High-stakes choice at the crossroads
It requires a certain amount of chutzpah — and certainly faith — for my congregation to begin a strategic planning process to figure out who and what it wants to be and do in three to five years.
More Stories from this Author
WCC, WEA, Vatican reach accord on proselytizing
WASHINGTON (RNS) Christian missionaries should renounce all “deception and coercive means” of winning converts, according to an agreement released June 28 by a World Evangelical Alliance, the World Council of Churches and the Vatican, which together represent 90 percent of the world’s Christian population.
Vice-moderator takes new call
Landon Whitsitt, vice-moderator of the 219th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and a pastor from Missouri, has been elected as the new executive and stated clerk of the Synod of Mid-America.
Union-Charlotte unveils new campus plans
CHARLOTTE, N.C. Charlotte’s Presbyterian seminary has broken ground on a campus in the heart of the SouthPark area — a $6.5 million development that will give the school its first permanent home.
Benton Kline dies
C. Benton Kline, Jr., a former president of Columbia Theological Seminary, died June 20 following a brief illness.
Journey in the Wilderness: New life for Mainline Churches
Journey in the Wilderness: New life for Mainline Churches
by Gil Rendle
Abingdon Press. 2010. 176 pages.
REVIEWED BY Allen D. Timm
Last year a group of more than 100 young adults gathered for dinner once a month in a room over a bakery in inner-city Detroit. The Detroit Soup Project invited participants to donate $10 each and to present a project to improve Detroit. They would listen, debate and vote. After each meeting, one of them went out with $800 as a grant for a project that would improve the city of Detroit.
Sharing Possessions: What faith Demands (Second Edition)
Sharing Possessions: What faith Demands (Second Edition)
by Luke Timothy Johnson
wm. b. eerdmans Publishing company. 198 Pages.
REVIEWED BY ANDREW FOSTER CONNORS
Luke Timothy Johnson, a first-rate New Testament scholar, begins with a plodding reflection on what it means for human beings to possess anything. Despite this beginning, this book deserves a serious reading. Johnson argues convincingly for an expansive definition of “having” that includes anything over which we claim ownership — relationships, time, principles, values and things.
Stated clerk: bill takes disproportionate bite from ‘programs that serve the common good’
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Office of the General Assembly) Gradye Parsons,
stated clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.),
says he is "deepy troubled" by the deficit-reduction package that has been
signed into federal law.
Not fade away: Synod schoolers learn about music’s connection to faith
STORM LAKE, Iowa (Special to PNS) When Rick MacArthur turned 8
years old, he asked his family to throw a birthday party not for him, but for
his hero, rock ‘n’ roll pioneer Buddy Holly.
Faith groups dismayed by North Korean leadership role
Geneva (ENI) Christian advocacy groups are among a 28-strong international coalition calling for North Korea, criticized by many for its human rights abuses and nuclear threats, to step down from the presidency of the United Nations Conference on Disarmament (UNCD).
It’s about relationships, not rules: Matthew 22:34-40
Asked what the most important commandment is, Jesus replies that loving God is the most important commandment and that loving our neighbor is the second.
Anderson cleared for ordination. Larges advances.
LOUISVILLE – The General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission has dismissed a challenge to the ordination of Scott Anderson, which means that Anderson – a gay man who set aside his ordination in 1990 after congregants publicly revealed his sexual orientation – may once again be ordained by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
Religious leaders speak out on importance of dealing with climate change
Jerusalem (ENI) Jewish, Christian and Muslim leaders met in Jerusalem July 18 at the Interfaith Climate Change Forum to raise awareness about the vital role religion can play on environmental issues.
Norwegian church leader calls for anti-violence unity among faiths
Geneva (ENI) Different faiths need to do more to promote human solidarity, said Rev. Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), in the aftermath of the bomb attack and mass killings in his native Norway.
Florence tells Lakes & Prairies school about ‘Presbyterian style’ testimony
STORM LAKE, Iowa (Special to Presbyterian News Service) Anna Carter Florence, who teaches preaching at Columbia Theological Seminary, says she’s very interested in how the people of God talk about God.
Norway’s churches at center of country’s efforts to heal after attacks
Trondheim, Norway (ENI) A Norwegian bishop addressing the recent bombing and shooting attacks in his country said Norway has "countered this insane terrorism by demonstrating love and solidarity."
Free hymn for download : “O God, Our Hearts Were Shattered” – a new hymn for the 10th anniversary of 9-11.
On the afternoon of Sept. 22, 2001, Carolyn wrote “O God, Our Words Cannot Express,” a hymn that was used by many churches on that evening and in the days that followed. It was published in the Presbyterian Outlook at the time, and was mentioned in USA Today and The Wall Street Journal, lots of magazines and was on national PBS-TV twice in the USA and the BBC-TV in the United Kingdom.
Does 10-A make appeals of prior ordination cases moot? Judicial commission rulings may provide an answer
LOUISVILLE – The General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission won’t release rulings until perhaps Aug. 2 in two cases involving whether particular lesbian and gay candidates – Lisa Larges and Scott Anderson – can be ordained in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
European churches mourn Norway victims
Warsaw, Poland (ENI) Church leaders across Europe expressed shock
and sorrow at the killing of 76 people by a right-wing extremist in Norway,
and pledged solidarity and prayers with the country's inhabitants.
Indian churches launch hunger strike
Bangalore, India (ENI) Major churches in India are taking part
in a hunger strike that began July 25 in New Delhi to demand an end to
discrimination against Christian Dalits.
John Stott dies
John Stott, an English evangelical who helped introduce the world to the global scope of the Christian movement and is considered one of the most influential evangelicals of his generation, has died.
Nelson arrested while praying for end of debt ceiling impasse
Washington (General Assembly Mission Council) The Rev. J. Herbert Nelson, director of the
PC(USA) Office of Public Witness, was among about 12 religious leaders arrested July 28 in the
U.S. Capitol Building while engaging in public prayers for an end to the debate over whether and
how to raise the federal government's debt ceiling.
The Nicole-habit
When the press release from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary announced last Dec. 11 that Roger Nicole had been called home to heaven a day after his 95th birthday, I breathed a sigh of sadness.
SFTS elects McDonald president, prepares to close Pasadena campus
San Anselmo, Calif.
The Rev. Dr. James L. McDonald, a former executive with a faith-based organization that combats hunger, will take over as the 11th president of San Francisco Theological Seminary at a time when the financially strapped school is closing its Southern California campus.
Three grads win awards for essays in program sponsored by the Outlook
Heather Wallace, a graduating senior at Whitworth University in Spokane, Wash., has won the 2011 Presbyterian Outlook Church-College Partnership Award.