(LOUISVILLE PRESBYTERIAN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY COMMUNICATIONS.) – On Tuesday, February 27, Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary will host its annual Black Church Studies Consultation. The event is scheduled from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will take place on the seminary’s campus (1044 Alta Vista Road, Louisville, Ky. 40205). Cost is $15 to attend, and the registration deadline is Friday, February 16. Pastoral Care as Soul Care and Social Activism is the theme for this year’s consultation. Workshops and discussions will explore the ways that effective pastoral care empowers people to move beyond fear and a sense of helplessness or hopelessness, to participate in bold acts of discipleship such as welcoming the stranger and working for justice. Participants will leave with tools to help them engage in the relational work of tending to the human soul within their church context as well as to help meet the needs of the larger community. Highlights for the consultation include a … [Read more...]

(WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH COMMUNICATIONS) Westminster Presbyterian Church opened the doors Sunday, January 14, on its inspiring 41,000-square-foot expansion to its historic building in downtown Minneapolis. The new wing is part of Open Doors Open Futures, an initiative to transform Westminster’s telling presence in the city. A celebratory, soulful group of musicians from Westminster and its partner churches (Liberty Community Church and Grace-Trinity Community Church) welcomed people to worship celebrating the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. and featuring guest preacher the J. Herbert Nelson II, stated clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Tim Hart-Andersen, senior pastor at Westminster, began the morning with a reminder to the congregation: “Today is just the beginning. Many of us have worked long and hard to get to this moment, but our vision of a parking lot has grown into a vision for transforming our presence in the city. Our work is … [Read more...]

(PRESS RELEASE) The effects of fossil fuels on our world and its people are dramatic--and so is the action many will take this June to stand against investing in the fossil fuel industry. Participants in the PCUSA Walk for A Fossil Free World will travel by foot from Louisville, Kentucky, the headquarters of the Presbyterian Church (USA), to St. Louis, Missouri, the location of the PC(USA)’s 223rd General Assembly. The journey of 260 miles will take from June 1 to 16, 2018, coming to a close at the opening of the General Assembly that goes from June 16 to 23. Each night of the walk will include teach-ins and worship centering the stories and experiences of people on the front lines of climate change. "As a pastor, I plan to participate on the Walk because I believe our denomination must always stand alongside the most vulnerable of society," says Rev. Neddy Astudillo. "Climate change is demanding from us not just to support with money those who suffer its symptoms, but to look at … [Read more...]

(Presbyterian Writers Guild) The Rev. James E. “Jim” Atwood—an author, pastor, and a nationally-recognized voice on the subject of gun violence prevention—has been named the recipient of the 2018 David Steele Distinguished Writer Award by the Presbyterian Writers Guild (PWG). Atwood, pastor emeritus of Trinity Presbyterian Church, Arlington, Va., is the author of Gundamentalism and Where it is Taking America (Cascade Books, 2017), America and its Guns: A Theological Exposé (Cascade Books, 2012), The Leaven of Laughter for Advent & Christmas (Trafford Publishing, 2006), The Leaven of Laughter for Lent & Easter (Trafford, 2006), among other works. He and his wife the Rev. Roxana Atwood—also an honorably retired PC(USA) teaching elder—previously served together as mission workers in Japan. They currently reside in Harrisonburg, Va. “Jim Atwood started out writing books to encourage preaching with humor,” wrote the Rev. Jan Orr-Harter, Aledo, Tex., chair of the … [Read more...]