New Summer Films in Review!

"The Dry Land." Ryan Piers Williams, the writer and director of “The Dry Land,” is the “significant other” of America Ferrerra, so it’s not surprising that she would be a primary figure in his movie about post-traumatic stress disorder.  However, she plays the secondary victim, the wife of the man who comes home from war and has difficulty adjusting to civilian life. Click here to read the full review.  

“Predators” & “South of The Border.” Click here to read what they both have in common

“Salt” is a throwback movie.  Though set in the present, it hearkens back to the Cold War era, when the two world powers on the earth grappled clandestinely in the deadly, covert world of spy networks.  The desperation is high because the stakes are ultimate: the threat of nuclear holocaust is imminent and pervasive.

Both sides played at Armageddon scenarios, both sent secret agents deep undercover, preferably in the heart of the highest security clearances of the oblivious enemy. read more

Come unto me

I came a day late to the Assembly. My nephew, raised a Presbyterian, was being married in the Catholic Church. “We are..

Mugabe condemns churches that allow gay marriages

HARARE (ENI) — Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has lashed out at churches that allow same-sex marriages, and said gay rights would not be included in a new constitution being written for the southern African country.

Baird encourages youth to follow Jesus, not play it safe

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — There are two kinds of people in the world: those who play it safe and those who take risks, the Rev. Graham Baird told those attending a service July 23 at the Presbyterian Youth Triennium.

A family gathering

I don't remember when I developed a passion and fascination for the mysteries that lie inside the hearts of people who were born in different landscapes than my own.  I think this love for cultures developed somewhere between 49th street and 8th Avenue in New York City.

PC(USA)-backed financial disclosure legislation passes

LOUISVILLE — A Senate vote July 15 gave final approval to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act with a landmark provision requiring energy and mining companies registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to disclose how much they pay to foreign countries and the U.S. government for oil, gas, and minerals. President Barack Obama later signed the bill into law.

Tebbe named president of Forman Christian College and Friends organization

Jim Tebbe, vice-president of missions for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, has been named president of Friends of Forman Christian College (FCC) in Lahore, Pakistan, and president-designate of the college.

World Food Prize to hunger groups

WASHINGTON, D.C. (ENI)

David Beckmann and Jo Luck were named co-winners of the 2010 World Food Prize at a June 16 ceremony at the U.S. State Department. The award is often seen as the Nobel Prize on issues related to food security, hunger and farming.

Belhar spurs Reformed justice initiatives

(RNS) The Reformed Church in America’s general synod president wants the church to be a bigger advocate of social justice.

Pastor named to lead religious freedom efforts

WASHINGTON, D. C. (RNS) President Obama has named Suzan Johnson Cook, a pastor from New York, as his nominee to be ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom.

Hunsinger to receive Karl Barth Award

George Hunsinger, Princeton Theological Seminary’s Hazel Thompson McCord Professor of Systematic Theology and a scholar on the work of Karl Barth, has been chosen as the recipient of the 2010 Karl Barth Award by the jury of the Union of Evangelical Churches in the Evangelical Church in Germany.

Southern Baptists meet, trying to combat falling numbers

Washington D.C. (RNS) Southern Baptist Convention President Johnny Hunt has urged members of the largest Protestant denomination in the United States to seek new ways to evangelize and combat declining baptism rates.

Report: Religious groups see slight decrease in giving

Washington D.C. (RNS) Religious organizations reported a 0.7 percent decrease in donations last year, according to a study by Giving USA Foundation, a marked contrast from the 5.5 percent increase in giving reported in 2008. Total donations for all charitable groups in 2009 were down by 3.6 percent.

Polish bishops bar IVF supporters from communion

Warsaw (ENI) Poland’s bishops have warned Roman Catholic Church members that they cannot receive Holy Communion if they support in vitro fertilization, because it is a violation of church law comparable to abortion.

Peacemaking Palestinians look for partners

As this magazine goes to print, thousands of Presbyterians are gathering in Minneapolis, Minn., for the meetings of the 219th General Assembly. By the time this edition arrives in your home or study, the actions of the GA will have concluded, as reported in detail on our Web site (www.pres-outlook.org) and summarized in brief in our Post-GA Bulletin Insert (can be purchased at the Website).

Dwelling together in unity: World Communion established

GRAND RAPIDS

With calls for reconciliation, the healing of old wounds, and the courage to act for peace and justice in the world, the two major networks of Reformed Christians around the globe have combined to form a new body, the World Communion of Reformed Churches.

Mission future, mission past: Edinburgh Conference at 100

Complied from reports by ENI and Religion News Service

“Good evangelism” and “bad evangelism” came under discussion when a diverse group of Christians gathered to discuss the 1910 Edinburgh Missionary Conference 100 years later in the capital of Scotland.

Five grads share Outlook college partnership award

Kristen Riegel, from Batavia, N.Y., is the 2010 recipient of The Presbyterian Outlook Church-College Partnership Award. Judges selected her essay on the assigned topic, “How my education at a PC(USA)-related college has shaped my faith and prepared me for significant service and leadership” as this year’s best entry.

Hay sees differences, similarities in Scotland

When Tom Hay went to Scotland in May as a representative of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) attending the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, he kept his eyes open for good ideas.