John Knox Presbytery has voted to ordain to the ministry Scott D. Anderson, a gay man who has been in a committed relationship for close to two decades, and who declared a conscientious objection to the requirement in the ordination standards of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) that those being ordained practice fidelity if they are married or chastity if they are single.
Sam Dixon, head of the New York-based United Methodist Committee on Relief, and Clint Rabb, a 1974 graduate of Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary (APTS) and head of volunteer mission efforts for United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, died of injuries sustained in a collapsed hotel in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, after the January 12 earthquake.
WASHINGTON (RNS) Incidents of alleged religion-based workplace discrimination hit record highs in fiscal year 2009, along with complaints of bias based on disability and national origin, according to the U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission.
(ABP) Eight years of President George W. Bush’s faith-based agenda to increase religion’s role in providing social services had little impact on day-to-day ministries of local congregations, according to a scholar at Duke Divinity School.
LONDON (ENI) Former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord (George) Carey, is at the center of a religious and political debate after writing a newspaper article in which he urged limits on immigration to Britain, and said migrants needed to recognize the country’s Christian heritage.
GENEVA (ENI-RNS) The global ecumenical movement must bring the hope of peace and justice to a suffering and divided world, says the new general secretary of the World Council of Churches, Olav Fykse Tveit of Norway.
When I was called to my first pastorate as an associate for family nurture at Westminster Church in New Port Richey, Fla., the presbytery examined me for ministry at their newly opened Camp and Conference Center, Cedarkirk in Lithia, Fla.
Trying to find the ideal location for your next church retreat or family event? Check out the new Web site. This searchable directory lists all the Presbyterian camps and conference centers in the United States and Canada.
Retreat centers provide great settings for quiet contemplation, prayer, and worship. But they don’t stop there. Major training for folks preparing to engage in world mission takes place at camps and conference centers.
LOUISVILLE — A special committee is recommending that the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) add to The Book of Confessions the Belhar Confession from South Africa, which speaks strongly about justice, racial reconciliation, and repentance.
(ENI/RNS) — Oregon is poised to become the 48th U.S. state to permit teachers to wear headscarves and other religious dress in school, ending an 87-year ban that was originally intended to keep Roman Catholic nuns out of public schools.
WACO, Texas (ABP) — Former Whitewater special prosecutor and current Pepperdine University Law School Dean Kenneth Starr has been named the 14th president of Baylor University.
TOKYO (ENI) — Japan's largest Protestant denomination has dismissed one of its pastors for continuing to allow unbaptized people to receive Holy Communion at his local church.
GENEVA (ENI) — The Ecumenical Patriarch, Bartholomeos I, a key leader for the world's 300 million Orthodox Christians, has written a Lenten encyclical that stresses the need for greater unity for churches, and counters accusations from some of his bishops that ecumenism is heresy.
(ENI/RNS)--U.S. membership has increased in the Roman Catholic Church - the nation's largest Christian body - but the No. 2 Southern Baptist Convention, along with most traditional Protestant denominations, reported continuing decline, according to new figures released by the National Council of Churches.
MELBOURNE (ENI) — A state of emergency was declared in the Cook Islands after Tropical Cyclone Pat struck on February 10, causing heavy damage to the island of Aitutaki.
(ENI) — The president of the Madagascar's largest Protestant church has welcomed the release of two imprisoned church radio journalists, but has warned they are still facing trial for allegedly colluding in an army mutiny after reporting on the action.
WARSAW (ENI) — A Polish archbishop has defended a Roman Catholic parish that created a memorial to German civilians who drowned when their ships were torpedoed by Soviet submarines in the final months of the Second World War.
