As I am sure you are hearing, all of Pakistan's major cities are experiencing violent demonstrations right now. The 'good' news (if you can call it that) is that it is not pervasive, and seems to be limited to certain always-tense areas. The PPP - Benazir's party - has mobilized across the southern province of Sindh, and some cities, notably Hyderabad, are virtually cut-off from the rest of Pakistan by blocked roads, fires and marching mobs.
LOUISVILLE -- Hunter Farrell has learned a lot in his years serving the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in Congo and Peru. One of the things he's learned: "There's a cost to being missional."
Now Farrell, the new director of world mission for the PC(USA), is challenging Presbyterians to think in new ways.
He's sending signals that the denomination's national staff is ready "to move into a new mode of doing mission," that it wants to work in real partnership with "mission initiators" from local congregations and presbyteries.
History books are full of dates that mark seminal events: 1517, when Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the church door and launched the Protestant Reformation; or 1973, when the Supreme Court legalized abortion.
Those boldface dates are preceded by less prominent but nonetheless decisive times: 1516, when a Dominican named Johann Tetzel led the sale of indulgences that deeply angered Luther; and 1970, when a young Texas woman named Norma McCorvey (Jane Roe) filed suit to obtain an abortion.
LOUISVILLE -- Recognizing there is opposition to some of what it has proposed, but still confident that the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) needs a more flexible form of government to navigate in a post-modern world, the Form of Government Task Force is recommending significant changes in the denomination's constitution, but providing opportunities for amendment if the broader church disagrees.
The task force is recommending what its members think is best -- doing what it thinks is right for the church after a year and a half of hard work. But it's also providing options on some particularly sticky issues if the 2008 General Assembly comes to a different conclusion. It met Nov. 30 -- Dec. 2 in Louisville.
JEFFERSONVILLE, IN -- Tapping the creative energy of potentially thousands of Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) youth in order to "connect" and "engage" the denomination around mission and ministry is the goal of a new effort of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Foundation.
YMI Live (Youth Mission Initiative LIVE) is a Web-based project launched by the Foundation in November to create an Internet community of Presbyterian youth and adults joined to engage around the mission and goals of the denomination.
I've always been a fan of Joseph. Maybe it is because he reminds me of my own father.
Later in the Gospel of Matthew we learn that Joseph was a tradesman, a carpenter. Jesus had returned home and had gone to the synagogue and he began to teach. He astonished them with his wisdom. He astonished them because none of us ever quite expect the people we know best to move beyond our expectations. They say of him, "Is not this the carpenter's son?" They are incredulous, but at least some new information surfaces about Joseph.
He came a most unlikely guest
on night when air was cool and still
and people sought to hide from dark
amidst the shelter of an inn.
Some years ago my family was invited to attend a Christmas party at the home of one of our church members. It was to be a casual affair. We were asked to bring a salad to share. It was a potluck gathering for a number of people in the congregation. After an hour of visiting, our host asked for everyone's attention and he sat down in front of the fireplace and explained that what he was about to do was one of the greatest honors a person could have. He paused and a tear rolled down his cheek and then he began to read Luke's version of the birth of Jesus. He read it simply and quietly. The room was still. Even the children listened intently, because even they knew that to get to Bethlehem one has to hear the story.
Resources for Year A
Hunger for the Word: Lectionary Reflections on Food and Justice, Year A, Larry Hollar, editor. Liturgical Press, 2004. Pb., 240 pp. $19.95.
In a world of hunger and starvation, Bread for the World's Larry Hollar has edited a resource that brings reflections on hunger issues to the forefront of consideration of lectionary texts. Through the perspectives included here, preachers and teachers will find their eyes opened to God's concern for the plight of the poor and hungry of the world.
Isaiah, Interpreted by Early Christian and Medieval Commentators, translated and edited by Robert Louis Wilken. The Church's Bible. Eerdmans, 2007. Hb., 590 pp. $45.
