The Stated Clerk Nomination Committee (SCNC), elected at the 217th General Assembly in Birmingham, AL, is now accepting applications for the position of Stated Clerk of the General Assembly, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
In the December 31, 1972 issue you wrote about "St. George of Big Bay" -- the story of an elderly man in Upper Michigan and his faithful service to a small town and its Presbyterian Church. The article ended: "He is a tiny man, giving life to a dying church, in a forgotten town. This is St. George of Big Bay." The church cut out the article and framed it, placing it on the wall of pictures of their history. I found it when I candidated to be their first installed pastor in their 75 years of existence.
Decatur, GA--October 22 is the application deadline for a unique spiritual renewal experience offered for mid-career pastors by Columbia Theological Seminary's Center for Lifelong Learning. Journey of Faith: A Pilgrimage of Discernment for Ministry includes a two-week pilgrimage to the Holy Land and two short retreats--one before and one after the pilgrimage. Participant costs for travel, accommodations, meals, and materials for the pilgrimage will be paid through a grant from the CF Foundation, through its Holy Land Pastoral Renewal Program. The only cost for those selected to participate will be a registration fee of $250.
NASHVILLE -- In mainline congregations doing a good job with evangelism, what's happening -- what's the secret to success?
Martha Grace Reese, a lawyer and Disciples of Christ minister, asked that question and set out to answer it in a four-year study funded by the Lilly Endowment. Through that project, she and her team conducted a statistical analysis of 150 mainline congregations that do well in reaching people with no church background.
And they interviewed more than 1,400 people and visited 50 congregations from seven mainline denominations, trying to discover what congregations successful at evangelism were doing and what was motivating them.
The results have just been published in a new book, Unbinding the Gospel: Real Life Evangelism. And Reese shared some of what she learned at the National Presbyterian Evangelism Conference, a gathering of about 500 in Nashville Aug. 31-Sept. 3.
NASHVILLE -- The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has taken the right positions on social justice issues for years, Jim Wallis contends.
But that doesn't accomplish much, he says, if no one is listening.
Wallis is the editor-in-chief of Sojourners Magazine and an organizer of Call to Renewal, an interfaith advocacy group trying to bring people of faith together to work on issues such as poverty and the environment. Wallis travels the world speaking widely and provocatively, trying to change the political winds.
He wants to convince the politicians and the people with power that the grassroots is shifting -- that enough people care about things such as global warming or about children dying by the thousands each day because they don't have food or medicine that the politicians need to pay attention.
Wallis was the kick-off speaker at the National Presbyterian Evangelism Conference Aug. 31-Sept. 3 in Nashville -- part of a renewed emphasis the PC(USA) is trying to place on the importance of spreading the gospel. And he challenged Presbyterians, whose long suit historically has not been evangelism, to call for a "justice conversion," to overtly link religious faith and work on behalf of justice.
NASHVILLE -- Gradye Parsons, director of operations for the Office of the General Assembly, laid down the challenge from the very start of the first-ever National Elders Conference of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) August 29-31 with the theme "Elder as Spiritual Leader: Reclaiming the Call."
"We want to create a bunch of dangerous elders," Parsons said, elders "who know what the ministry of being an elder is about and want to claim that ministry for their own."
The 330 elders attending the conference faced a number of encouraging and challenging speakers on the facets of their ministry.
Elders should be worship leaders, according to co-presenters Melva Costen and Rhashell Hunter. They thanked the elders in attendance for "saying yes" when pastors call on them to lead out in church ministries.
One of the major problems in modern congregations is discovering how to communicate effectively with members. If the pastor gives a sermon on Mother's Day, for example, about family life and ways for parents and children to grow together spiritually, chances are that many young parents will never hear it. They may be visiting their own families, attending the regional Junior High track meet or band festival, be at a picnic at the lake, or squeezing in time to get groceries and purchasing a new prom dress at the mall. On any given Sunday, it is unlikely that most churches will have more than 25 percent of the congregation in one place at one time.
One of the challenges for the modern church, therefore, is finding innovative ways to communicate outside of the Sunday service. In the case of Mother's Day a targeted mailing might be the answer. Instead of expecting parents to attend the service why not send the service to them? Acknowledging how busy they are, why not mail (or e-mail) a copy of the pastor's sermon on family life along with a reading list of recommended family devotional guides. Offer to give parents a free copy of the book they would like to use to foster discussion, prayer, and Scripture reading around their dinner table. Better yet, why not send them a DVD of the whole service or make a podcast available for downloading?
