Editor's Note: This essay is Part 2 in a series aimed at giving a voice to the center in the current theological debate within the Presbyterian Church U.S.A.
The General Assembly's Task Force on the Peace, Unity and Purity of the Church has called us to the task of theological dialogue, and its report has given us a lead in starting the discussion. We might be tempted merely to re-polarize around this report, as some have done. A more constructive response is to reconfigure the issues with which we are dealing, and press forward--together.
(RNS) A minister who was forced to step down from the top executive post in the Christian Reformed Church last year because of alleged inappropriate conduct has been reinstated to active ministry.
LOUISVILLE -- General Assembly Council Executive Director John Detterick today (May 2) formally released the names of Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) national staff employees who have lost their jobs in the "reduction in force" needed to reduce the 2007-2008 General Assembly mission budget by $9.15 million.
Seventy-five employees lost their jobs May 1, the largest single layoff at the Presbyterian Center since 1993, when 140 jobs were eliminated.
LOUISVILLE -- Without releasing any specifics of a $9.1 million budget cut, the details of which are expected to emerge May 1, the General Assembly Council of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has unanimously approved a budget of $97.2 million for 2007 and of $95.9 million for 2008.
What exactly that will fund -- what programs will be kept and which will be cut -- remains to be seen, as virtually all the council's budget discussions over four days took place behind closed doors.
When the council finally pushed open the doors, about a half-hour before they were scheduled to adjourn for worship April 29, they handed out only overall budget figures they had approved. More details will be released May 1 after employees being terminated are informed.
LOUISVILLE -- Presbyterian Disaster Assistance is proposing a long-term strategy for responding to the hurricanes of 2005 -- a plan that would organize the Presbyterian response for five to seven years in Mississippi and for eight to 12 years in Louisiana.
"The affected area is so large that responding to all communities is not feasible," states a report to the General Assembly Council outlining the plan.
But Presbyterian Disaster Assistance is working now in 15 communities in Mississippi and seven in Louisiana. It has set up six "Volunteer Villages" where volunteer teams from churches across the country stay when they come to assist with the relief work.
The volunteer tent villages each cost about $8,500 a month to operate. And the response from churches has been terrific, said Susan Ryan, who leads Presbyterian Disaster Assistance. Volunteers have come to help from 40 states and three other countries, she said in an interview. In March alone, the villages hosted 1,890 volunteers who gave 12,372 days of work valued at $1.48 million.
LOUISVILLE -- The General Assembly Council is asking the General Assembly in Birmingham to respond to more than two dozen overtures on Israel, Palestine and divestment by setting up a process for monitoring what's happening in the Middle East.
The council wants the assembly not to jump to action -- but to set up a seven- member "working group" that represents a range of views on divestment. That group would spend time listening carefully to Christians, Jews and Muslims concerned about the difficulties in Israel, and would "develop guidance that honors each of their concerns" to present to the assembly in 2008.
(RNS) Legislation that would slap protesters at funerals of U.S. soldiers with hefty fines and federal jail time is on the fast track in Congress.
Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., the bill's main sponsor, said he hopes the House and Senate will approve the bill by May so President Bush can sign it into law before Memorial Day.
In the last month, protests at military funerals around the country have angered state and federal officials. The protests were led by the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., which argues that the war in Iraq is God's way of punishing the United States for tolerating homosexuality. The church is led by its controversial pastor, Fred Phelps.
Presbyterians concerned about immigration, who are watching closely the Senate debate over immigration reform and feeling the press of an estimated 12 million undocumented workers on cities and congregations, know this: whatever legislation gets passed, this issue won't just go away.
A new "Presbyterians for Just Immigration" e-mail network https://www.pcusa.org/acrec/immigrationreform.htm is jumping with conversation about what's happening -- with folks tracking the status of proposed legislation and lobbying efforts, and brainstorming about what, in local communities, can and needs to be done.
If legislation is put in place that would impede churches from helping undocumented immigrants -- a version of this has already passed the U.S. House of Representatives -- then "we aren't going to obey," said Mauricio Chacón, pastor of Iglesia Presbiteriana de la Misión in San Francisco. "We are going to have civil disobedience. ... as Christians, we have a higher law than the law of man. ... This goes against my principles, against my beliefs, as a religious person."
How can your church learn more about immigration issues and the challenges they raise for Christians? Here are some resources:
The General Assembly in 2004 passed a "Resolution Calling for a Comprehensive Legalization Program for Immigrants Living and Working in the U.S." https://index.pcusa.org/NXT/gateway.dll?fn=default.htm$f=templates$vid=GA216:10.1048/Enu$3.0
c. 2006 Religion News Service
It's a profound if unanswerable question for many who ask God to heal the sick: Can prayer actually help another person recover from disease?
A group of prominent scientists recently sought at least part of the answer, in the largest study of its kind, and concluded that prayer from strangers had no effect on whether people suffered complications from coronary artery bypass surgery.
