(OGA) A moving force in the United Presbyterian Church died last week. The Rev. Robert Lamar, a retired pastor, served as Moderator of the 186th General Assembly in 1974. Lamar, 96, died peacefully at St. Peter’s Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Albany, New York, where he’d lived for a year. A Salt Lake City native, Lamar attended Yale University and Yale Divinity School before serving several Presbyterian churches in Connecticut. In 1958, he became pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Albany, where he remained until his retirement in 1992. Family and friends say Lamar became involved both locally and nationally in civil rights and other social justice issues during the 1960s. Through his ecumenical work, he was able to build relationships with other denominations during that time and was involved with the formation of the FOCUS Churches, an Albany-based meal program. His involvement with inner-city ministry included opening interracial dialogue with many African … [Read more...]
Presbyterian Historical Society awards seven preservation grants
(PNS) The Presbyterian Historical Society has announced seven Heritage Preservation Grants to PC(USA) congregations in 2019. The winners come from six states and Puerto Rico: Anderson Presbyterian Church (Jackson, Tenn.), organized in 1893. First Presbyterian Church (Sylvan Grove, Kan.), organized in 1876. West Adirondack Presbyterian Church (Star Lake, N.Y.), successor to churches organized in 1897 and 1903. First Presbyterian Church (Luling, Tex.), organized in 1877. Iglesia Presbiteriana en Rincón (Rincón, P.R.), organized in 1908. Embudo Presbyterian Church (Dixon, N.M.), organized in 1889. Midway First Presbyterian Church (Midway, Ga.), organized in 1868. Iglesia Presbiteriana en Rincón in Rincón, Puerto Rico, and Embudo Presbyterian Church in Dixon, N.M., are among seven churches awarded grants by the Presbyterian Historical Society to digitize their vital records. (Photo courtesy of Presbyterian Historical Society) The Heritage Preservation Grants … [Read more...]
Gathering the manna (Regarding ruling elders)
(OGA) Jane serves on the nominating committee of First Presbyterian Church and has invited Kamira to serve another term as elder on the session. Kamira responded by sharing how discouraged, frustrated, and spiritually depleted she felt when she completed her last term of service. She declined to serve again. When Jane calls her next candidate, Ben, he eagerly agrees to serve. “My time as an elder helped me grow in my faith more than anything else I have ever done in the church.” Being a church officer can be helpful or harmful to your spiritual health. Dealing with conflict in the church, too much work and too little help, lack of money or other necessary resources, meeting fatigue, difficult personalities, and the clash of church commitments with work or family demands can all tend to lead to spiritual dryness. Practicing self/soul care enables church officers to deal with these difficulties and grow closer to God. The most important part of this care is finding ways to connect … [Read more...]
Presbyterian churches begin filing statistical reports
(OGA) It’s statistics season for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Each January, churches throughout the denomination begin filling out forms that will help the Office of the General Assembly determine trends. “It gets pretty busy between now and the end of February when churches submit their information to presbyteries, who then forward the data to us,” said Kris Valerius, manager of Denominational Rolls and Statistics for OGA. “So far, we have about 1,200 churches that have entered their data so that’s good.” The process of gathering statistics in the Presbyterian church dates back to the 1860s. Information includes congregational size and age ranges. “We hope churches want to know what’s going on within their congregations and it’s a way to track what they did ten years ago and what they are doing today,” said Valerius. “They have access to ten years of their data, and they should see a lot of trends. Statistics are a good way to do that. It’s also a mandate of the Book of … [Read more...]
Pennsylvania church opens its food center to furloughed federal employees
(PNS) The Food Center at Morrisville Presbyterian Church in Pennsylvania opened more than two decades ago as an emergency resource. As the federal government shutdowndragged into its fourth week, volunteers there realized a new emergency was developing. “Ron Workman, who is our treasurer, is the one who suggested we might want to look into offering food to furloughed federal employees,” says Carol Romano, operations manager for the food bank. The U.S. government shut down on Dec. 22 in the midst of a dispute between President Donald Trump and congressional Democrats over the issue of funding a wall at the country’s southern border with Mexico. At 26 days, as of Wednesday, it is the longest government shutdown in United States history, with more than 800,000 federal workers missing their first paychecks last Friday. Clients may visit the food center at Morrisville Presbyterian Church once each month. (Contributed photo) Situated on the Delaware River, across from the New … [Read more...]
Pursuit of justice theme for Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Jan. 18-25
(PNS) “Justice and only justice you shall pursue,” God’s admonition taken from Deuteronomy 16, is the theme for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Jan. 18-25. This theme and some materials around the annual observance, to be celebrated by Christians from across the nation and from around the world, were given to the church by Christians from Indonesia, said the Rev. Everdith Landrau, Manager of Ecumenical Relations in the Office of the General Assembly. About 10 percent of some 265 million Indonesians are Christian. The nation was founded on five principles called Pancasila, with the motto “Bhineka Tunggal Ika,” or “Unity in Diversity.” Material prepared by the World Council of Churches and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity includes this statement: “Confronted by these injustices, we are obliged, as Christians, to examine the ways in which we are complicit. Only by heeding Jesus’ prayer ‘that they may all be one’ can we witness to living unity in diversity … [Read more...]
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