LOUISVILLE – Nearly all (90%) of Presbyterians pray at least several times a week and nearly half (42%) read the Bible on their own at least several times a week. Middle-aged and older Presbyterians engage in these spiritual disciplines more frequently than younger Presbyterians do. This information comes from responses from some of the first participants in the new Person in the Pew survey format, a project of Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Research Services. Person in the Pew Surveys are open to all Presbyterians. Opportunities for participation will be listed in future news articles and will be posted on research-services.pcusa.org. Sixty-one percent of Person in the Pew participants report praying or meditating at least once a day, and 29% do so several times a week. Seventeen percent report reading the Bible on their own at least once a day, while 25% do so several times a week. A breakdown by age group shows that more participants in their late 50s or early 60s … [Read more...]
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Editorials 4 hours ago
We are better than this
I am sitting in a cozy café in Washington, D.C. Seated at the table beside me are two elementary school age children and an older teenage sibling, maybe a babysitter. Proximity prevents any truly private conversations, hence I overhear them planning the rest of their day. The little girl says flatly: “I don’t want to go to the mall. There’s more likely to be a shooter there.” The teenager in charge offers no argument to counter the girl’s fear. How could she, really? This exchange took place mere days after… continue reading... -
Outlook Reporting 2 days ago
Discussion continues on the future of Stony Point Center
The question is this: will the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board support a proposal that calls for spending at least $10.3 millionon capital improvements at Stony Point Center over the next decade? Also part of the proposal: Spend $300,000 over the next three years for additional staffing for Stony Point, and another $75,000 in a capital campaign feasibility study. The answer to how much support there is for the plan likely will come to light when the board votes on the first part of the proposal at its meeting Sept. 26-28… continue reading... -
Commentary 3 days ago
A lot like a bowtie
Guest commentary by William McConnell About two years ago, I went to the dark side. I succumbed to the temptation to be one of the “cool” Presbyterians. (Is that an oxymoron? I think not). It was predestined to be. I started wearing – wait for it – bowties!The denomination’s stated clerk wears them regularly. There is even a day at General Assembly where everyone on the platform wears a bow tie in honor of the late Bill Forbes, who for 35 years was platform manager for the assembly. So,… 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 Uncategorized115 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 Reviews115 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 Reviews111 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.
What is the future of Stony Point Center? Mission Agency Board to consider $10.3 million proposal September 5, 2019 Outlook Reporting1 comment A group within the Presbyterian Mission Agency considering the future of Stony Point Center is recommending spending at least $10.3 million on capital improvements at Stony Point over the next decade, plus $300,000 over the next three years in additional staffing and another $75,000 in a capital campaign feasibility study.
The future of the Stony Point – a conference center just north of New York City – has been an enduring question for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in recent years, as Stony Point has not been financially ...
Prayer for the Bahamas September 4, 2019 Editor's viewpoints1 comment Lord of all creation, we lament the devastation in the Bahamas and grieve with those still in shock at the level of loss brought by Hurricane Dorian.
We know the images of destruction, flooding and human suffering – painful as they are – do not adequately tell the story of the trauma endured and the demands of the recovery yet to come.
Surround the Bahamian people with a sure sense of your presence. Strengthen leaders and first responders; grant them wisdom and tenacity. Gather together resources from multitudes and multiply them until all who need help are reached and given comfort.
Make sure, Lord ...
Getting the hang of continuing education August 28, 2019 Outpost Blog1 comment Each year as I plan my continuing education, I look for diverse opportunities to learn and grow as a pastor. I have spent time at national events, on seminary campuses and in remote camps.
I love to learn, so it is tempting to pack two weeks full of content that will stretch me. I learned early on that this is not always the best use of my time. I am an introvert — so as much as I love structured events, they wear me out quickly. I try to take a couple days each year to go on a retreat to reenergize and renew my own faith. I have done loosely structured pastor’s retreats, silent retreats and low-key larger...