"The effect of intercessory prayer was neutral. It showed no sign of any benefit," said Charles Bethea, an Oklahoma cardiologist and researcher who participated in the $2.4 million study by the John Templeton Foundation, which supports exploration of ties between religion and science.
Not only were effects of prayer by strangers neutral, the study said, but a selected group of patients -- who knew with certainty that strangers were praying for them -- experienced complications at higher rates than did two other groups who were told only that they might receive prayer. The group faring best was the only one not to receive strangers' prayers.
The researchers acknowledged their study was not definitive and called for more research on the subject.
Auburn Theological Seminary in New York City introduces a new program bringing the best of business and professional coaching into the sphere of theological education and ministerial support.
The Auburn Coaching Institute is designed by and for people dedicated to furthering the mission of the church through effective leadership and ministries. Church leaders from across a spectrum of backgrounds and locations have experienced coaching through classes at Auburn and through the New York Sabbatical Institute, a program funded by the Lilly Endowment, Inc. and administered by Auburn in partnership with Union and New York Theological Seminaries.
CLEVELAND -- President Michael Livingston of the National Council of Churches (NCC) has urged church communicators to "tell our story -- by any means necessary."
Livingston, a Presbyterian minister who also serves as executive director of the International Council of Community Churches, said: "Mainline Protestant and Orthodox churches have been pounded into irrelevancy by the media machine of a false religion."
He described what passes as religion to be "a political philosophy masquerading as gospel; an economic principle wrapped in religious rhetoric and painted red, white and blue."
Check back for updates as additional items are received (Last Update 5/3/06)
The Presbytery of Greater Atlanta has unanimously endorsed Joan S. Gray as a candidate for moderator of the 217th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
Gray is the fourth candidate for moderator. She joins Kerry Carson, pastor of First Church in Conrad, Iowa; Tim Halverson of Faith Church in Cape Coral, Fla.; and Deborah Block, pastor of Immanuel Church in Milwaukee, Wisc.
The election will be held at the start of the Assembly on June 15, in Birmingham, Ala.
Gray is a graduate of Columbia Theological Seminary (1976) who has served as an adjunct faculty member there and also has taught as adjunct faculty at Johnson C. Smith Seminary. She has taught at Princeton Theological Seminary in the continuing education department. She was ordained by Atlanta Presbytery of the former Presbyterian Church in the United States in 1978.
Katharine Doob Sakenfeld, Princeton Seminary's William Albright Eisenberger Professor of Old Testament Literature and Exegesis and the director of Ph.D. studies, was honored March 8, at the Princeton YWCA Tribute to Women 2006 Awards Dinner.
The YWCA honored sixteen women and the organizations that have stood behind them for the women's contributions to their professions, communities, educational institutions, or organizations.
Editor's note: Three hundred years ago this year, the first presbytery was organized in what became the United States of America. This article is the second in a series exploring the historical overview of the Presbyterian presence in our country. The first installment ran in the Outlook issue of Feb. 20, 2006 (Click here to read the first installment).
IV
Americans moved on after the Civil War, and so did Presbyterians, to face the challenges and changes of industrialization, urbanization, and globalization. We were heavy hitters in dealing with these challenges. After Lincoln, several other Presbyterian Presidents helped shape these years. Grover Cleveland, for example, presided over the Spanish-American War, and we extended our presence to places around the globe, for example, in Hawaiian Islands and the Philippines. He was a Democrat. Benjamin Harrison was a Republican, while Woodrow Wilson was another Democrat. William Jennings Bryan, an "also ran," was known as the "Great Commoner" with a "golden tongue."
LOUISVILLE - Two deacons, two elders and two ministers have been named recipients of the 2006 Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Women of Faith Awards.
They are:
Deacon Betty L. Grunstra, of Brookville (PA) Presbyterian Church in
Kiskiminetas Presbytery, who gives much of her time to a visitation
program, primarily in nursing homes, and who has established an annual
Thanksgiving dinner for those who have no one with whom to celebrate the
holiday;
Deacon Dawn Harvin, who as chair of the board of deacons at Grace
Memorial Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh Presbytery) has
led her congregation into increasing community service ministries;
Elder Evelyn Bonner, of First Presbyterian Church, West Point, MS (St.
Andrew Presbytery), who has served as a volunteer leader at Sheldon
Jackson College in Sitka, AK, and at Mary Holmes College in West Point,
among others;
Elder Grace S. Kim, of Davis (CA) Community Church (Sacramento
Presbytery) who, because she has also lived in China and Korea, has been
a leading advocate for overseas and multicultural mission;
The Rev. Betty Meadows of Louisville (Mid-Kentucky Presbytery), who
first as an associate executive of Greater Atlanta Presbytery and now as
executive presbyter of Mid-Kentucky Presbytery has inspired growth in
evangelism, new-church development and spiritual renewal for pastors,
educators and church members; and
The Rev. Carmen Rosario-Reyes, parish associate at Jamesburg (NJ)
Presbyterian Church (Monmouth Presbytery), whose passion for including
Hispanic women and men into the life of the PC(USA) led her to found the
Hispanic Leadership Development and Enhancement Program at Princeton
Theological Seminary.
c. 2006 Religion News Service
The Rev. William Sloane Coffin Jr., a fiery and controversial social activist, Presbyterian minister and author who saw social justice 'at the heart of the Gospel,' died Wednesday (April 12). He was 81.
