LOUISVILLE -- General Assembly Stated Clerk Clifton Kirkpatrick told ecumenical leaders of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) on Sept. 28 that maintaining the church's historic leadership in ecumenism "will require a major reorientation and recommitment" to the world ecumenical movement.
Speaking to the first major consultation on the PC(USA)'s ecumenical stance since its formation in 1983, Kirkpatrick said, "We need to recapture a passionate vision in the PC(USA) for the unity of the church, which now seems to recede into the background."
(RNS) NEW ORLEANS -- Expressing their "passionate desire" to remain a full partner in the worldwide Anglican Communion, U.S. Episcopal bishops on Sept. 25 said they remain committed to not allowing more gay bishops and pledged not to authorize public blessings of same-sex unions.
The bishops, facing a Sept. 30 deadline from angry sister Anglican churches, said they had answered the demands made of them, but conservatives remain skeptical that the bishops' statement has much staying power.
The bishops condemned a move by African bishops to provide outside leadership for parishes that no longer accept the U.S. hierarchy. They endorsed a plan to appoint "Episcopal visitors" from within the church instead. "We call for an immediate end to diocesan incursions by uninvited bishops," the bishops said. "Such incursions imperil common prayer and long-established ecclesial principles of our Communion."
OCTOBER 23, 2007 (AP) - Santa Ana winds sweep brush fires up to Malibu Presbyterian Church, engulfing the building early Sunday morning.
LOUISVILLE -- The General Assembly Council approved -- with relatively little debate -- the report of the Mission Funding Task Force, which recommends that the council develop a funding system for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) that recognizes the "equal worth" of money that's given with no strings attached and donations designated for particular uses.
The task force describes both as "faithful ways" to support the church.
The new approach is a recognition that donors will insist on having a say in how their money is spent, and a reflection of an evolving relationship in the denomination in which those at the grassroots are more directly involved in mission work.
LOUISVILLE -- Acknowledging the need to adapt to new patterns of charitable giving in the United States, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s General Assembly Council voted in September to separately incorporate Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA).
A "very limited, related and dependent" PDA corporation will be able to accept employer matching funds for employee gifts, as well as government and foundation grants, many of which are currently not available to church agencies.
The incorporation would also give PDA higher visibility, as it would be included on published lists of non-profit charities that exclude church groups.
LOUISVILLE -- It's a question of what's in and what's out.
What's fair to count -- and what's not -- in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s Mission Initiative: Joining Hearts & Hands campaign?
With only about nine months remaining in the fundraising effort, a public debate has bubbled up about what the rules ought to be.
The General Assembly Council, meeting in Louisville Sept. 21, was being asked to approve changes in the parameters for the five year campaign, which is attempting to raise $40 million for church growth and international mission. So far, with the campaign scheduled to end when the General Assembly meets in June 2008, the campaign still has about $12.5 million left to go.
LOUISVILLE -- So far, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance has taken in more than $24 million in cash donations for Hurricane Katrina relief and $112,000 in donated materials.
It has distributed 18,160 "immediate response kits" worth $340,000
It has provided 91,776 volunteer days of service -- volunteers who repaired 3,380 homes and rebuilt 565 houses. More than 31,350 volunteers have come to help.
But with an emphasis on being around to help for the long haul, sticking around to provide assistance after others may have gone home, it so far has spent only about $12 million, roughly half of what's been given. And that has some members of the General Assembly Council worried.
LOUISVILLE -- In what could be a preview of what to expect at next summer's General Assembly, the General Assembly Council heard a summary of the recommendations of the Form of Government Task Force during its meeting Sept. 18-21. And, not surprisingly, the council members had both praise for the task force's hard work -- and some questions and concerns.
The Form of Government Task Force has been meeting for a little more than a year with a gargantuan task: to rewrite the Book of Order of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to make it more concise, more flexible, more theologically grounded.
