SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA (PNS) The Rev. Adel Malek didn’t necessarily intend to become a Presbyterian minister. An engineer by profession, he and his wife moved from Egypt to the United States in the late 1980s. Malek worked as an engineer until he retired last December.
LOUISVILLE (PNS) Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assembly Stated Clerk Gradye Parsons has issued a call to prayer for Christians in Nepal, where proposed new laws could severely curtail religious freedom.
WASHINGTON (PNS) Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) leaders are urging Congressnot to pass the Colombia Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) until labor and human rightsconditions..
NEW YORK – With funding from the Lilly Endowment, Union Theological Seminary in New York has launched a “New Media” Web site that explores how pastors and lay leaders can employ new technologies to strengthen their communities.
BANGALORE, India (ENI) Nearly two years after 10 Christians were killed and nearly 100 houses burned in the Punjabi town of Gojra, Pakistan, a special court has suspended the trial of suspects in the carnage after a key witness fled Pakistan.
LOUISVILLE (General Assembly Mission Council) Most Presbyterians worship in congregations that celebrate the Lord’s Supper once a month, and most like that frequency. One-third of ministers, however, would prefer weekly Lord’s Supper celebrations.
JERUSALEM (ENI) The security situation in Egypt has "deteriorated considerably" since former president Hosni Mubarak stepped down Feb. 11, leaving a security vacuum and Christians feeling "threatened more than ever," according to aid workers.
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance has awarded a $50,000 grant to an interfaith mission from New Jersey that is working to provide medical care and education in Haiti.
JERUSALEM (ENI) Israeli and Palestinian politicians condemned an arson attack on a West Bank mosque, but Palestinians also accused Israel of "turning a blind eye" to the attacks, which they suspected were carried out by Jewish settlers.
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s Big Tent conference will be held in Indianapolis after all, now that potential conflicts with proposed immigration legislation have been worked out.
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has dropped its prohibition on ordaining sexually active gays and lesbians — prompting some to rejoice in a move towards equality and others to lament what they see as the denomination’s spiritual decline.
C. Ellis Nelson, who contributed to the shaping of Presbyterian theological education and Christian education over a 60-year career and who influenced seminarians for many decades, has died in Texas.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) – The Southern Baptist Convention reported declines last year in several categories traditionally used as markers of denominational vitality, according to annual statistics released June 9 by LifeWay Christian Resources.
I saw an ad in Sunday's Orlando Sentinel taken by some members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) who raise questions about the direction of our denomination. Recently, a majority of presbyteries, regional governing bodies of elders and ministers, agreed to amend the constitution of our church to remove explicit language about sexual behavior outside of marriage with more inclusive language about appropriate character for those who are ordained as church leaders.
SANTA ROSA, Calif. (Special to PNS) The Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow, moderator of the 218th General Assembly (2008) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), wonders what wisdom is possessed by Presbyterians who may not travel in the movers and shakers crowd at General Assembly or keynote national conferences, or even lead a regionally influential congregation.
UPDATED JUNE 7, 2011 – A majority of presbyteries have now approved the proposed new Form of Government for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), so it will become part of the PC(USA)’s Book of Order – bringing what some contend is a more streamlined and flexible way for the denomination to operate.
SEATTLE (PNS) Like a massive ocean liner on a vast sea, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s Middle Governing Body Commission has begun the long slow turn from gathering data from the church to formulating recommendations for the mission and function of presbyteries and synods in a rapidly changing church and world.
Some evangelical Presbyterians from the Presbytery of Santa Barbara are proposing a plan of action in response to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s recent decision to change its ordination standards.
NAIROBI, Kenya (ENI) A film about Kimani Ng'ang'a Maruge, an 84-year-old man who enrolled in primary school in 2003 so he could learn to read the Bible, has inspired the creation of an educational charity for unprivileged children around the world.
TOKYO (ENI) Japan's Christian Council has decided to establish an office to coordinate relief operations in Japan and from abroad in response to the devastating earthquake that struck in February, causing a tsunami and problems at nuclear power plants.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Special to the Presbyterian News Service) Colombian and U.S. Presbyterians are calling on people in both countries to join a fast in protest of the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement.
Presbyterian elder and longtime Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) leader Youngil Cho, 77, died May 22 in Raleigh, N.C. A funeral service was scheduled for May 28 at the Korean Presbyterian Church of DuRaleigh.
