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Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), A Corporation board gathers information, chooses its leadership

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LOUISVILLE – The new board of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), A Corporation has begun to set its course – electing its leadership, hearing from denominational leaders on everything from investments to evangelism, and acting on some specific items of business. This new board, approved by the 2018 General Assembly, is both smaller and more broadly representative than the previous one. Formerly, the voting members of the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board served as the A Corporation Board. The new board includes representatives from five of the six PC(USA) agencies, along with representatives of Presbyterian Women, the Racial Equity Advocacy Committee, the Advocacy Committee for Women’s Concerns and three at-large members, two of whom are currently drawn from the All Agency Review Committee and the Way Forward Commission. The shift has been controversial and much-debated at top levels of the denomination, but there is hope it can lead to greater efficiency, transparency and … [Read more...]

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Denominational leaders outline their hopes and dreams for new Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), A Corporation board

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LOUISVILLE – In a conversation Sept. 5, top denominational leaders laid out their hopes and dreams for the reconfigured board of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), A Corporation – describing a church that is rich in both faith and potential resources; that needs to demonstrate collaboration, courage and risk-taking; and whose leaders need to follow the Holy Spirit, and be willing to make change. J. Herbert Nelson, the denomination’s stated clerk, said the PC(USA) has all the resources it needs to be a turnaround denomination. “We are not a poor denomination,” Nelson said. “We can do all things if Christ is with us.”   Nelson also said Presbyterians need not to feel ashamed to share their personal faith stories – to tell how God is working in their lives and motivating their choices. “We are going to have to begin to talk about Jesus, and not hide our faith under a bushel,” the stated clerk said. He encouraged Presbyterians to share their faith stories of God’s … [Read more...]

Up and running: Reconfigured Presbyterian Church (U.S.A), A Corporation, board convenes for its first meeting

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LOUISVILLE – The newly-reconfigured board of the Presbyterian Church (U.SA.), A Corporation, is up and running – and the list of questions or issues it may need to take on in the months to come is considerable. That new board is holding its first meeting Sept. 4-5 in Louisville, with the first day spent on introducing the people and some of the issues involved, and with the board expected to take its first votes Sept. 5, including electing its chair, considering its committee structure and electing at least some officers of the corporation. The first day’s discussion, however, also demonstrated in broad strokes some of the issues the A Corporation board likely is to consider going forward – including questions of how better to explain to Presbyterians how the denomination spends its money, and how to fund the services the A Corporation will be expected to provide. Several board members voiced concern about financial transparency – wanting clearer budget and cost allocation … [Read more...]

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Immigration in small-town Iowa: One church reaches out to the community

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On the day of the May 9 immigration raid in a small Iowa town, families whose husbands and fathers had been detained came to the Presbyterian church to wait – waiting for the start of a new and precarious future. First Presbyterian Church sits adjacent to the National Guard Armory in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. Years ago – after immigration agents rounded up nearly 400 people at a meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa, during one of the largest workplace raids in U.S. history – an arrangement had been struck that if a raid ever happened in Mount Pleasant, families could gather at the church. It was a day that Trey Hegar, First Presbyterian’s pastor for the past four years, hoped would never come, but knew well that it might. And on this ordinary-seeming Wednesday, it did. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained 32 men during the raid at Midwest Precast Concrete on the west edge of town – 22 from Guatemala, seven from Mexico, two from El Salvador and one from Honduras. This … [Read more...]

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Love your neighbor: Presbyterians in Kansas City help immigrants

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Far from the borders, Presbyterians are feeling the impact of changing immigration policy. As the Trump administration steps up the number of arrests and deportations, people of faith are responding – doing what they can to help immigrants in the context of their own communities. Rick Behrens, senior pastor of Grandview Park Presbyterian Church in Kansas City, Kansas, has seen the urban neighborhood around his church shift demographically, moving from about 5 percent Latino in the mid-1990s to about 65 percent Latino a decade later. Most of the new residents are first-generation immigrants, many from Mexico but others from Central and South America. The Grandview Park congregation now is made up of about half people for whom Spanish is their first language, and half who grew up speaking English. Worship is conducted in both languages – with one bilingual service for one community. Recent months have brought new challenges, with public advocacy regarding immigration policy … [Read more...]

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Concern returns over Stony Point finances

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Finances at Stony Point Center again have emerged as a concern for the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board – with expenses at Stony Point outrunning revenue by more than $286,000 for the first seven months of this year. In response, the Presbyterian Mission Agency is holding off on all but emergency or essential capital spending at Stony Point, hoping that guest occupancy rates at the conference and retreat center outside New York City can increase in the rest of the year, said Mike Miller, acting director of shared services. While Stony Point finished 2017 with an occupancy rate of about 45 percent, the occupancy rate so far this year has fallen a little shy of 40 percent, said Rick Ufford-Chase, who is co-director of the center along with his wife, Kitty. Speaking during a conference call meeting of the board’s Resource Allocation and Stewardship Committee on Aug. 13, Miller said the budget was prepared anticipating a 50 percent occupancy rate – which, if achieved, would have … [Read more...]

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