Coffin, who had been suffering from congestive heart failure, died at his home in rural Strafford, Vt.
He rose to prominence in the 1960s as Yale University's chaplain, a position he used to great effect to campaign against the Vietnam War and fight for civil rights for blacks.
A natural leader for the protesting students of the 1960s, Coffin took his first 'Freedom Ride' to Montgomery, Ala., in 1961 to challenge the segregation of Southern buses. In 1968, Coffin was indicted on charges of conspiring to counsel draft resistance.
Say "megachurch" and "small country church" and just think of the comparisons those words conjure up. Let the "Six Flags over Jesus" jokes start now.
But new research has found that many of the ideas folks have about megachurches don't match the realities. Among the misconceptions: that most megachurches are nondenominational; that they're too "seeker-friendly" and not serious enough about theology; that they're all huge and all alike.
The stereotypes are easy to slide into. But both the megachurch researchers and people involved with some of the largest Presbyterian churches say there is much that congregations of all sizes can learn from the megachurch experience.
That's not a one-way street. Other studies have found that small congregations have real strengths too and much to offer -- for example, in terms of helping people grow spiritually and involving people in congregational life. The Research Services office of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) says about six in 10 Presbyterian churches have an average worship attendance of fewer than 100 people.
But for those willing to put aside their preconceptions and pay attention, the growth of the nation's largest churches can say a lot about the role of church in today's culture. And growth is evident. The number of congregations of more than 2,000 members increased by nearly 50 percent between 2000 and 2005.
While relatively few American megachurches come from mainline denominations, some do -- and that includes Presbyterian congregations from Florida to Washington state.
Leaders from some of those congregations say people do tote around a wheelbarrow of misconceptions about big churches. They also say some of what works for them could work for congregations of any size -- and that they can learn valuable lessons from smaller, more intimate churches too.
Here's a glimpse inside a few Presbyterian megachurches -- all big, but all different.
Louis B. Weeks, president of Union Theological Seminary and Presbyterian School of Christian Education, has announced plans to retire from the seminary June 30, 2007.
Weeks was named the sixth president of Union in May 1994.
A new Presbyterian affinity group--the Committee to End Divestment Now (CEDN)--has organized around an effort "to correct" what they believe was a mistake made in 2004 by the 216th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
They are seeking repeal of the resolution calling for "a process of phased selective divestment in multinational corporations operating in Israel." That repeal could occur at the 217th General Assembly this June.
c. 2006 Religion News Service
John D. Barrow, a British cosmologist and astronomer whose work has helped scientists and theologians find common understanding about the nature of life and the universe, was named the winner of the 2006 Templeton Prize on March 15.
The prize -- officially called the Templeton Prize for Progress Toward Research or Discoveries About Spiritual Realities -- was founded in 1972 by philanthropist and global financier Sir John Templeton and is perhaps the most prestigious award in the field of religion.
At $1.4 million, the award is the largest annual monetary prize given to an individual.
It's like the moth that keeps darting through the room -- flickering at the periphery of things, always moving on, hard to see clearly. But there's a growing sense in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) that property issues -- and particularly the question of whether a church that wants to leave the denomination can take its property with it -- are worth keeping an eye on.
The property question is being debated openly in the PC(USA) and in other denominations as well -- most noticeably in the Episcopal Church. Some congregations, furious about the denomination's decision to consecrate V. Gene Robinson as an openly gay bishop in 2003, say they've withdrawn from the jurisdiction of the Episcopal Church in the United States, in some cases have affiliated with conservative Anglican bishops in Africa.
Some of the congregations that leave are determined to take their property with them. They've hired lawyers and initiated legal challenges to the idea that congregations hold their property "in trust" for the denomination -- challenges that in certain cases have been successful.
The Advisory Committee on the Constitution recently issued its formal advice regarding the report of the Theological Task Force on the Peace, Unity and Purity of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) -- and has concluded that what the task force is recommending "is clear and within the power of the General Assembly to approve if it chooses."
That leaves the assembly, which will meet in Birmingham in June, free to decide what it wants to do about the task force report, which so far already has inspired both strong support and intense criticism.
The ACC traced in its advice the history of Presbyterian decision-making regarding the ordination of gays and lesbians. The denomination's constitution limits ordination to those who practice fidelity if they are married or chastity if they are single.
The task force is recommending that those national ordination standards remain in place, but asks the assembly to issue a new authoritative interpretation that would allow local governing bodies to determine whether departures from those standards would violate essentials of Reformed polity and faith, or should be permitted.
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