Nancy Ammerman recognizes Lake Wobegon Lutheran Church when she sees it — the congregation where the families have all been there for generations, where everybody knows everybody and there’s no question at all about which hymns will be sung or what food will show up at the potluck: tuna noodle casserole and Jell-O with fruit. Every time.
The United States has always been a religiously pluralistic place — now, more so than ever, said Nancy Ammerman, a sociologist of religion.
In a recent lecture series, Ammerman described how she sees things lining up — saying the United Stattes now has eight major streams of religious leanings, what she referred to as eight points on the compass.
Alex Metherell, the elder and physician/engineer from Laguna Beach, Calif., who tried to get the 214th General Assembly recalled last year to address the issue of constitutional defiance, has announced that he will be a candidate for General Assembly stated clerk.
I am new at this business, unaccustomed to writing each week for the whole church. A valued friend reacted quickly to last week’s editorial. He thought it was a little too far on the wild side; he was especially critical of my sweeping, dogmatic claims about validated ministries. Yet he admitted that the editorial opened up an ongoing discussion. Thus doth provocation produce dialogue.
RICHMOND — The Mid-Atlantic Synod, meeting here in special session Saturday, voted 19-15 to review the policies, procedures and actions of Baltimore Presbytery with regard to admitting new minister members and the validation of ministries and oversight of ministers.
You probably won’t get a crowd up on their feet screaming if you shout out, "Authoritative interpretation!" On the other hand, those two words have the power to get some Presbyterians mighty riled up.
This year’s General Assembly will be asked, once again, to consider removing from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Constitution the requirement that those being ordained practice fidelity if they’re married or chastity if they are single — language that some contend follows centuries of Christian teaching, and that some others say unfairly excludes gays and lesbians in committed partnerships from serving in leadership in the church.
The question of what to do about Donald Stroud — the Presbyterian minister from Baltimore who has said publicly he cannot comply with the part of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Constitution that limits ordination to those who practice fidelity if they’re married or chastity if they are single — is taking yet another twist.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
We have been at war in Iraq for a year now. Close to 11,000 Iraqis have been killed. Nearly 600 United States servicemen and women have died in the hostilities; another 3,000 have been injured. We ask you to join us in continued prayers for those who are impacted by war, those who are serving in the military, and those in positions of authority.
My next few editorials will respond to recent news stories and guest viewpoints that have received no editorial treatment.
This week I will address the Jan. 31 meeting of Western North Carolina Presbyterian at which the ministry of Parker Williamson was not revalidated. This was reported in the Feb. 23 issue of The Outlook and the February issue of the Layman. I want also to respond to reader reaction to the Jan. 26 Outlook editorial, "Ministry of Fear."
I read with great interest the article by James Goodloe ("Righteous Judgment") and the endorsing letter by Eddie Soto. Though the term is never used, I assume that both are being critical of "Lectionary Preaching."
Both are correct when they say that lectio continua (preaching through a book of the Bible "in course," chapter by chapter) was used back to the earliest days of the church, and that the reformers, especially the Genevan reformers, urged pastors to preach through books of the Bible.
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