Almost all Presbyterians pray at least several times a week, survey suggests
Recipients selected for Excellence in Theological Education Awards
LOUISVILLE — Two outstanding leaders in theological education will be honored at the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) 224th General Assembly in Baltimore in June 2020. The Committee on Theological Education and the Theological Education Fund will honor Rev. Dr. Darrell Guder and Rev. Dr. Elizabeth (Lib) Caldwell with the Award for Excellence in Theological Education during a breakfast event at General Assembly. A date for the Theological Education breakfast has not been set yet. The 224th General Assembly is set for June 20-27, 2020. In addition to both COTE and the Theological Education Fund jointly honoring Guder and Caldwell, they will ask the 224thGeneral Assembly to do so. “I am so thrilled over the selection of Professors Darrell Guder and Lib Caldwell as the latest recipients of the Award of Excellence in Theological Education,” said Rev. Dr. Ted Wardlaw, President of Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. “They both represent high-water marks with regard to lifetime … [Read more...]
Three women receive Katie Cannon Scholarship
LOUISVILLE (PNS) — Racial Equity & Women’s Intercultural Ministries last week announced the 2019 recipients of the Rev Dr. Katie Geneva Cannon Scholarship. The Presbyterian Mission Agency established the scholarship to honor Cannon’s name and legacy shortly after her death in August of 2018. The scholarship supports Presbyterian clergywomen and college women of color as well as other women of color with opportunities for leadership and spiritual development, helping women to develop leadership gifts and be equipped for even greater service in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A). Cannon was a pioneer and a legendary figure in the PC(USA). In 1974, she became the first African American woman ordained as a Minister of Word and Sacrament in the former United Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Nine years later she became the first African American to earn a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Union Theological Seminary in New York. She served as the Annie Scales Rogers Professor of … [Read more...]
We are better than this
I am sitting in a cozy café in Washington, D.C. Seated at the table beside me are two elementary school age children and an older teenage sibling, maybe a babysitter. Proximity prevents any truly private conversations, hence I overhear them planning the rest of their day. The little girl says flatly: “I don’t want to go to the mall. There’s more likely to be a shooter there.” The teenager in charge offers no argument to counter the girl’s fear. How could she, really? This exchange took place mere days after the El Paso and Dayton mass shootings. Regardless of the statistical reality of the rarity of these horrendous events, the possibility of such violence is obvious, even – or maybe especially – to our children. Active shooter drills punctuate the school year no less than fire drills and pep rallies. A police presence in our schools is no longer exceptional. It is expected. Teachers are tasked with not only educating our kids, but protecting them from potentially deadly harm, … [Read more...]
Faith like a child: An interview with a ‘childist’ biblical scholar
(RNS) — That’s “childist” biblical scholar — not “childish.” But childist biblical scholar Julie Faith Parker does think adult readers have a lot to learn from the children in the Bible as well as the children around them. Parker, associate professor of biblical studies at the General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church in New York City, is one of the pioneering scholars in the field of childist biblical interpretation — a term she helped introduce in biblical studies in the last decade. She defines it as “interpretation that places a child, children, youth or concerns related to young people at the center” — more analogous to “feminist” or “womanist” than to “racist” or “sexist.” “It’s a new field, and it’s really gaining steam quickly,” she said. Parker talked to Religion News Service about what childist biblical interpretation is, where it came from and why it can change not only the way people read the Bible, but also how they engage issues impacting … [Read more...]
Parenting after faith shift, progressive Christians look for new resources
(RNS) — When reading Christian children’s books with his three children, Matthew Paul Turner found himself having to think on the fly. Turner would do “a quick little change of the words” when he would run into a theology or idea he didn’t want to teach his children, either because he believed differently or because he believed his children were too young to need to grapple with it. Turner, who identifies as a progressive Christian, isn’t the only Christian who has shifted from conservative to progressive views as an adult. For many, that means a faith that emphasizes love, social justice and space for questions about the theological ideas they were raised to believe. And for those who are parents, it means wanting to raise their children with a different view of God and the Bible than the one they grew up with. The problem? Christian children’s resources almost all skew conservative. So Turner, who has authored a number of books for adults, started to toy with the idea of … [Read more...]
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