If someone asked you to give a brief picture and description of an ordained elder in the Presbyterian Church, what would you say? Where would you begin?
Mark Twain wrote in his Notebook in 1898, “Education consists mainly in what we have unlearned.” (www.twainquotes.com). So, what have we “unlearned” in training officers over the years?
One of the hopes I have as stated clerk of the General Assembly is to help bring about a renewal of the office of elder in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), moving us to think about them — and for them to think about themselves — as the spiritual leaders of their congregations.
At the point of new business, Roger Miller raised his hand at the session meeting of the Four Point Presbyterian Church, “In three months we will welcome our fourth pastor in the last twelve years.
First of all, check with your presbytery’s resource center. It will have a listing of other available officer development resources as well as samples for you to preview.
LOUISVILLE — Gradye Parsons, stated clerk of the General Assembly, has issued the following statement in light of the national attention on health care reform:
NEW ORLEANS — The nation's largest umbrella group for Roman Catholic sisters opened its annual meeting here Aug. 11, marking the first formal gathering of members since the Vatican launched two unprecedented inquiries into their communities.
(ENI) — A grouping of church organizations and Christian leaders in Zimbabwe has called for the creation of a commission to hear cases of political violence and determine punishment for perpetrators, and compensation for victims.
LOUISVILLE – Presbyterian Women has voted to incorporate as a non-profit corporation, which would have a “covenant relationship” with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) but would be a separate organization with control over its own finances and affairs.
The emergence of social networking tools is an opportunity for the church to remain relevant and in-touch with Gen Xers and Millennials, the future of the faith.
Portals. Preachers sometimes talk about portals during the Easter season, as Jesus’ passing through the grave causes us to ponder the threshold between life and death and life again.
(ENI) — African American members of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), a U.S.-based Protestant denomination, are joining other church bodies in boycotting the state of South Carolina for displaying the Confederate flag on the state capitol grounds.
(ENI)--Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who strongly opposed Jacob Zuma becoming president of South Africa, says he should be given a chance to prove himself in office.
(ENI) — Pakistan churches have announced a day of protest on August 11 against the recent killing of Christians in central Punjab, and threats against their members in the Muslim-majority nation.
(ENI) —The Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) is encouraging parishes to commemorate the "peaceful revolution" of 1989 that marked the end of communism in eastern Europe and prepared the way for the fall of the Berlin Wall.
(ENI) — The Christian Association of Nigeria has criticized the killing of an Islamic leader whose followers set off riots in northern Nigeria that claimed hundreds of lives and caused extensive property damage.
(ENI/RNS) — Two dioceses of the U.S. Episcopal (Anglican) Church have nominated gay and lesbian priests to become bishops, testing the denomination's place within the global Anglican Communion.
NEW DELHI (ENI) — Church schools and other Christian institutions in Karachi have closed in protest at the killing of Christians in Pakistan's central Punjab region in a mob attack.
