The decades-long conflict over ordaining gays and lesbians, now bleeding into endorsing same-sex marriage, has clearly reached an impasse for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
[This essay is based on remarks I made to Foothills Presbytery on 7 November 2010, at the request of the Presbytery overture committee. The committee members came from the whole spectrum of the PCUSA—right, left, and center. The Presbytery voted to adopt Belhar by a vote of 54-42.]
This essay covers the debate over ordaining gays and lesbians in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) at three points: (A) the four stages of the argument to date, (B) where the debate leaves us theologically, and (C) where the debate leaves us as far as some kind of resolution.
Amendment 10-A: Standards for ordained service reflect the church’s desire to submit joyfully to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in all aspects of life (G-1.0000).
A few weeks back, we published an editorial suggesting that the first 10 years of the 21st century could well be dubbed, “The Decade of Disclosure.” With the proliferation of Facebook, YouTube, blogging, instant messaging, etc., we’ve become a whole generation of folks with never an unpublished thought.
Good evening, I’m Michael Kirby, minister member from Good Shepherd, Chicago, and I’ve been asked to speak to you on behalf of those supporting Amendment 10-A.
This brief essay will cover three sub-topics. Namely:
1. What does the New Testament say about homosexual practice? 2. Misguided readings of these New Testament texts. 3. What is at stake in the discussion?
GENEVA (ENInews) – With one U.S. delegate dissenting, the World Council of Churches (WCC) Central Committee on 21 February criticized the U.S. for its Feb. 18 veto of a UN Security Council resolution condemning continued settlement construction by Israel in the Palestinian Territories.
NAIROBI, Kenya, 23 February (ENInews) – Christian clergy in Libya said they have no intention of leaving the country, where several days of protests and retaliation by government armed forces have left hundreds of people dead.
The Apostle Paul says we hold this treasure – meaning the Gospel – in earthen vessels. The same can be said for our polity. Any polity is an imperfect vessel in which we seek to hold the perfect will of God for the church. However, I firmly believe that the document that is before you is a significant improvement over the current Form of Government.
One stated purpose of the authors of the New Form of Government is to “empower the church to engage effectively in the mission of God in the twenty-first century.”
In many ways I readily concede some of the points Wilson Gunn makes about our letter introducing the Fellowship. Sometimes it’s scary to think how naïve we are about the web of organizations and structures he mentions within the PCUSA, many of which I’ve never heard of before. I appreciate his positive tone and remarkable grasp of leadership, business and management principles in applying them to our denomination.
In Response to the Letters of February 2 and 7 from our brothers in the PCUSA,
We, the Session of Central Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, Georgia, write in response to your initial and clarification letters of February 2 and 7. We are a Session of male and female, youth, young adult, adult, divorced, single, and married elected leaders of our congregation.
The 219th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has sent to the presbyteries a host of amendments to ratify or disapprove. This report presents unbiased pro/con summaries that explain
There’s no question: The bread-and-butter of Presbyterian camps and conference centers is, not surprisingly, Presbyterians. In other words, the core usage is for classic church-related programming such as summer youth camps and church retreats, leadership training, and spiritual development.
Representatives of Christian Churches Together (CCT) — a fellowship of 36 denominations and six national organizations representing a large spectrum of Christians — has issued the first known formal clergy response to Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1963 “Letter from Birmingham Jail.”
NEW YORK (CWS) If 2010 was the year of large-scale disasters — including the devastating Haiti earthquake and wide-spread floods in Pakistan — 2011 is likely to be the year when issues of hunger become increasingly significant on the global stage, international humanitarian organization Church World Service (CWS) says in a New Year’s assessment.
VATICAN CITY (RNS) After a lengthy appeals process, the Vatican has ruled that nine Boston-area Catholic parishes should be closed despite protests from parishioners.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (RNS) A coalition of more than 50 Christian, Jewish, and Muslim leaders sent an open letter to Congress urging a “time of soul searching” and national dialogue about “violent and vitriolic political rhetoric.”
BANGALORE, India (ENI) Pakistani churches say they’re frustrated by the government’s refusal to amend a controversial blasphemy law that makes it a capital crime to insult Islam or the Prophet Muhammad.
