Does your board have a line in the sand when it comes to personal, professional, ethical or administrative behavior of church members and officers? How long will you permit unruly or fractious actions by one or two individuals to disrupt the important work of the congregation? What do you do if one of the church's officers clearly violates his or her ordination vows?
LOUISVILLE — It’s hard being forced to choose.
In the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), is evangelism more important than social justice?
Does spirituality matter more than leadership?
And how do you get from that kind of big-picture talk to cutting $8 million from the budget by early May? Who exactly will lose their jobs? And what programs will be shoved aside?
LOUISVILLE — John Detterick, executive director of the General Assembly Council, on Feb. 14 called it a "new day," a "new chapter in the life of the General Assembly Council," because of the work the council has done to create a Mission Work Plan to shape the budget for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) for 2005 and 2006.
LOUISVILLE — The final draft of a new paper on the doctrine of the Trinity will be available for review and comment on the Web site of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) by late February — a report that both affirms the historic use of the language "Father, Son and Holy Spirit" and suggests other language that can be used too.
LOUISVILLE — People yipped so loudly when the idea was presented last September that it was pulled from consideration. The response was clear: some people thought it was a terrible idea, unwise and unfair, for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to impose an administrative fee of up to 5 percent on restricted gifts to the denomination — money that individuals and congregations give with strings attached, requiring that the money be spent to fund specific things.
LOUISVILLE – Here’s the game plan: put together a new, two-year budget for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) that’s built on a big vision and big hopes for a new way of doing things.
Whether the will exists to say that some of what the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) traditionally has done won’t be done anymore, in order to make way for more important and even new things, still has not been determined.
LOUISVILLE – What per capita rate will the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) set for 2005 and 2006? Well, that all depends.
The proposal on the table is to offer the General Assembly two options for a per capita rate, and to let the Assembly decide.
The first option would set a rate of $5.46 per active member for 2005 – five cents less than the rate for this year – then to raise it to $5.56, a boost of 10 cents per member from the current rate, for 2006.
LOUISVLLE — The big tiger, another round of budget cuts for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), stayed mostly out of sight as the General Assembly Council opened its winter meeting here Tuesday, Feb. 10. The cat hasn’t disappeared, but the denomination’s leadership is hoping to talk later this week more about the big picture — a "mission work plan" that lays out the vision for what kind of things should get money and what should not — and less about the hard dollars involved.
On the Supreme Court's docket for the current session is a review of the Ninth Circuit Court's judgment of the phrase "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. If that phrase is removed, it would return to the version I memorized in public school. During World War II no one complained about a deficiency in the 29 words we voluntarily repeated during our daily flag raisings. Our generation swelled with patriotic pride and could hardly wait to enlist in our armed services to help topple those totalitarian regimes intent on conquering other European or Asian nations.
Please don't call me contentious. Don't call me disloyal. I'm just confused over the conviction deeply held by some of my dearest friends about their right to withhold or redirect funds that normally would go to the denomination. What I hear them saying is that the church courts have affirmed our legal right — which is accorded us by our polity ...which is based upon our theology — which issues from our God-endowed freedom — to determine where our money goes. Where all of our money goes.
© Copyright 2025 The Presbyterian Outlook. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Statement. Website by Web Publisher PRO