Blogger Tom Hobson begins 2011 saying "No" to "anything goes" in interpreting what Scripture says. Check out his latest post on the..
I find myself in the uncomfortable position of wanting to uphold an ordination standard that keeps others from holding the office I hold.
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“Covenant Network Convocation Dinner
General Assembly - Minneapolis
July 2, 2010
They call it “coming out” – the process of discovering and accepting who you are, and then sharing that identity with other people.
One of the abiding criticisms from opponents of the Fidelity/Chastity ordination standard in the Book of Order (G.6-0106.b) has been that the term “chastity” is unclear in meaning. Recently, Dr. Mark Achtemeier raised this same objection in his recent debate with the Rev. Mark Loudon, that the chastity language in the Book of Order is “confusing.”
During the plenary debate at the 219th General Assembly in Minneapolis on the proposed new Form of Government, it was said that the first sentence of the Foundations of Presbyterian Polity introduces a Universalist creed into our Constitution.
John Calvin, to whom Presbyterian churches owe their primary inspiration, once said of his own work as a Protestant reformer: “Our constant endeavor, day and night, is not only to hand down the tradition faithfully, but also to put it in the form we think will prove best.”
The 219th General Assembly has once again sent to the presbyteries for adoption a proposed amendment to G-6.0106b (“Amendment 10-A”), the controversial “fidelity and chastity” clause of our Book of Order.
As the German writer Goethe put it “when eras are in decline all tendencies are subjective, but when matters are ripening for a new epoch, all tendencies are objective.”
“The cultures of North America and of Western Europe are in decline. They are obsessed with sexuality and have narcissistic and hedonistic tendencies, which, when combined with a desire for immediate gratification, are literally killing them….How can anyone think that morally sick and dying North American and European cultures are in any way competent to overturn 1970 years of Christian biblical interpretation about human sexuality and to completely ignore the testimony of the larger (and healthier) worldwide church which affirms that same-gender sexual practice is sinful?”
Why the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) needs to add the Confession of Belhar to our Book of Confessions can be answered with one word: racism.
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF KOREAN PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHES- November 19 • 2010
To our fellow Presbyterians:
Our pastor counsels me to continue our debate about ordination requirements "in a rich, fruitful and scholarly way, which helps us understand what God is calling us to be and to do now and in the future."
Recently our son has been looking for a church home.
Former PUP Task Force colleagues Mike Loudon and Mark Achtemeier have found many areas of agreement in their consideration of issues within the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
MINNEAPOLIS – The 219th General Assembly, meeting July 9, discussed the funding difficulties of the national offices of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
The 219th General Assembly is encouraging all Presbyterians, especially those who are clergy and church leaders, to know their HIV status – saying that testing will make them a “visible example” and will “help eliminate the stigma associated with HIV and AIDS testing.”
On its final night of deliberations, the 219th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) considered the report on its Committee on Peacemaking and International Issues (minus a major report on the Middle East, which was presented by another committee and considered separately earlier).
MINNEAPOLIS — The 219th General Assembly has rejected by 275-407 a motion today (July 9) to reconsider the actions it had taken the previous evening on same-gender marriages.
MINNEAPOLIS — Eight overtures that would have empowered Presbyterian pastors to perform marriages for same-gender couples in states where these marriages are legal were effectively tabled with little discussion in a late-night session of the full 219th General Assembly July 8.
MINNEAPOLIS — About 20 protesters from a group called Soulforce disrupted the plenary of the 219th General Assembly tonight (July 9), and..
The 219th General Assembly voted 530-96 today (July 9) to approve a report on pay equity called “Neither Poverty Nor Riches: Compensation, Equity, and the Unity of the Church.”
MINNEAPOLIS – Presbyterians’ determination to be an “exhibition of the kingdom of heaven to the world,” found expression in the recommendations of the committee so named adopted today (July 9) by the 219th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
MINNEAPOLIS – The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assembly overwhelmingly approved an amended report on conflict in the Middle East that aims at a careful balance between Palestinian and Israeli narratives of injustice and the path to peace.[caption id="attachment_22002" align="alignright" width="360"]
MRTI’s Brian Ellison addresses the General Assembly. Photo by Erin Dunigan.[/caption]
Church commissioners voted 558-119 today (July 9), for a committee’s rewrite of a report that in its original form was widely perceived by some church members as pro-Palestinian and factually suspect.
The General Assembly also endorsed, by a 418-210 vote, the Middle East Peacemaking Issues Committee’s recommendation that it denounce Caterpillar’s profit-making from sales of heavy equipment that Israel uses for non-peaceful purposes, including the destruction of Palestinian homes. Church committees considered divestment but advised against it — meaning that the church’s Board of Pensions and Foundation will continue to hold Caterpillar stock worth nearly $11 million, plus $685,000 in the company’s bonds.
After revising the report on Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the 53-member Peacemaking Issues committee voted unanimously Tuesday to recommend it to the General Assembly.
MINNEAPOLIS — After a long discussion, with many questions about the financial implications, the 219th General Assembly voted today (July 9) directing the Board of Pensions of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to provide benefits to the same-gender spouses and domestic partners of church employees and their children on the same basis as it provides benefits to employees who are married.
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