(OGA) At its fall meeting in Pittsburgh on September 11-13, the executive committee of the Presbyteries’ Cooperative Committee on Examinations for Candidates (PCC) gave final approval to a plan to move from four to three administrations each year of the senior exams (Bible Exegesis, Polity, Theology, and Worship and Sacraments) beginning with the 2019-2020 academic year.   The exams previously announced for October 2018 and January and April 2019 will be offered as scheduled. The exam cycle will then shift to administrations at the end of September, January, and April, with readers from specified regions of the presbyteries evaluating them beginning on the first Mondays in October, February, and May, respectively. Exam results will continue to be available ten days after the submission of the Exegesis exams. Through most of their now over 50-year history, the senior ordination exams were offered twice each year (in late August and January). With the move to online … [Read more...]

(OGA) Calling it devastating news, the Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II, Stated Clerk of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has sent a letter to President Donald Trump, urging the administration to change its planned course for refugee resettlement. The U.S. Government is planning to resettle only 30,000 refugees in the Federal Fiscal Year 2019. “It is devastating news for the thousands of refugees who are living in a place of temporary refuge, their lives put on hold as they look for a country willing to open its doors to them,” the letter reads. “It is devastating news for the thousands of refugees already resettled in the United States who are separated from loved ones by war, flight, and left behind, waiting to be reunited.” Ahlam Al Khaled, a health and nutrition educator for International Orthodox Christian Charities, walks with children in a settlement of Syrian refugees in Minyara, a village in the Akkar district of northern Lebanon. Lebanon hosts some 1.5 million refugees … [Read more...]

(OGA) Leaders in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) have issued a statement to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Maria’s impact on Puerto Rico. The Category 4 hurricane hit the island on September 20, 2017, forcing millions from their homes, destroying the island’s power infrastructure, and leaving thousands dead. In a statement released today, PC(USA) leaders call on churches to continue their support of recovery efforts. “The PC(USA) will remember the hardships and losses as well as the moments of grace. The PC(USA) will seek to be faithful as we discern what the Lord is requiring of us to meet the immediate and the long-term needs,” the statement reads. “We call upon the whole church to pay attention to what is being revealed. We urge the whole church to continue to work with Presbyterian Disaster Assistance as they support the island’s recovery.” Image of destruction in Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane Maria, November 2017 - Photo by Rick Jones The … [Read more...]

(PNS)  “Let us worship our Creator with minds open to the wisdom of all God’s people, remembering that once listening and respect once had no place in our society.” These were the opening words to the Call to Worship led by Elona Street-Stewart, executive of the Synod of Lakes and Prairies, as staff and guests celebrated Native American Day at the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Center in Louisville on September 12. The morning message was preached by the Rev. Irvin Porter, associate for Native American Intercultural Congregational Support. Porter’s sermon, titled “The Place of Beginnings,” was centered around Genesis 1:1–2 and John 1:1–15. Elona Street-Stewart and the Rev. Irvin Porter celebrate communion on Native American Dayat the Presbyterian Center in Louisville on September 12. Gregg Brekke “Creation is the place of beginnings — so much so that John uses it to begin his narrative,” said Porter. “The threefold word in John 1:1 carries us into the depths of eternity, before … [Read more...]