The Board of Directors of the Foundation for Reformed Theology has appointed James C. Goodloe IV to serve as its executive director, beginning November 1. Based in Richmond, Va., where Goodloe resides, the Foundation provides funding, programming, and other resources "to renew the theology, ethos, social vision, and hope of the Reformed and Presbyterian community," their statement explains.
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."
(PNS) In a reversal of a lower church court ruling, the Rev. Jane Adams Spahr has been found guilty of violating the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage by performing weddings for two lesbian couples.
The Synod of the Pacific's Permanent Judicial Commission (PJC) ruled 6-2 that while the "lesbian evangelist" and longtime Presbyterian minister "acted with conscience and conviction," her actions were still at odds with the church's constitution.
It's the kind of news that shakes people to the core: 23 missionaries from a Presbyterian church in South Korea kidnapped by the Taliban along a highway in Afghanistan. The news of the abductions, the killings of two of the captives in July, and finally their release on the promise of no future Korean mission work in Afghanistan, have made the world increasingly aware of the role Korea plays in international evangelism.
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)-related seminaries and other affiliated theological schools report the following news reports as they begin a new academic year:
A task force is recommending that Presbyterians Today, a magazine the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) publishes, be considered an "appropriate mission expense" and that it continue operation under the control of the General Assembly Council.
The future of Presbyterians Today has been somewhat uncertain -- as it was on the list of possible budget cuts during a major downsizing of the denomination's national staff and programs in the spring of 2006.
HOUSTON -- Do evangelicals look forward to a hopeful future for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)? For the approximately 125 pastors and other leaders at the 10th annual Gathering of Presbyterians, the opening addresses August 14 offered mixed messages, which is more positive than they have heard in years.
Like a student presenting her homework, the Coalition's executive director, Terry Schlossberg, launched the event by reciting to the attendees an outline of the tasks carried out to fulfill assignments last summer's attendees had urged upon the board.
First among the assignments was for the nearly two dozen renewal organizations to collaborate much more closely and even to consider merging. A major meeting convened last fall brought the organizations together for the first of a series of meetings. Some of those organizations are planning to leave the denomination, others are committed to stay, and others are living with a high level of uncertainty. Given the different strategies and skill sets working within the organizations a merger is not anticipated, she reported, "but we were, nonetheless, unified."
She enlarged that thought. "That was an important moment for us. We could see that the landscape had shifted and we realized that we needed each other more than ever."
LOUISVILLE -- While acknowledging that the first four chapters of the Book of Order are beloved by many in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the Form of Government Task Force is recommending that the church replace those chapters with a new statement it has written called "The Foundations of Presbyterian Polity."
It could have gone a safer route, holding on to language in the church's constitution that in some quarters is already accepted and loved.
But "we do need to be bold," said task force co-moderator Sharon Davison, an elder from New York City. In what the task force is recommending, "we've basically turned the polity of the church on its head."
HOUSTON -- The second annual conference of the Presbyterian Global Fellowship held here August 16-18 reverberated with a passion for mission and hope for a bright future for the church's work in that mission. "Even though the Church has gone off-course numerous times in history, it has gone through key course corrections that put it back on course," reminded opening speaker, David Peterson, who also served as host to the three-day event. The pastor of Memorial Drive Church in Houston told the 850 guests to his city, "I believe that the Presbyterian Church is going through a course correction in these days."
Striking many of the themes introduced at its 2006 inaugural conference, the PGF extended an invitation to the participants to join their efforts to support such a course correction. Unlike last year's conference, though, this conference did not harp against -- in fact, it seldom even mentioned -- the problems swirling around its own denomination. Rather, it repeatedly lifted up an emerging, expanding vision for worldwide Christian endeavor.
LOUISVILLE -- The work the Form of Government Task Force is doing to rewrite the constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is "critical" in the life of the denomination, Joseph Small told the task force.
"You are clearly not simply saying, `Let's take this big, thick book of regulations and make it into a leaner, meaner document that will free people up for faithfulness in mission,' " Small said. "You're doing that, but you're doing more than that. This is a chance that comes along not even once a generation ... to make some significant advances in the church's understanding of who and what it is."
But Small, director of Theology, Worship and Education Ministries for the PC(USA), had some gentle cautions to offer the group as well during its meeting in Louisville Aug. 16-18. His advice, he stressed, is based not just on personal opinion, but grows out of discussions among his staff regarding drafts of the task force's work that have been publicly posted on the Internet.
LOUISVILLE--Clifton Kirkpatrick, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly, shared with the staff of the Office of the General Assembly today that he has decided not to seek another term as Stated Clerk.
Kirkpatrick's current term will conclude at the end of the 218th General Assembly (2008) in San Jose, California, next June.
