The response to the tragic tsunami on December 26 in a wide area of southern Asia has been overwhelmingly positive as the United Nations, numerous countries around the world, non-governmental agencies like the Red Cross, Oxfam, Catholic Charities, and United Jewish Appeal, orchestras in Vienna, celebrities and school children have donated generously to save lives and rebuild destroyed cities and villages.
The Theological Task Force on the Peace, Unity and Purity of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) announced on March 10 the members of teams that will work over the next few months to write draft sections -- possible approaches that the task force will consider for inclusion in its final report to the denomination.
The task force will vote on its report to the denomination on August 24 and 25, in a meeting in Chicago added to its schedule specifically to take that vote. The report is to be presented to the church by September 15
The three-year Presbyterian boycott of Taco Bell has ended, after the restaurant chain's parent corporation agreed to a deal that will increase what farm workers are paid by a penny for each pound of tomatoes they pick. That may not sound like much, but representatives of the farm workers say it can make a real difference in the amount of money those workers will earn.
Clifton Kirkpatrick, stated clerk of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), called it an historic agreement, and said its real significance is in the promise it holds on two fronts: for encouraging others in the food industry to also insist on fair wages and working conditions for farm workers; and for sending consumers a message that they should be responsible in spending their money with companies that require fair treatment for workers.
Presbyterian clergyman and professor, Charles W. Baird, shook up Presbyterian worshippers just 150 years ago with his historical study, Eutaxia ("good order"), in which he investigated Calvinist liturgical inheritance.
American colonial Presbyterians, highly suspicious of Roman Catholic and Anglican practices, were, on the whole, "low church" in their worship. The First and Second Great Awakenings-- with their emphasis on preaching, reading the Scriptures, Psalm singing and long, pastoral prayers--influenced them. When Presbyterians organized a General Assembly in the 1780's, they considered and adopted a Directory for the Worship of God (1788). At that time they considered discretionary prayers, but eliminated them for a book of directions only.
Charles Baird and his family lived under this Directory in the early years of the nineteenth century. Baird was Princeton born. His father, Robert, was a Presbyterian minister. Robert, with his French spouse and family, spent much time in Europe, living in Paris and Geneva and visiting other places. The senior Baird promoted a revival of religion among Europeans. Son Charles studied at Union Theological Seminary (N.Y.) and at New York University, where he was recognized as a brilliant student. After brief service as chaplain at the U.S. Embassy in Rome, he returned to America and finally settled down as pastor in Rye, N.Y. During this time he published a history of the Huguenots, with whom he had been acquainted in Europe. He gave faces to those from the old world who had immigrated to this country. With this background he was able to help Presbyterians appreciate the richness of their heritage.
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) explains why it's considering pulling investments from some companies doing business with Israel, and Jewish leaders dismiss the church's position as unfair and misguided.
The story was no different Feb. 11 when Jay Rock, the PC(USA)'s interfaith relations coordinator, addressed ADL leaders to tell the church's side of the divestment story and to discuss interfaith relations. The ADL invited Rock to speak at its annual National Executive Committee meeting in West Palm Beach, Fla.
At certain times, Christians have felt compelled to speak out -- compelled by difficulties in their world to write a statement confessing what they believe (and often what they oppose) and why.
Some 20th century examples:
· Germany in 1934, as Hitler rose to power (The Barmen Declaration).
· South Africa in 1986, in the midst of apartheid (The Confession of Belhar).
· Korea in 1988, as people longed for reunification (The Declaration of the Churches of Korea on National Reunification and Peace).
· So what can the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) with its own basket of troubles, learn from such confessional statements-- known by the Latin term "status confessionis"? (The term basically means "a situation in which confession is demanded," according to theologian William Stacy Johnson.)
The Theological Task Force on the Peace, Unity and Purity of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) gathered again in Texas beginning March 2 -- and this is considered to be a crucial meeting, coming just six months before the group's September 15 deadline for releasing its report to the church. Its only other meeting before the deadline is scheduled for July.
But the heart of this meeting -- the most serious discussion -- will be held behind closed doors. The task force has voted unanimously to close basically half its meeting to observers.
The President, Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees, and Faculty/Staff Council of the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary are greatly disturbed by the false claims published by The Presbyterian Layman Online regarding classroom teaching by Dr. Mark Achtemeier, Associate Professor of Systematic Theology, and by the false claim that members of the seminary faculty spoke with The Layman.
The President, Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees, and Faculty/Staff Council unanimously affirm their full confidence in the integrity of Dr. Achtemeier as a presbyter and Doctor of the Church. We join with Dr. Achtemeier in calling for a retraction of the article and a formal printed apology from the editors of The Layman.
The Presbyterian Coalition is convening a national Lenten gathering called "Repent & Believe: A Call to Prayer and Repentance" -- an invitation for people from all the political corners of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to come together in confession and worship.
While the Coalition is the official sponsor, some involved with the Covenant Network of Presbyterians (on the opposite side of the political divide over ordination standards) have been involved with the planning as well
LOUISVILLE -- What would Jesus make of Jerusalem today?
Clifton Kirkpatrick, stated clerk of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), raised that question during the opening worship service of a recent conference on peace in the Middle East -- and his question in some ways spun itself through the entire event.
What would Jesus make of Jerusalem?
And how should Presbyterians view Israel?
Here's a question some folks will be considering carefully in the weeks to come: Just how generous are Presbyterians willing to be?
