounded, strengthens the weak ones. The good shepherd… continue reading... -
Book Reviews 2 days ago
Recommendations: Transformational, captivating and recent books
The Outlook asked some of our younger readers three questions. They responded with books that are well worth checking out this spring. What is a book that was transformational for you and why? A book that was transformative in my understanding of spirituality was the classic “Celebration of Discipline” by Richard Foster. I’ve used it for a sermon series, for elder training, for devotions, for counseling and for personal spiritual development. It doesn’t completely encapsulate spirituality, but it has helped me to get a better grasp on spiritual growth. Alex… continue reading... -
Outlook Reporting 3 days ago
Taxation without representation? Mid council leaders release statement addressing proposed per capita increase
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. Herbert Nelson, stated clerk of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), has… 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 Uncategorized258 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 Reviews298 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 Reviews260 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.
COGA issues statement on review committees' reports March 19, 2018 Presbyterian News Service2 comments LOUISVILLE (COGA) The Committee on the Office of the General Assembly (COGA) has issued a statement calling the work of three bodies created by the 222nd General Assembly (2016)—The Way Forward Commission, the All-Agency Review Committee, and the Vision 2020 Task Force—“prophetic and provocative.”
The recommendations of the three panels “can refocus and retool our denomination to serve God and to follow Christ into the 21st century,” the March 19 statement says.
The full text of the COGA statement:
“Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing; no...
Proposed per capita increase will go to General Assembly February 9, 2018 Outlook Reporting1 comment 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...
Gospel conversations April 3, 2018 Editorials1 comment According to Masha Gessen, a Russian-American journalist and staff writer for the New Yorker, “We’ve lost the ability to have political conversations.” She was being interviewed on the New Yorker radio hour, and when she said, “We’ve lost the ability to have political conversations,” the host stopped her and responded almost breathlessly, “Seems like all we have are political conversations.” Gessen explained: “No, we have conversations about politics. A political conversation is a conversation in which people with different views come to agreements about how they’re going to inhabit society together. We do...
Presbyterians to commemorate Earth Day on Sunday
Educator certification recordkeeping goes electronic
(OGA) Nine Presbyterians who became Certified Christian Educators in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in 2017 are the first group of certified educators who can now manage their certification-related information online rather than through paper forms. At the beginning of 2018, a new and completely electronic data system was rolled out for educators who are working their way toward certification, those who are appointed by their presbytery to serve as an educator certification advisor, and those who have completed the educator certification process. The new system eliminates the need for paper forms to record such certification requirements as work/volunteer experience, educational coursework, and examinations. Within this new system, educators create an account that allows them to access their records from any computer or mobile device at any time. Updates to contact information and submission of requirements can be made by the user. While certification requirements are … [Read more...]
4th Sunday of Easter — April 22, 2018
Psalm 23; 1 John 3:16-24; John 10:11-18 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep.” No equivocation. No qualifiers. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The good shepherd, in contrast to the hired hand, never abandons the flock entrusted to him. The good shepherd knows the sheep and the sheep know him. The good shepherd described in Ezekiel searches for the sheep, rescues them, gathers them, feeds them, binds up the wounded, strengthens the weak ones. The good shepherd Jesus makes explicit that the flock will expand and the sheep yet to come will be incorporated, fully, into the flock. No sheep will be left vulnerable to the wolves, uncared for or abandoned. The image of the good shepherd tending to the one beloved flock, so valued and valuable that the shepherd will stop at nothing to keep them gathered and safe, calls forth a longing in me that feels almost primal, mostly subconscious, but unmistakable when I read this … [Read more...]
Recommendations: Transformational, captivating and recent books
The Outlook asked some of our younger readers three questions. They responded with books that are well worth checking out this spring. What is a book that was transformational for you and why? A book that was transformative in my understanding of spirituality was the classic “Celebration of Discipline” by Richard Foster. I’ve used it for a sermon series, for elder training, for devotions, for counseling and for personal spiritual development. It doesn’t completely encapsulate spirituality, but it has helped me to get a better grasp on spiritual growth. Alex Becker It isn’t a book exactly, but “The Unbusy Pastor” by Eugene Peterson has been huge for me. I first found it through one of those weird internet wormholes you go through, arriving at it completely out of context. It struck me as so timely, relevant and simple in a profound way. Peterson highlights three things he wants to do to be an unbusy pastor: pray, preach, listen. He talks about blocking out all the noise … [Read more...]
PC(USA) offices propose name change from ‘racial-ethnic’ to ‘people of color’
LOUISVILLE (PNS) – In response to a referral from the 222nd General Assembly (2016) directing the Advocacy Committee for Racial Ethnic Concerns (ACREC) to work with the Office of Racial Ethnic & Women’s Ministries (RE&WM) of the Presbyterian Mission Agency to determine more appropriate terminology than “racial-ethnic,” ACREC has recommended that the 223rd General Assembly (2018): Direct all six agencies of the PC(USA) to replace references to “racial-ethnic people” with “people of color” in all documents, parlance and programs from this point forward. Direct ACREC to change its name to “Racial Equity Advocacy Committee” (REAC). Direct the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board and the Committee on the Office of General Assembly to change ACREC to REAC in all documents, parlance and programs. In a collaborative effort between ACREC members and RE&WM staff, theological and racial justice experts were consulted to determine the most appropriate name. After prayerful … [Read more...]
Taxation without representation? Mid council leaders release statement addressing proposed per capita increase
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. Herbert Nelson, stated clerk of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), has said the increase is needed to produce a break-even funding level for the Office of the General Assembly and to do the work the denomination is being called to do – to be faithful to being a “turnaround denomination,” in his words. The proposal the assembly will consider – approved in February by the Committee on the Office of the General Assembly and the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board – would increase per capita from … [Read more...]
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