The task force is posting its work online (www.pcusa.org/formofgovernment /), asking for comments and suggestions from Presbyterians while there's still time to make revisions. And it's offering video clips of task force members responding to frequently-asked questions.
LOUISVILLE -- God's assurances in 1 Peter that believers are "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation" are dangerous words if they are misconstrued, World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) General Secretary Setri Nyomi told a gathering of General Assembly Council members and middle governing body executives here Sept. 17.
"In the dangerous world in which we find ourselves, claiming these words as proof that we are right and those who disagree with us are wrong can be very dangerous," Nyomi said. "Such a reading has too often led to hatred, violence and war."
Emergent worship folks in the Presbyterian church are trying to figure out where to go from here -- along the way taking the temperature of people interested in the emergent life, and planning more conversations.
A new book -- An Emergent Manifesto of Hope, including some essays written by Presbyterians -- attempts to lay out aspects of emergent thinking. There's ongoing conversation about where and how missional and emergent approaches converge and diverge.
And a tantalizing question asked at a July emergent gathering in San Francisco, according to Karen Sloan, a Presbyterian who's the author of Flirting with Monasticism: Finding God on Ancient Paths and who's been helping to organize some of these events, was: "What is presbymergent's agenda?" and does it intend to change the church?
Claire Randall, a Presbyterian elder who served the church and ecumenical movement for more than 30 years in top posts, died Sept. 9 in Sun City, Ariz. She was 91.
Randall, a native of San Antonio, Texas, was an artist, designer, music director, educator, Bible scholar and theologian. But her greatest gift to the Christian church was her commitment to ecumenism.
Geneva/Rome, 15 October (ENI)--The head of the World Council of Churches, the Rev. Samuel Kobia, has welcomed an open letter by 138 Muslim scholars urging Christians and Muslims to seek common ground and he has said the Geneva-based WCC is ready to help
'It is significant in that it is signed by such a large group of Muslim leaders and scholars from around the world, which makes it unprecedented,' WCC general secretary Kobia said in 15 October comments to Ecumenical News International. 'Such a rare unity of purpose gives great hope as to what people of faith can achieve together.'
Geneva, 11 October (ENI)--More than 130 Muslim scholars have said in a letter to Christian leaders, including Pope Benedict XVI and the head of the World Council of Churches, the Rev. Samuel Kobia, that world peace depends on cooperation between Christianity and Islam.
'Our common future is at stake. The very survival of the world itself is perhaps at stake,' the 138 signatories state in the letter made public on 11 October.
The letter is also addressed to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomeos I and other Orthodox church leaders, as well as the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, and the leaders of world groupings of Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist and Reformed Christians.
Nyala, Sudan, 10 October (ENI)--The killing in late September of 10 peacekeepers from the African Union in Sudan's volatile western region of Darfur is the most dramatic and publicized example of a steady decline in security during the last six months, and one that threatens humanitarian efforts championed by a wide spectrum of international faith-based groups and coalitions.
Rick Ufford-Chase, executive director of the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship and moderator of the 216th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), is being awarded the 2007 Dignitas Humana Award by St. John's School of Theology-Seminary.
St. John's, in Collegeville, Minn., grants the award annually to recognize...
Your presbytery will soon be voting on proposed amendments to the Constitution. You face an important question: How WELL will your elders and ministers vote? That is, how well will they understand what's being asked of them? Will they be well informed?
Clifton Kirkpatrick -- tall, ecumenically-minded, a nimble public speaker, and sometime lightening rod for controversy -- has decided not to seek a fourth term as stated clerk of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
Kirkpatrick's term of service will be completed at the close of the General Assembly meeting in San Jose in June 2008. His departure leaves the field open for a new leader of the Office of the General Assembly -- the chief constitutional officer of the denomination and its representative in meeting with religious leaders from around the world.
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
It has been an incredible blessing to be able to serve as Stated Clerk of the General Assembly for now going on twelve years, and to serve in leadership in the General Assembly and its mission for over twenty-six years. I give thanks to God for you who have been my partners in this journey, for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), and for this unique opportunity to share in the service of Christ through this great church. This has been the best job I have ever had and a wonderful way to live out my call to ministry.
