Outlook Reporting

Judge delays case on pastors’ tax break

SACRAMENTO, CALIF

A federal judge has delayed proceedings in a lawsuit over tax breaks on pastors’ housing allowances until the U.S. Supreme Court rules in another case that targets tax benefits for religious institutions.

TV minister inspires switch from pop musician to pastor

A minister’s televised call to Christ inspired the last steps of Ron Lee’s long journey from the pop music industry in his native Hawaii to the pastorate of a small Presbyterian church in North Carolina.

Movie Reviews

In A Better World

“In A Better World” (“Haevnen”) is a Danish film about two families that intersect dramatically through their children, a situation that a lot of people can relate to. It’s also about peace-loving people trying to deal with the violence all around them, which almost everyone can identify with.

Judge dismisses suit against church, cites late filing of sex abuse claim

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – A Kentucky judge has dismissed a California man’s lawsuit against the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), saying the man had waited too long to file a court claim that he suffered sexual abuse at a Presbyterian-run boarding school in Africa.

Sometimes change can be messy

PHOENIX

Sometimes change can be messy and chaotic, and the Big Tent Christianity Conference in Phoenix Feb. 10-11 was a bit of both.

GAMC meeting slated for Seoul; complications beset Big Tent plan

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – As part of the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Korea, the General Assembly Mission Council of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) will hold its September 2012 meeting in Seoul, South Korea.

Commission opens door to ideas on changing church governance

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The General Assembly Commission on Middle Governing Bodies is inviting all Presbyterians – and that means everyone – to give it feedback on ways to creatively structure the work of presbyteries and synods.

Conference centers struggle to adapt to changing roles, straitened finances

LOUISVILLE – Both the Ghost Ranch and Stony Point conference centers continue to lose money. 

Synod court rules pastor broke church law when she performed same-sex weddings

The Synod of the Pacific Permanent Judicial Commission has upheld a lower church court’s ruling that Janie Spahr, a minister from California, violated the constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) when she performed same-gender weddings in 2008.

‘In Christ we are not alone’: Mission partners, workers in Japan feel supported by prayers

The Presbyterian World Mission ministry area has been in contact with partner
organizations and churches and with all its mission workers in Japan.
since the devastating earthquake and tsunami on March 11.