Intentional communities: Living reconciliation, love

When Percy Strickland and his wife, Angie, decided to buy a house, they did what many Presbyterians would never dare to do. They left the suburbs. They moved into an inner-city neighborhood in Richmond, Va. -- becoming one of the few white families in an impoverished and mostly-black area.

They spent the next months meeting the neighbors -- initially, by playing basketball on nearby courts and helping kids with their homework. It got so that every time Percy pulled his truck up to his house, he'd find a dozen or so kids on the front porch, waiting for him.

The Stricklands opened the doors of their home to these children. They started an after-school tutoring program. They got volunteers from their church and the community involved. Others moved into the city and joined their work -- altogether about 10 houses of people.

They have created -- from scratch, from passion, from an open-hearted faith -- an intentional community called CHAT, or Church Hill Activities & Tutoring.

Bishop G.E. Patterson dies

Presiding Bishop of the Church Of God In Christ, Bishop G. E. Patterson, passed away March 20 at 4:03 p.m. at Methodist University Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., as a result of heart failure. Patterson was surrounded by his wife, Mrs. Louise Patterson, and his family.

Patterson served as the leader of the fourth-largest Protestant religious denomination in the world with an estimated membership of 6.5 million members. He led the denomination since November 2000.

More information about funeral arrangements will be posted later.

Hassall new PFR Wee Kirk consultant

Presbyterians for Renewal has named Harry S. Hassall interim National Wee Kirk funding consultant, effective April 1, Hassall will be working with designated fundraisers in the nine regional Wee Kirk conferences across the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to mentor and encourage them in their ministry and to deepen and broaden financial support for these conference opportunities.

Hassall was for many years on the staff of Highland Park Church in Dallas, Texas. But he has a long background relating to the needs of small-membership churches. Beginning as member of a General Assembly-level planning team for small membership churches in the mid 70s, Hassall was responsible for birthing the Wee Kirk ministry, coordinating the first national Wee Kirk Conference in 1980 at Montreat. 

“Clash of civilizations” view of Islam, Christianity simplistic, expert says

by Hannah Elliott

©2007 by Associated Baptist Press. Used by permission.

AUSTIN, Texas -- The characterization of Muslim and Christian conflict as a "clash of civilizations" only prolongs problems and encourages dangerous forms of fundamentalism, one prominent scholar told listeners at an ethics conference Feb. 19.

Charles Kimball, who has visited the Middle East 40 times and worked closely with Congress, the White House and the State Department, spoke at Ethics Without Borders, an event in Austin, Texas, organized by the Texas Baptist-affiliated Christian Life Commission.

A professor of religion at Wake Forest University, Kimball called the clash of civilizations framework "an extremely unhelpful one" for people in the United States, most of whom know very little about Islam.

Services March 24 for Dr. Isabel Wood Rogers, beloved ‘Dr. Izzie’

Updated 3/20/07

RICHMOND, VA. -- Dr. Isabel Wood Rogers, 82, Professor Emerita of Applied Christianity at Union Theological Seminary and Presbyterian School of Christian Education, died March 18 in Richmond.

Services are scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday, March 24, at Ginter Park Church in Richmond with a reception to follow. Interment will be in her birthplace of Tallahassee, Fla. Survivors include a sister, Elizabeth Green McCord of Tallahassee, and two nephews.

Born in 1924, she held degrees from Florida State University (A.B.), the University of Virginia (M.A.), the Presbyterian School of Christian Education (M.R.E.), and Duke University (Ph.D.). Austin College, Westminster College, and Centre College all awarded her honorary degrees.

Dr. Rogers, known affectionately as "Dr. Izzie," taught at the Presbyterian School of Christian Education from 1961-1998. Upon her retirement, she was named Professor Emerita of Applied Christianity. Prior to her work at PSCE, she was the Presbyterian campus minister and chaplain and the director of campus religious activities at Georgia College in Milledgeville.

Montreat Conference Center Welcomes New Director of Development Operations

(Montreat, NC) -- Montreat Conference Center is pleased to introduce Diane Pennington, the conference center's new Director of Development Operations.  Professionally, Pennington brings a diversity of experience to the Montreat Conference Center Development office.  Over the course of 15 years in corporate New York, she gained experience in management, operations, administration, and corporate communications and marketing. 

Staff appointments, social justice resolutions passed on final day of GAC meeting

LOUISVILLE -- Responding to a request from the Evangelical Church of Iran, the General Assembly Council of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has passed a resolution asking U.S. political leaders to initiate "direct diplomatic dialogue with leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran, so that by all means, a military confrontation would be avoided" involving Iran.

It asks Presbyterian military chaplains to lead prayers for peace and the "well-being of all peoples in the region."

And it asks the council to remind Presbyterians of the denomination's policies on nuclear weapons "and the dangers of military confrontation."

Leaner General Assembly Council shifts focus from details to big picture

LOUISVILLE -- "We are in a time of great change in our church."

That's how General Assembly Council member Steve Benz presented the challenge -- shorthand for everything from infighting in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to financial distress to the reality that nearly half of the denomination's congregations have fewer than 100 members.

And Tom Gillespie, a council member and retired president of Princeton Theological Seminary, preached on that reality during worship.

Presbyterian Foundation reports “outstanding year” for funding mission

The Presbyterian Foundation reported March 13 that $78.5 million was made available for mission in 2006, an increase of $6.3 million from 2005. As a ministry of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the Foundation is called to nurture the accumulated resources of Presbyterians to further the mission of the Church and grow the resources that support mission giving for the future.

GAC executive committee hears reports on funding, staffing at beginning of Council meeting

LOUISVILLE -- Most Presbyterians don't sit around thinking about how the top levels of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) are organized. But just understand this:

·         The reorganization of the top levels of the denomination's national staff is continuing -- with a key appointment in communications and funds development recently being announced. That appointment, if confirmed by the General Assembly Council this week, will round out the top level of the PC(USA)'s administrative team.

·         The council, meeting March 14-16 in Louisville, is also being reorganized, with the election of new leadership and a new committee structure. The size of the council also will change in the months to come, producing a council that's supposed to be more streamlined and more focused on the denomination's Mission Work Plan goals.

·         Linda Valentine, who was named the council's executive director in June 2006, spoke of how she hopes the new alignments will allow the council to more effectively "talk about big issues, what the church needs and how we can respond." Valentine spoke of the need for "adaptive thinking, generative thinking, strategic thinking" in the PC(USA).

COGA: Designated giving okay for us, too

LOUISVILLE --The Committee on the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) agreed today to allow its ministries to solicit designated funds from potential donors. Heretofore, the Office of the General Assembly has been funded singly by per capita funds, with the exception of special fund raising that has been done in recent years by the Presbyterian Historical Society.

Middle governing body leaders ask the tough questions

Are you ready to fire yourself? Presbytery and synod representatives, gathered in Albuquerque, N.M., Feb. 14-16, seeking ways to salvage their governing bodies. In the process they were asked to risk losing their careers. 

"Do we need synods? Do we need executive presbyters?" asked conference facilitator Gilbert R. Rendle. "These [questions] are dangerous because as we ask them, we have to ask whether we are ready to lose our jobs. I don't take such questions easily.  Three times I've gone through a process that led to the determination that my job was not needed. I didn't like it then. I don't like it now."

Rendle spoke about more than a corporate restructuring. He pressed those gathered leaders like a revival preacher. "This is a spiritual issue, a Mosaic issue. Are we ready to go out into the wilderness, not knowing where we are going to end up?"