"Serving as Stated Clerk has offered me a platform I would never have dreamed possible--to serve the church I love and to give expression to my passions, my sense of call, and my gifts for the things that really matter," wrote Kirkpatrick in a written statement.
He went further to say, "At the same time, I am also eager to have more quality time with my family, to be able to devote myself more fully to the responsibility I have undertaken since 2004 to serve as president of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, and to share in the life of the church, both locally and globally, in new and creative ways."
D. James Kennedy, 76, founder and senior pastor of Coral Ridge Church in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., known for his extensive television and educational work, and activities of the American religious right, died in his sleep September 5 at his Fort Lauderdale home. He had been in ill health since a cardiac arrest in December 2006.
Funeral arrangements will be announced later. Survivors include his wife of 51 years, Anne, and a daughter, Jennifer Kennedy Cassidy.
Kennedy, a native of Chicago, Ill., was a graduate of the University of Tampa. He earned master's degrees from Columbia Theological Seminary and Chicago Graduate School of Theology, and a doctorate from New York University.
Elenora Giddings Ivory has accepted a new call to ministry with the World Council of Churches as the Director of the WCC P3 -- Public Witness: Addressing Power and Affirming Peace. She has tendered her resignation as the Director of the Washington Office of the Presbyterian Church (USA), leaving that post at the end of October. The final vote on her appointment will take place when the WCC Executive Committee meets in Armenia, September 25-28. Elenora's starting date in the Washington Office was November 29, 1989. She says that "It has been an exciting 18 years in this position...(and) I will miss certain aspects of it, but I look forward to the challenges of my new call."
It's not possible to get a full sense of things just by looking at the numbers.
But sometimes, the numbers show enough to give some clues to what the deeper issues might be.
For example, here's a quick snapshot of what the road to ministry in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) looks like, as offered by Doska Ross of the Office of the General Assembly to the Presbyterian Communicators Network. The statistics, Ross said, were provided by the PC(USA)'s Office of Vocation.
c. 2007 Religion News Service
Michele Dillon and Paul Wink have interviewed scores of septuagenarians about their faith -- or lack thereof -- and compared their answers to those they gave during their teens and middle age.
Their discovery? People really don't change much over time -- religiosity in early adulthood is comparable to that in late adulthood, with a dip in middle age.
NASHVILLE -- Listening to Jerry L. Cannon preach is like riding a roller coaster -- zooming up, swooping down low, screaming around corners. All the while, he never stops talking.
Cannon packs more words into one sermon than some pastors do in a month.
Statistics, examples, theology, quotations from the Bible, from the Book of Order, from his children, demonstrating with his body, wheeling his arms and legs, talking faster, faster, faster, dipping down suddenly into an unexpected, rich moment of silence.
So here's a little (just a little!) of what Cannon -- a fifth-generation Presbyterian and senior pastor of C. N. Jenkins Memorial Church in Charlotte -- had to say to the National Presbyterian Evangelism Conference, preaching during worship Sept. 1.
(RNS) As Americans get older, their confidence in an afterlife increases, according to a recent survey of people over 50 conducted by American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), the advocacy group for seniors.
Seventy-three percent of older people believe in life after death, and two-thirds of those believers say that confidence has grown with age, according to the survey.
But while 86 percent of respondents say there is a heaven (70 percent believe in hell), they were split on what it looks like and if humans go there. Forty percent of those who believe say heaven is a place, while 47 percent think heaven is a "state of being."
"Americans see life after death as a very dynamic thing," said Alan F. Segal, a professor of religion at Barnard College, in the AARP article. "You don't really hear about angels and wings, sitting on clouds playing melodies. ... They talk about humor in the afterlife, continuing education, unifying families -- like a retirement without financial needs."
While most people believe that heaven exists, and about nine in 10 of them say they'll end up there, they are less sure about others. People who believe in heaven say an average of 64 percent of others will get there, too.
Other findings in the survey:
· Women are more likely to believe in an afterlife (80 percent) than men (64 percent).
· Income matters: Of those who believe in an afterlife, 90 percent of those earning $25,000 or less believe in heaven, compared to just 78 percent of people with an income of $75,000 and above.
· 29 percent of those who believe in a heaven think one must "believe in Jesus Christ" to enter. Twenty-five percent believe "good people" go to heaven, and 10 percent think everyone is admitted.
The survey was conducted by telephone between June 29 and July 10. The margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.
(PNS) David C. Hancock, a longtime leader in Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) efforts to minister with people suffering alcohol and drug addictions, died Aug. 1 in a Minneapolis nursing home. He was 93.
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