Wilken is the general editor of this series, which seeks to bring ancient readings of Scripture into contemporary conversation in the church. Such work provides a helpful reminder to the church that there is much value and insight into Isaiah from the likes of Augustine, Ambrose, Chrysostom and others who were actively engaged in reading and interpreting the prophet's work in the early centuries of the church.
Rome/Geneva (ENI) -- Church leaders have cautiously welcomed a document issued by a joint Roman Catholic-Orthodox commission dealing with the papacy, among other things, as an important move towards overcoming a 950-year rift between the two Christian traditions.
"We must be clear this is only a first step, a modest step," said Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, after the November 14 publication of the document agreed to at a meeting the previous month in Ravenna in northern Italy.
A new issue has popped up in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s Mission Presbytery recently: should a person have to confess to the belief in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior in order to become a member of a church?
The issue arose when Robert Jensen, a journalism professor at the University of Texas at Austin, joined St. Andrew's Church in Austin, Texas, in 2005, and later declared in a published article that he does not believe in Jesus, or God, at all. When Mission Presbytery's Committee on Ministry researched whether or not there are questions in the Book of Order on joining the membership of a church, they found such questions -- at least as required in an explicit formula -- are not there.
Richard Joseph "Rich" Cozzone, 61, Volunteer Village Coordinator for Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) was killed in an automobile accident in Mississippi on December 7. He resided in Bainbridge, Ohio.
Cozzone, a retired school administrator, came to the Gulf Coast for the first time shortly after Hurricane Katrina, and instantly became deeply involved in the PC(USA)'s disaster relief efforts.
New York, 13 December -- The former head of the United Methodist Church's main ecumenical and inter-religious agency says his recent dismissal was due to disagreements over the future direction the body should take.
'They didn't agree with my vision or my ability to bring it forward,' Larry Pickens said of his December 5 dismissal as head of the denomination's General Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns, a post he had held since 2004.
Pickens, 49, described the decision as 'absolutely disappointing'. He told Ecumenical News International on December 12 it stemmed in part from disagreements between him and some commission members over his support for what he called the 'social justice dimension' of ecumenical work.
Come and sit under the stars,
Come away from the bright lights of the stores, the displays,
the parties, even of the Christmas trees.
Come and sit.
Look for the star of Bethlehem.
Come and listen to the silence of the night.
Come away from the sounds of the stores, the blare of the muzak,
the non-stop music of the radio.
Come and listen.
Hear the brush of angels' wings.
DANVILLE, KY -- Centre College won't host a 2008 presidential debate -- most likely. The Commission on Presidential Debates has announced the locations of next year's three presidential debates and one vice presidential debate.
LOUISVILLE- Rich Cozzone, Volunteer Village Coordinator for Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has been killed in an automobile accident in New Orleans.
Details are sketchy, but initial reports indicated that no other vehicles were involved in the crash. Cozzone was the only fatality.
"The Golden Compass" has generated a lot of "buzz" because of its supposedly anti-Christian content (propelled by reports that the author of the book on which the movie is based advertises himself as an atheist). But "The Golden Compass" is merely a fairy tale. Like all fairy tales, in places it is extremely creative, in other places practically plagiaristic, and its apparent purpose is simply to entertain.
We begin with a bit of overdubbing by way of introduction. There are several parallel universes, connected by some sort of cosmic dust. In each parallel universe, humans have different relationships to their souls, or spirits. In some, the soul lives inside the body. In others, such as this one, the soul lives outside the body, in the persona of a constant-companion animal, like a bird, or a cat, or a marmoset, or a ferret.
Paphos, Cyprus (ENI)--Churches from the Middle East meeting in Cyprus have highlighted the importance of the Christian presence in the region and dialogue with Muslims.
The Middle East Council of Churches said in a statement on 4 December after a meeting of its highest governing body, 'The churches expressed their great concern about various land occupations and the perpetuation of the sufferings of the people caused by injustices and wars.'
