INDIANAPOLIS – What is next for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A)?
The 350-or-so folks who gathered in Indianapolis for the Next Church Conference, Feb. 28-March 1, know pretty much what it’s not going to be. Not a return to the 1950s. Not a groundswell of folks desperate to come to church because they can’t get enough of rules and regulations and bickering. Not a denomination that can be older and whiter than the rest of the nation and miraculously expect to thrive.
…Well, as a somewhat post-modernist, I signed it because of what I believe it says. (Is that a cop-out-in-advance, in case things go south at the August meeting, which I cannot attend? Maybe!) But here are some of the particulars that made me decide to throw my hat in with “the Fellowship”. Click here to read full article.
BILOXI, Miss. – The Presbyterian Committee on the Self-Development of People has approved grants totaling $261, 255 to 14 self-help projects in the United States. 
SAN DIEGO – Since he began serving as executive presbyter of the Presbytery of San Diego in 2007, the Rev. Clark Cowden said the presbytery has focused on being a missional church.
STATESVILLE, N.C. (PNS) Many ideas start with just one person, but it takes the work of many to make them a reality. In this case the one person is Catherine Gillette. Now a sophomore at the College of Wooster in Ohio, Gillette went on two mission trips to Honduras during her sophomore and junior years of high school that left a lasting impression on her.
February 26, 2011
As of February 26, 2011, 95 presbyteries have voted. Thirteen of these presbyteries have reversed direction from their votes of 2008-09. Twelve have switched from opposing a change in ordination standards to supporting a change, whereas just one has switched from supporting to opposing.
By the Session of Faith Presbyterian Church, Austin, Texas
1February 20, 2011
On February 2, 2011 many members of our Presbytery received a letter circulating around the PC(USA) stating that the PC(USA) is "deathly ill" and inviting us to a conference to consider new structures for the future, including a new fellowship. This letter raises both important issues and some serious concerns, so the Council of the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta feels it is important to respond…
“A brief review of the discussions which have troubled our Church in the past throws a revealing light upon the path which we are now treading.
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.]
February, 2011
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.
January, 11, 2011
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 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.”
We, the Session of Central Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, Georgia, write in response to your initial and clarification letters of February 2 and 7.
“In many ways I readily concede some of the points Wilson Gunn makes about our letter introducing the Fellowship. … I appreciate..
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.
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