The Presbyterian Outlook

News and Articles from the The Presbyterian Outlook

Top Search/Contact Area

Rethink church: Committee on the Office of the General Assembly discerns future GAs and how to be faithful as the PC(USA)

by Leave a Comment

J. Herbert Nelson, stated clerk of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), says, “We have to rethink church in the 21st century in order to be relevant.” So he and the Committee on the Office of the General Assembly (COGA) are trying to redesign the 2022 General Assembly “so it is not a shoot-it-out at the O.K. Corral at our General Assemblies,” as Nelson put it, but instead focuses on relation-building, listening, discernment and justice work — and saves some money as well. In December, COGA took some votes to set the dates for the 2022 General Assembly committee meetings and to determine that the next assembly will be a mixture of in-person committee meetings in Louisville, Kentucky, and online plenary sessions — a plan that’s expected to save the PC(USA) $900,000 over holding the whole event in person. Meeting virtually Jan. 19, COGA presented information to try to help the PC(USA) more broadly understand how those decisions were made — and the values those decisions … [Read more...]

Tagged With: COGA

Values, power and truth-telling: Coordinating Table wrestles with broad questions facing the church

by Leave a Comment

Before top leaders in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) get to work trying to develop a unified budget for the denomination  – with all revenue streams and expenses considered together – how about spending some time discussing the idea of a common vision? That was the heart of the discussion Jan. 14 during the third meeting of the new Coordinating Table — a group of 15 leaders from the Presbyterian Mission Agency (PMA), the Office of the General Assembly (OGA) and the PC(USA), A Corporation, which provides administrative services for the church. This conversation was led by representatives from the Moving Forward Implementation Special Committee — formerly a commission with the power to act between General Assemblies, but now a committee with lesser powers. While the Moving Forward representatives are technically not members of the Coordinating Table, they are being given voice and leadership in that forum. Moving Forward representatives are pushing for the idea of broader, … [Read more...]

Tagged With: Coordinating Table

Peace, politics and loving our neighbors: A conversation with J. Herbert Nelson and Jimmie Hawkins

by Leave a Comment

“We are a country almost literally at war.” J. Herbert Nelson, stated clerk of the Presbyterian Church (U.SA.), and Jimmie Hawkins, director of the denomination’s Office of Public Witness, spoke Jan. 14 during a one-hour webinar about the insurrection last week at the nation’s Capitol, about what that says about the nation and what should be the church’s response. Wearing clerical collars and years of experience in public advocacy, the two answered questions posed by Christian Brooks, the representative for domestic issues at the Office of Public Witness — with Hawkins describing what he saw unfolding as insurgents stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 and took over the building. “It was a horrible day for America,” Hawkins said. “It was the epitome of everything we feared would happen, that the president of the United States would refuse to hand over power peacefully” and would try to prevent the inauguration of Joseph Biden. “It’s a fitting end for his administration. It’s gone from … [Read more...]

Tagged With: Capitol mob

Living into the vision: PC(USA) discerns what it means to be a Matthew 25 church

by Leave a Comment

So what does it mean to be a Matthew 25 church – one that lives into Jesus’ teaching from Matthew’s Gospel to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, care for the stranger, the prisoner, those in need? How can the Presbyterian Mission Agency (PMA) – which has launched a Matthew 25 initiative for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) that focuses on dismantling structural racism, ending systemic poverty and supporting congregational vitality – live into that vision? And what needs to change in the agency’s structure and work in order to make that happen? On Jan. 22, the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board will meet virtually — primarily to talk about those questions. In preparation for that, PMA’s president and executive director, Diane Moffett, outlined for the board’s Coordinating Committee in a Jan. 13 Zoom meeting the three-phase discernment process that PMA is using this year to come up with the answers.   The vision implementation process began in November and is … [Read more...]

Tagged With: PMA board

Following Jesus: A Presbyterian pastor in Kenosha discusses leading a purple church in a divisive time

by Leave a Comment

Presbyterian minister Lance Loveall knew what to expect when he heard the news: that some from his church would be elated and some would be angry, as the district attorney in Kenosha, Wisconsin, announced that his office would file no charges against the white police officer who shot Jacob Blake last August. Loveall also knew this: part of his job in the months to come will be to help Presbyterians think beyond that decision, to consider bigger issues of systemic injustice in his community, regardless of what the legal system decided in this case. For the past 20 years, Loveall has served as the pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Kenosha, a decidedly purple church — with both Democrats and Republicans in the pews, and where the pastor sometimes sees political disagreements between congregants catching fire on Facebook. As a chaplain for the Kenosha Fire Department, Loveall was aware a decision was coming in January about whether to bring charges for the police shooting … [Read more...]

How will congregations observe Epiphany in the year of COVID-19?

by Leave a Comment

With many churches worshipping remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic, church leaders have come up with some creative approaches for distributing Star Words as a way of celebrating Epiphany. Star Words is an Epiphany spiritual practice some congregations have adopted — with each person given a word in early January they are encouraged to pay attention to throughout the year, “a lens through which to view God at work in the world,” as one pastor put it. Some of ideas that church leaders shared on social media: Email congregants a list of Star Words and let each person choose a word. Or, for those willing to be more labor intensive, email or text each person a word. Come up with a list of 31 words – one for each day of the month – and share the list. The day of each person’s birthday will determine what word that person gets. Mail out the Star Words, after praying over each one. Deliver a bag to each household with communion elements for Epiphany Sunday and a Star Word … [Read more...]

Tagged With: COVID19 • Epiphany • New year

CONTACT US: