(PNS) The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Office of Public Witness is calling on people to support a democracy reform package that has just been reintroduced by the House of Representatives. The For the People Act (H.R. 1) was originally introduced and passed by the House at the beginning of the 116thCongress in 2019, but was never brought up in the United States Senate. According to its text, the bill would “expand Americans’ access to the ballot box, reduce the influence of big money in politics, strengthen ethics rules for public servants, and implement other anti-corruption measures for the purpose of fortifying our democracy, and for other purposes.” The Rev. Jimmie Hawkins, Coordinator of the Office of Public Witness (OPW) on Capitol Hill, said, “H.R.1 is vital because there is a desperate need for federal legislation to strengthen and, more so, to promote voting as a right for every American. I am very optimistic that the 117th Congress will give this, and similar … [Read more...]

LOUISVILLE (OGA) With 2020 in the rearview mirror, the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is looking at a long list of priorities for the year ahead. The COVID-19 pandemic forced the PC(USA) to completely reconfigure the 224th General Assembly to an online gathering. The Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II, says looking at how future assemblies will be conducted will be among his top priorities this year. by Rick Jones and Randy Hobson, Office of the General Assembly … [Read more...]

(PNS) Retired Rear Admiral Margaret Grun Kibben, a Presbyterian who served as chief of chaplains in the U.S. Navy and chaplain of the U.S. Marine Corps, was named Thursday by Speaker Nancy Pelosi as Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives. According to a news release from Pelosi’s office, Kibben is the first woman to be named House Chaplain in the 231-year history of the position. She succeeds Father Pat Conroy, who is retiring. Pelosi said Kibben’s “integrity, experience and patriotism will serve the Congress and the country well as she ministers to the needs of Members.” Kibben entered active duty through the Navy’s Theological Student Program. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Goucher College in Towson, Maryland; Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees from Princeton Theological Seminary; and a Master’s in National Security and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. In her final active duty assignment in the … [Read more...]

(PNS) The Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), was among the denominational leaders participating earlier this month in “What Does God Require of Us? Discerning, Confessing, and Witnessing in an Age of COVID-19 and Beyond,” part of the World Communion of Reformed Churches’ Communion-wide discernment process. The online conference, which heard voices from five continents, was attended through Zoom by a core group and followed on multi-lingual livestreams by hundreds more. “Today is a moment of kairos, where we are called to act,” said the Rev. Najla Kassab, WCRC president, “and strive to heal the world of the long-lasting injustices that not even the vaccine will heal.” “This conference comes to us as Reformed Christians to the situation we find ourselves in,” said Lungile Mpetsheni of the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa, the moderator of the COVID-19 and Beyond Working Group. “We are in a … [Read more...]

(PNS) Massachusetts State Police, local arson investigators and the FBI are investigating the cause of a Monday morning fire that heavily damaged the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Presbyterian Church in Springfield, Massachusetts. According to a report from WWLP News, firefighters were called to the church at about 5 a.m. Eastern Time and had the fire out by 8 a.m. MassLive.com quoted Springfield Mayor Dominic J. Sarno, who called the fire a case of arson. The fire heavily damaged the church building, home to a predominantly Black congregation of about 40 members. The Rev. Shannan Vance-Ocampo, general presbyter of the Presbytery of Southern New England, was on her way to Springfield Monday morning to meet with church leaders, including the church’s pastor, the Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery, who’s been in transitional ministry at the church for about 18 months. “We will update as more information is known, and with how people can help,” Vance-Ocampo said in a statement. … [Read more...]

(OGA) Join the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) for an online Christmas Service as we celebrate the birth of the Christ Child.     Download Order of Worship Additional information about this service and resources for Christmas worship can be found here. For closed-captioning Click on the CC icon  located at the bottom right of the video player screen Select the desired language Download When the page with the video opens, scroll down below the video and click on the gray Download button. … [Read more...]