The year started off with stunning news, as the world struggled to comprehend the catastrophic impact of the December 26 tsunami, which killed more than 150,000 and left survivors strafed with grief and hunger and homelessness. Presbyterians responded with prayer, compassion and cash, contributing $1.5 million so far through Presbyterian Disaster Assistance for the relief effort.
That's what a Palestinian pastor from East Jerusalem said during an early session of a national Presbyterian training event that began Feb. 10 on peace in the Middle East.
But the telling of those stories -- painful and personal ones, for example, of the difficulty of teaching one's children love for all people when those children are routinely humiliated by Israeli soldiers at checkpoints -- opens the door to layer upon layer of complications.
Can the Palestinian stories be told without telling those of Israeli Jews? What about Muslims from the region? And how can Presbyterians have fruitful conversations with American Jews if the story the Palestinian Christians tell is so powerful and so negative?
How strange to end as it began. . . bereft of hope amidst their tears . . . their hope now born..
Davidson College Trustee By-laws Proposed Revision
by The Ad Hoc Committee of the Davidson College Board of Trustees
September 21, 2004
ARTICLE I
Number, Election and Qualifications of Trustees
1. The ownership, management and control of Davidson College are vested in the Trustees of the College, who shall be elected for a term of four years and in such manner that, as nearly as practicable, the Trustees will be composed of members elected as follows:
Editor’s Note: This open letter has been written to the Board of Trustees of Davidson College, which meets this week. It is written by James C. Goodloe IV, pastor of Grace Covenant Church in Richmond, Va., and a trustee of the Presbyterian Outlook Foundation.
After a hurricane, one of the first reactions is, "Look at this mess! Do something, fix it." And a reaction that takes longer is, "I might not be able to fix this on my own after all."
In the months since Florida hit the four-fecta -- hammered by four hurricanes in just six weeks -- Presbyterians in the affected areas have learned some lessons. They have learned to measure progress by standing atop a highway overpass and counting how many blue tarps still are covering roofs. They understand what it means to an elderly church member when a Presbyterian comes knocking on the door -- if there is still a door -- to check on them and find out what they need.
The news is shocking. Entire families swept away, villages devastated. One person surviving, the person standing a step away washed to sea. Parents feeling their children ripped from their arms by the force of the wave. Families with no certainty and no bodies to bury. A priest one minute distributing Communion during worship, the next telling parishioners to run.
And what lies ahead? Starvation, grief, homelessness, disease.
Local television and radio stations across the width of New York State issued warnings of a series of rolling thunderstorms approaching the area. Some of them might be severe, the announcers said, possibly with tornado force gales. Just after 8 p.m. lightning hit the walls of the sanctuary of First Church of Pittsford, producing a blast like a freight train driving full speed into a depot at the end of the line.
After keeping silent since their return from a controversial trip to the Middle East this fall, some members of the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy have released a letter -- and, in turn, received one from top leaders of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
The exchange of letters -- and of a summary of "highlights" from the October 14-31 fact-finding trip, which included a meeting with the leaders of Hezbollah, a group the U.S. State Department has identified as a terrorist organization -- includes both an explanation for the Hezbollah meeting and some acknowledgment of regrets.
Several weeks of intense dialogue between Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) leaders and members of an Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy (ACSWP)-led delegation that held a controversial mid-October meeting with Hezbollah officials in southern Lebanon has culminated in an exchange of letters.
A joint statement to the Presbyterian News Service on in mid-December included the two letters and a brief report of the delegation's Oct. 14--31 visit, which included stops in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel/Palestine and Egypt. The Oct. 17 meeting between the Middle East "fact-finding" delegation and leaders of Hezbollah -- which is on the U.S. government's list of terrorist organizations -- created a deluge of protests from numerous Jewish groups and Presbyterians around the country. The meeting was widely televised on Arab networks.
Robert P. Baskin, a Richmond, Va. financial and business executive and active Presbyterian layman, has been named publisher of "The Presbyterian Outlook" effective January 3, according to a recent announcement of the Presbyterian Outlook Foundation.
For the past two years, Baskin has been director of corporate services for EMC, a mechanical contractor in Richmond. He provided operational and financial support to a company that covers the East Coast, with responsibilities that include risk management, safety, training, and special projects.
Presbyterians Concerned for Christian & Jewish Relations, a group of Presbyterians troubled by the stand the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has taken regarding divestment in certain companies doing business in Israel, is asking Presbyterians to join together and work to get that policy changed.
At issue is a 431-62 vote taken last June by the General Assembly authorizing selective, phased divestment in some companies doing business in Israel in protest over the Israeli government's treatment of the Palestinians. Before any divestiture happened, the PC(USA) first would try to negotiate with the companies involved and would consider filing shareholder resolutions to try to change the companies' actions.
Is your pastor a theologian?
A long time ago, when I was first at Princeton Theological Seminary, President James McCord informed incoming students that all pastors should consider themselves to be theologians. I was wise enough (or naive enough) to take his advice literally, and in my own ministry I have always tried to achieve the goal he set for us.
The 216th General Assembly (2004) has sent sixteen proposed amendments to the Book of Order to the presbyteries for their affirmative or negative votes. Presbyteries may place some or all amendments in a consent agenda or omnibus motion following the instructions in the amendments booklet. Amendments 04-B.1 and 04-B.2 may be voted on as amendment B and amendments 04-E.1a through 04-E.9 may be voted on as amendment E, but presbyteries should follow the instructions for reporting votes.
Brief pro and con arguments are given for each proposed amendment.
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