“The mystery of peace is located in the nature and quality of relationship developed with those most feared.”
— John Paul Lederach
The Moral Imagination
Conversations between Christians with diverse theologies and political circumstance have never been easy.
With so many others across the church, I am waiting with curiosity and hope for the report of the Theological Task Force..
The goal of the Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Church is to "lead the PCUSA in spiritual..
When the Rev. Mark D. Roberts started his blog, he envisioned a small outreach to his community and parishioners at Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, Calif.
A little more than a year later, the blog reaches far beyond that, drawing 1,500 visitors daily -- 2,000 on weekends.
"I have readers literally all over the world," says Roberts, pastor to a 750- member congregation. His review of Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" has drawn more than 25,000 visitors since the film's release, and it continues to draw readers by the hundreds.
It is but one small example of the growing reach of Christian bloggers going online to evangelize, mobilize and occasionally demonize. They marvel at the way blogs give them an opportunity to engage with a lively and diverse audience they could never attract on their own.
The term "blog" is short for "Web log" and refers to the online journals that have given a public voice to anyone with an Internet connection. Evangelicals, for instance, used blogs to get voters to the polls in November, becoming a big part of President George W. Bush's victory.
Text: John 16:16-33
One of the best commentaries on the Gospel of John is Dostoyevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov, a novel which also has a good deal to say about theological education. I want to begin by quoting at length a passage from that novel that has to do with a novice priest who has recently graduated from a theological school of sorts and who is struggling to discern the particular shape of God’s call upon his life.
“I can’t imagine anything better for our congregation than to hear from you.” With those words last fall, Rabbi Lucy H.F. Dinner of Raleigh’s Temple Beth Or responded to a letter from Arthur (Art) Ross III, pastor of Raleigh’s White Memorial Church.
Abraham went, and his children followed.
Forty-five “Children of Abraham”— 14 Jews, 15 Christians, 15 Muslims, and one Unitarian-Universalist participated in an interfaith pilgrimage to the Holy Land, February 10-21, 2005, sponsored by the Wilshire Center Interfaith Council of Los Angeles. The pilgrims were led by Rabbi Stephen Julius Stein of the Wilshire Boulevard Temple;
The PC(USA)’s Divestment Policy is a protest of thirty-eight years of Israel’s illegal military occupation in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza. The policy is not anti-Israel, anti-Jewish, or anti-Semitic. Its purpose is to promote the end of the occupation.
Davidson College’s Board of Trustees recently decided that people who are not active members of a Christian church may serve on that board. Some have criticized this as a move away from our Christian heritage. I would like to offer a different interpretation, as I see the change as a forward-looking expression of how we want our particular understanding of Christian faith to be embodied.
Saturday night, the night before Easter, about 45 of us gathered in the dusk in the narthex outside the sanctuary doors. We settled ourselves and began to gather our hearts for worship - a new service - a kind of modified Easter Vigil for us to try. The sanctuary doors opened to reveal a path of light - tiny votive candles perched on the side of each pew - making a pathway of light through the dim and dark sanctuary.
“Do you not know?” Paul asks the Romans, and then twice firmly announces, “we know,” “we know.” The language hints that something has been misplaced.
We know—unless we have forgotten. We know—unless we assume it didn’t apply in this case or under these particular circumstances. We know—unless we haven’t calculated the fullest consequences of what we have come to know. We know—unless, of course, we don’t know at all.
I am a Presbyterian Jedi. At least that is what some seem to think. Last year I was elected to the Presbyterian Jedi Council (aka General Assembly Council.) I am now “in the know” and the fate of the denomination is in my hands. Depending on whom you ask, I could be either Obi-Wan Kenobi or Darth Vader. Either way, I get the same questions. Membership is declining and there is financial difficulty. What am I going to do to save the denomination?
“I am newly ordained yet already pessimistic about the future of this denomination. I am 30 years old and already tired by the same old arguments and voting trends. I am a Presbyterian who is ashamed that outsiders best know our denomination because of intense bickering rather than our proclamation of the gospel.
“I am not naïve enough to believe that simply talking to one another will smooth the splinters of our denomination. Yet I have confidence that the church of Jesus Christ still belongs to God—and not to a “group” or a “side” or a “network.” And I believe it is our job as leaders in the church to take the time to listen to where God might be leading us.”
"We hope to keep discovering who Jesus is calling us to be as we meet together in the same denomination – and we intend to keep learning, and growing in faith by God’s grace. We will meet again next year and continue our dialogue. We encourage you to do the same."
As the PCUSA Theological Task Force (TTF) on Peace, Unity, and Purity prepares its final report (to be distributed in September), we in the Presbytery of the James have made concerted efforts to be in conversation with each other regarding their work. We formed four theological reflection groups (and are in the process of starting four more), each of which represented a broad theological spectrum.
AUGSBURG
We are pleased to share the news of a new Bible study – No Experience Necessary. This study is accessible for people new to Bible study yet full of fresh insights for those more experienced. The author is Kelly Fryer, author of the bestselling Reclaiming the “L” Word. Kelly has a passion—and a gift—for empowering people to pick up the Bible and read it for themselves.
When we ask who has the final authority to direct the Christian Education program in a Presbyterian church the answer is straightforward and simple. The session, as the ruling body of the congregation, has the responsibility to develop the church school and the educational program in each congregation (G-10.0102 f; W-6.2005).
Across the country Presbyterians are seeking out new ways for adults to study the Bible. Small groups are meeting on weekdays so they have more time for study than is available during the Sunday school hour. Interest is high in deep study of Scriptures that leads to increased understanding and faith formation. Adults are willing to find time in their busy schedules to participate in such small group experiences.
In an era when there are more than 150 different publishers and distributors of children’s curricula alone, finding the resources that are best for your congregation can be challenging. The following four-step process, however, will help you make an informed decision and provide your teachers with good materials to support their ministries of faith formation.
Like other areas of the church’s life in the post-modern era, Adult Education faces a number of challenges and opportunities. Gone are the days when the majority of adults attended highly organized Sunday morning Church Schools centered on denominationally produced curriculum.
When Dietrich Bonhoeffer, 39, quietly strode toward Nazi prison gallows as the Second World War neared its end, he could hardly have known that 60 years later, his life, memory and legacy would remain the subject of keen debate and fascination — not to mention outright reverence.
Pentecost Meditation on Joel 2:23-39
Frequently in the morning, after I’ve walked the dog, I’ll come in, get a cup of coffee and sit down on the kitchen floor; and then, when my wife joins me, I’ll ask her what she dreamed about. Most of the time, Ann says she can’t remember. But I remember what I dream about; and I enjoy relating the vivid things that come to me in my sleep. (Well, some of them, at any rate. A few I keep to myself.)
Editor’s Note: This challenge was issued on the blog of Moderator Rick Ufford-Chase as part of a focus on the ministry of accompaniment in tense situations. The blog address can be accessed through the PC(USA) website (www.pcusa.org) or directly at www.what-I-see.blogspot.com.
I get it wrong about as often as I get it right. But I have learned, partly through my own mistakes, that healthy leadership will generally contain these three elements: thoughtful assessment, shared and transparent process, and seeking the good of the whole. Not only will better decisions be made, but the led will follow with confidence and trust.
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