(PNS) Joanne Rogers, who was married for more than 50 years to children’s television icon and Presbyterian pastor Fred Rogers, died Thursday in Pittsburgh. She was 92. “Joanne and Fred Rogers envisioned the [Fred Rogers] Center as host to a child-study center, a resource for college students interested in media and child development, a site that would carry forward the legacy of Fred Rogers and his many contributions to children’s television programming and to children, families and their helpers,” the Fred Rogers Center said in a statement announcing Joanne Rogers’ death. “Joanne helped guide the development of the Center’s mission and vision statements and gave inspiration to our Fred Rogers Scholars and children’s studies minor students.” The Center described her as “a joyful and tender-hearted spirit whose laughter and kindness will be deeply missed.” She was “a trusted anchor whose heart and wisdom have guided our work in service of Fred’s enduring legacy.” “Everyone … [Read more...]

(OGA) Several years ago, I led a group of young adults from the United States on a journey to explore our relationship with the Presbyterian Church of Ghana. After a wonderful worship service and dinner hosted by a congregation in Tema, we were sitting at tables with the church leaders. One of the congregation’s elders turned to me and said he was impressed that I listened so well. I thanked him and asked him more about his kind compliment. He smiled and said that in his experience Americans are not the best listeners. He said that often when you see two Ghanaians together, one is talking and the other is listening. When you see two Americans together, one is talking and the other is waiting to talk. For 15 years I was privileged to serve as a professor at Columbia Theological Seminary. One of the last courses the seniors are required to take before they graduate is titled Final Things. In it, we professors try to prepare them for whatever ministry to which God is calling them. One … [Read more...]

LOUISVILLE (PNS) — On Wednesday, Jan. 20, employees and friends of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) will celebrate and commemorate the life and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The service this year will be livestreamed on the PC(USA) Facebook page beginning at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time. The preacher for the service will be the Rev. Timothy Findley, Jr., founder and senior pastor of Kingdom Fellowship Christian Life Center in Louisville, Kentucky. Findley is also a community activist who has been on the frontline of the peaceful protest for justice for Breonna Taylor. Findley has served Kingdom Fellowship Christian Life Center since March 2008. Under Findley’s leadership, Kingdom Fellowship Christian Life Center has become one of Louisville’s fastest-growing churches. He has built more than 50 in-house ministries focusing on effective outreach and evangelism, God-centered creativity and high-impact worship. The theme for the Wednesday morning service is “The Power … [Read more...]

(OGA) The 225th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is approximately 18 months away, and work is already underway to determine what that assembly will look like. Last month, the Committee on the Office of the General Assembly (COGA) approved a hybrid assembly in 2022 that will include both in-person and online meetings as well as a change in location for the gathering. The Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the PC(USA), says the next assembly will have a “very different flavor” than in years past. by Rick Jones and Randy Hobson, Office of the General Assembly … [Read more...]

(OGA) The COVID-19 pandemic has had a long-term impact on how the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) will be conducting business over the next few years, including any updates to the Book of Order. “The 224th General Assembly referred all items of business which had constitutional implications to the 225th gathering,” said Laurie Griffith, associate director for Constitutional Interpretation in the Office of the General Assembly. “That means there were no changes to the Book of Order and the current edition is effective through 2023.” Griffith says this is a first in the PC(USA). “When the Church held annual General Assemblies, the Book of Order was changed every year,” she said. “With biennial assembly gatherings, the updates were every two years, so this is kind of historic.” Last spring, the pandemic forced the Committee on the Office of the General Assembly (COGA) to reconfigure the 224th General Assembly into an online meeting and recommend that the assembly focus  on … [Read more...]

(PNS) The Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II is one of two dozen faith leaders to sign a National Council of Churches open letter dated Friday calling on U.S. officials to remove President Donald J. Trump from office. Nelson is the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). To date five people have died following the attack. “President Donald J. Trump’s actions and words have endangered the security of the country and its institutions of government by inciting a violent, deadly, seditious mob attack at the U.S. Capitol,” the letter states. “His words and actions have placed the lives of people he is supposed to serve in grave danger to advance his own interests.” “Further, he not only failed to stop or condemn the attack after the Capitol had been stormed,” the letter states, “but instead encouraged the mob by calling them patriots.” The “domestic terrorist attack” resulted in at least five deaths, the letter notes, including a Capitol Police … [Read more...]