SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, Texas (AP) — A South Texas church began a fresh chapter of worship on Sunday as it unveiled a new sanctuary a year and a half after a gunman opened fire and killed more than two dozen congregants in the deadliest mass shooting in state history. Parishioners, elected leaders and relatives of those killed or injured at the First Baptist Church in the tiny town of Sutherland Springs gathered at the new sanctuary for its dedication. Some among the hundreds in attendance wore royal blue shirts with “#evildidnotwin” written across the back. In the large, white sanctuary amid a stained glass panel, Pastor Frank Pomeroy told the crowd they were celebrating God’s glory while remembering “those who have paid a price for this incredible facility.” The church commemorated the victims by reading their names as the church bell rang, and those connected to them stood up in the crowd. Pomeroy’s 14-year-old daughter, Annabelle Pomeroy, was among those killed. Republican … [Read more...]
‘Who will be our Rachel now?’ Progressive Christians reflect on movement without Held Evans
(RNS) — When the Rev. Emmy Kegler heard her friend Rachel Held Evans had died earlier this month after a sudden illness, she offered a prayer. Then Kegler got together with other friends who had known Evans, a popular progressive Christian writer and speaker, to share their memories and process their grief. As she walked to her car afterward, she wondered what the future would hold. Who would fill the void their friend had left behind? “Who is going to be our Rachel now?” she asked. Kegler isn’t the only one asking. Since Evans’ untimely death on May 4 at age 37, her readers and friends have shared stories of her impact and her kindnesses toward them online — sparking renewed interest in her work and putting her 2015 book “Searching for Sunday” on this past weekend’s New York Times bestseller list. Along with them, progressive Christian scholars are also considering Evans’ legacy and what’s next for their movement without one of its most prominent and beloved … [Read more...]
Presbyterian chaplains and a co-moderator host forum on veteran suicide
(OGA) FAIRFIELD, California — When Jose Guzman got out of the army in 1992, he seriously considered taking his own life. He was suffering from Post-Traumatic Distress Syndrome (PTSD). The pain and trauma of being in war drove him to drugs and alcohol and nearly cost him his marriage and ultimately his life. It would take eighteen years before he got the help he needed from the Veterans Administration. As many as twenty veterans take their own lives each day according to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, and the problem is getting worse. A group of faith leaders and chaplains gathered at the Rockville Presbyterian Fellowship in Fairfield, California, on Thursday to address the growing problem. They represented Presbyterian, Roman Catholic, United Church of Christ, and other denominations. The Air Force, Army, Navy, and Civil Air Patrol were among the branches of service represented. The Reverend Cindy Kohlmann, Co-Moderator of the 223rd General Assembly … [Read more...]
PC(USA) appeals defamation case to the Supreme Court
LOUISVILLE (Outlook) — The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has appealed a defamation case involving Eric Hoey, who was formerly the PC(USA)’s director of evangelism and church growth, to the United States Supreme Court. Hoey was one of four men caught up in an ethics investigation involving the 1001 New Worshipping Communities program, and lost his job with the denomination in 2015. Not long after that, he filed a defamation case against the PC(USA). The PC(USA) is now appealing a 2018 ruling of the Kentucky Supreme Court involving that case. On April 30, John Sheller, an outside counsel representing the church, filed an application for a stay of that Kentucky Supreme Court decision with Justice Sonia Sotomayor. On May 6, Sotomayor denied that application. On May 8, Sheller filed an application again, this time with Justice Neil Gorsuch. On May 14, that application was distributed for conference by the full Supreme Court, scheduled to be considered at conference on May … [Read more...]
Regarding ruling elders: Ruling elders as commissioners
(OGA) The year was 1983 and the setting was a presbytery meeting called to consider the plan for reuniting the two branches of the Presbyterian church. I was a young minister in my first call, my wife was pregnant with our first child, and I was uncertain how I would vote. Philosophically I understood the desire for reunion, but also understood the pain and loss reunion would bring. I knew well, and was comfortable in, the denomination that ordained me. I knew the faces of the men and women who led it, their stories, and the tales of those who went before. I knew the shape of its churches and the cadence of their voices. My great, great grandfather had voted in favor of the split that had led to this current discussion. As I looked forward in ministry, I was certain that this corporate merger would bring an era of institutional fights and organizational chart-building that would last the whole of my ministry. Would this really be service to the Gospel? But I came to this … [Read more...]
Special committee delves deeper into questions of sustainability and per capita
FORT WORTH, Texas – The Special Committee on Per-Capita Based Funding and National Church Financial Sustainability is starting to identify next steps — including developing a list of questions about finances in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) it wants to ask, and arranging a schedule of meetings with mid council leaders to talk about finances. The committee held its first in-person meeting May 13-15 in Fort Worth — well-aware of pending deadlines (Dec. 31 for the financial sustainability report and Feb. 21 for per capita). As the gathering came to a close, committee members voiced feelings of excitement, trepidation, of making progress and feeling a little in the fog. Part of the final morning of the meeting was spent with committee members divided into two work teams: one on per capita and one on financial sustainability. The per capita team is scheduling listening sessions with presbytery and synod leaders in the coming months. And the financial sustainability … [Read more...]
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