FRANKFORT, Ky. – A three-judge Kentucky Court of Appeals panel heard oral arguments June 26 in Roger Dermody’s appeal of a state court ruling in the defamation lawsuit he filed in May 2015 against the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Dermody, the PC(USA)’s former deputy executive director for mission, was one of four men who lost their jobs with the denomination in 2015, following an ethics investigation involving the 1001 New Worshipping Communities program. Dermody’s lawyer, Stephen Pence, argued before the Court of Appeals judges that while the PC(USA) claims that Dermody violated its ethics policy, he did nothing dishonest or deceitful – which is what “people in their common, everyday language” think of as unethical. While the denomination might say that Dermody violated its ethics policy, it’s defamatory to say “he had actually engaged in any unethical conduct,” Pence said. “He did not. … There was no dishonesty. There was no deceit.” Dermody and three other PC(USA) … [Read more...]
Way Forward Commission expected to release interim report soon
The Way Forward Commission will meet by conference call June 27 – and is expected to soon release a mid-term report regarding its work, midway to the 2018 General Assembly. In the days leading up to that, there’s been some building tension – particularly regarding what the commission might say or recommend regarding the Presbyterian Mission Agency. Tony De La Rosa, interim executive director of the Presbyterian Mission Agency, on June 15 released a seven-page “open letter” to the commission, saying he was doing so “in my own individual capacity.” In that letter, De La Rosa raised several issues he wants the commission to consider, asked the commission to meet with leadership of the agency in September and asked for “deeper, intentional conversation.” Now, the leadership of the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board has written a letter to the full board and to the leadership cabinet of the Presbyterian Mission Agency – voicing concerns about De La Rosa’s letter. Ken Godshall, the … [Read more...]
Tony De La Rosa, interim executive director of Presbyterian Mission Agency, sends “Open Letter” to Way Forward Commission
Tony De La Rosa, interim executive director of the Presbyterian Mission Agency, has sent a seven-page “Open Letter” to the Way Forward Commission – detailing his personal responses to some of what the commission has been discussing. De La Rosa stressed that he wrote the letter, sent to the commission members via email on June 15, “in my own individual capacity” as interim executive director, and that the letter does not represent an official position of either the Presbyterian Mission Agency or the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board. In the letter, De La Rosa expressed his desire for the commission to have "deeper, intentional conversation" with the leadership of the Presbyterian Mission Agency – asking the commission to consider holding at least one day of its September 2017 meeting (currently scheduled to be at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary Sept. 18-19) at the agency’s national offices in Louisville, “so that the affected staff may observe and communicate … [Read more...]
2020 Vision Team discusses feedback: Conversations starting to reveal what’s on Presbyterians’ hearts
Bit by bit, the 2020 Vision Team is beginning to gather ideas and opinions about the future of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) – listening to both Presbyterians and those outside the church. Working by regions, team members are making contacts with mid councils and other groups – getting on the agenda to speak at presbytery and synod meetings, reaching out to congregations and community groups. So far, they’ve heard people lifting up issues outside the church walls such as gentrification and police shootings – asking where and how Presbyterians can be involved in responding to those community concerns. The listening is just getting started, with team members reporting they are scheduling sessions through the fall. They are are working to gather feedback at presbytery meetings from Michigan to Puerto Rico; informally at the World Communion of Reformed Churches General Conference, which is meeting in Germany June 29 through July 7; with local mission initiatives and congregations; … [Read more...]
Congregations offer and find support through CanCare
The idea is deceptively simple. When someone is diagnosed with cancer – a diagnosis that often overloads the mind and heart with fear – the best support can often come from someone who’s already been there. So CanCare, a nonprofit organization formed to provide support for cancer patients and their caregivers, matches volunteers with patients based on their shared experiences: a breast cancer survivor paired with a breast cancer patient, a caregiver for someone who has survived pancreatic cancer with a caregiver of someone still in the thick of providing that care. Anne Shaw Turnage, a survivor of colon cancer, founded CanCare in 1991 at Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church in Houston. The program has since expanded to Georgia and Colorado as well. And for Johns Creek Presbyterian Church in suburban Atlanta, which trained its first CanCare volunteers in 2012, the work has been the congregation’s most successful ecumenical ministry and something that’s had a “huge impact” on the … [Read more...]
Way Forward plans midterm report
CHICAGO – Hoping to give the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) a sense of some of the big themes it considers essential – from the voice and authority of the stated clerk to the ministry of mid councils – the Way Forward Commission hopes to issue a midterm report, perhaps following its conference call at the end of June. The commission’s final report and recommendations to the 2018 General Assembly are due to the Office of the General Assembly by Feb. 16, 2018. The midterm report will include: A design schematic listing major themes. A response to initiatives that are specific to some of the PC(USA)’s six agencies (work the agencies are doing in response to conversations with the commission and to their own agency reviews) and to other issues highlighted in the agency reviews. A review of the commission’s process. An invitation for feedback to the commission. That likely would include a survey seeking responses to some of the issues and themes the commission has … [Read more...]
- 1
- 2
- 3
- …
- 52
- Next Page »
Tweet With Us
Be A Facebook Fan
Our World in Photos
Pin With Us