LOUISVILLE -- "We are between eras."
Or: "Are you willing to let Christ change your life?"
Those could be bumper stickers for the discussion Presbyterian leaders held Sept. 18-19 in Louisville, a joint gathering of presbytery and synod executives and members of the General Assembly Council.
These church leaders are looking for a way forward during a time of tremendous change -- changes in leadership in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), in technology, in the way Americans think about religion, in the way Christians in the U.S. relate to the rest of the world. The list could go on and on.
Sam Roberson, general presbyter of Charlotte Presbytery, was the guy who said "we are between eras" -- but he was just one person describing what's happening. Others suggested bumper stickers or text messages for the PC(USA) including "Presbyterian Church Finally Figures Out that God Really is In Charge."
The Board of Directors of The Presbyterian Outlook Foundation meeting in Richmond, Va., September 6-7 voted to reorganize the staff and eliminate the position of publisher. Publisher Robert P. Baskin ended his service with the Outlook effective September 30 in order to pursue other business ventures.
LOUISVILLE -- The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s Stated Clerk Nomination Committee (SCNC), elected at the 217th General Assembly in 2006 in Birmingham, AL, is now accepting applications for the position of General Assembly stated clerk, the top ecclesiastical post in the 2.3-million-member denomination.
Next summer's 218th General Assembly in San Jose, CA, will elect the successor to the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, who announced last month that he will not seek a fourth three-year term.
LOUISVILLE -- There has been a lot of talk in recent days about the shift in mission work, with the center of gravity moving to the congregations and presbyteries.
And now there's beginning to be more discussion of what works and doesn't work so well when local people get involved in international mission work. How can the enthusiasm of so many Presbyterians for making a difference around the world be linked to tried-and-true strategies for working in partnership?
Will Browne, the former associate director of Worldwide Ministries for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), led a panel discussion on that, before more than 600 people at the World Mission '07 "Celebration of Grace" convocation, which met in Louisville Oct. 2-5. Browne said Presbyterians from the U.S. "come to mission with a little bit of danger of hubris, danger of pride that we are people who have something to offer to the rest of the world. In some ways I think that is very true.
LOUISVILLE -- Hunter Farrell, the new director of World Mission for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), calls this a crossroads time for Presbyterians -- with the health and vitality of the denomination at stake.
"I believe we in the Presbyterian church are at a crossroads, a kairos moment, a time when we're going to have to choose which direction in which to go," said Hunter Farrell, director of World Mission for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
Farrell was speaking to more than 600 people who gathered in Louisville Oct. 2-5 for the World Mission '07 "Celebration of Grace" convocation -- an effort by the denomination to jump-start enthusiasm for international mission and to build closer connections between the national staff and Presbyterians involved in world mission at the local level.
LOUISVILLE -- It was a moment of pure celebration: the commissioning, during an evening worship service, of 48 missionaries as they embark on a month of itinerating, telling Presbyterians in churches around the country of the impact that Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) international mission efforts are making.
These missionaries -- who serve from Asia to Africa to South America -- teach in seminaries and heal the sick and work with church partners around the world to provide jobs and education and justice to the suffering.
They were sent off for what's being called Mission Challenge '07, a month of "telling the story," sent off with blessing from a national gathering of Presbyterians who are dedicated to supporting mission around the world -- and to doing it right, in an atmosphere of partnership and mutual respect.
New York, 1 October (ENI)--A group of North American Episcopal (Anglican) bishops has joined in a partnership to usher in an 'Anglican union' they hope will serve as a formal ecclesiastical alternative to the US Episcopal Church.
'We declare clearly that we are taking this as a first step in the formation of the separate ecclesiastical structure in North America,'the bishops declared in a statement following four days of meetings in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.© Copyright 2026 The Presbyterian Outlook. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Statement. Website by Web Publisher PRO