Oxford, Ohio, 7 December (ENI)--Political and religious observers agreed on only one point regarding US presidential candidate Mitt Romney's speech about his Mormon faith: it was a brilliant tactic for garnering international media attention to his wavering standing as a leading Republican Party contender.
Beyond that, reactions to the 6 December speech ranged widely - from glowing comparisons to John F. Kennedy's address to Baptists in 1960 about his Roman Catholic faith to criticisms that Romney's speech lacked any significant account about the differences in theological views between Mormons and traditional Christians.
I suspect that many of you who have heard missionaries say 'I have received far more from the people of __________ than I could have possibly given them,' think they are being coy, or politically correct. I used to think this too. However, I want to tell you about a recent two week stretch I had that illustrates why missionaries have said this as long as there have been cross-cultural missions.
First, you should know something about Pakistan, and Pakistan's Christian population. By and large, Pakistan's Christians are converts from the Dalit or 'untouchable' caste of Hindus in the last part of the nineteenth century. As is often the case with marginal populations, the stigma and disadvantages of being from a despised class have persisted long after the 'official' reasons for discrimination have disappeared. Now, instead of being looked down upon by Hindus for being unclean, Christians are disdained by many in the Muslim majority for being infidels (as well as for having the lingering cachet of the ritually polluted).
Thomas Forsyth Torrance (1913-2007), who died of a heart attack in Edinburgh on December 2, was arguably the greatest Reformed theologian since Karl Barth, with whom he studied, and an eminent 20th century ecumenist. Having served for 27 years as Professor of Christian Dogmatics at New College, he was elected Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1976; and in 1978, he was awarded the Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion for his contributions to the emerging field of theology and science.
Consider that you're not that far from Bethlehem ...
It was a rather messy story in many ways:
She wasn't married, but she was pregnant.
And she tried to convince her beloved and betrothed
that, although he wasn't the father,
neither was any other man.
Yeah, right ...
She faced the possibility of being stoned
for being in such a position.
He certainly anticipated public scorn and ridicule ...
"Tell us more, Joseph, because of course we believe
that the Holy Spirit is the father!"
The travel to Bethlehem was uncomfortable to say the least,
and once they arrived, they had to settle
for substandard accommodations.
She gave birth without the comfort and support
of family and friends.
Thomas Forsyth Torrance, 94, a twentieth century Protestant Christian theologian who served for 27 years as professor of Christian Dogmatics at New College, Edinburgh in the University of Edinburgh, died December 2 in Edinburgh.
Torrance was born to Scottish missionary parents while they were serving in Chengdu, Szechuan, China. He studied at the University of Edinburgh and University of Oxford before receiving an academic scholarship to the University of Basel in Basel, Switzerland. There, Torrance studied under theologian Karl Barth. Years later, Torrance translated into English Barth's Church Dogmatics.
LOUISVILLE -- D. Eugene Sibery, a Presbyterian elder and health care executive who served as vice-moderator of the 1997 General Assembly and for six years as chair of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Board of Pensions, died Nov. 29 in Cape Coral, FL. Sibery, 78, had been in declining health for a number of years.
Born Sept. 29, 1929 in Muncie, IN, Sibery was named one of the most influential health care thinkers of the 20th century and was an architect of Medicare. He strongly believed that every citizen should have good health care, especially the elderly and the poor, and worked to achieve that.
WASHINGTON, DC -- The National Committee on the Self-Development of People (SDOP) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has approved grants totaling $495,250 to 21 self-help projects in the United States.
Money for the grants comes from the PC (USA)'s One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS) offering.
SDOP, funded primarily through the OGHS offering, enables members and non-members of the PC(USA) to establish partnerships with economically poor, oppressed and disadvantaged people in order to help them achieve sufficiency.
Grants were approved at a meeting of SDOP's National Committee last month in Washington, DC. Projects funded range from learning how to plant and operate an organic farm using produce sales to reinvest in equipment, seeds and tools in South Carolina to supporting a cooperative of Mexican Americans in rural Arkansas seeking to create and operate a thrift store and restaurant.
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