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Civil union-Christian marriage task force anticipates final report being more ‘descriptive’ than ‘prescriptive’

LOUISVILLE - Ten-thousand is the word limit for reports to a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assembly.

OGA statistics announced: PC(USA) records steepest membership loss since reunion in 1983

LOUISVILLE — Membership in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) fell by 69,381 in 2008, the Office of the General Assembly (OGA) has announced in its annual statistical report, continuing a trend that began in the mid-1960s.

Story of Louisville congregation wins Presbyterian first-book award

ATLANTA — A unique “human” history of a Louisville, Ky., congregation earned its co-authors the Presbyterian Writers Guild’s Angell Award for best first book by a Presbyterian author in 2008.

Clay named interim CEO of Presbyterian Foundation

CHICAGO — Richard “Dick” Clay, a Louisville attorney and former Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Foundation board member, has been named interim president and CEO of the church’s entity charged with attracting and managing investments, gifts, bequests and endowments to benefit Presbyterian mission around the world.

Seattle downtown church born after two churches disband

Two congregations in Seattle.

Religion news needed now more than ever, says Niebuhr

(ENI) — The 21st century world cannot be understood without understanding religion, says U.S. religion journalist and professor, Gustav Niebuhr.

S. African church still not “moving beyond apartheid”, meeting told

(ENI) — A South African church suspended in 1982 from the World Alliance of Reformed Churches because of its support for apartheid is “still not ready for readmission,” a meeting of the grouping’s executive committee in Geneva has been told.

Christianity Today to close four publications, lay off 31

(RNS) — Publishing powerhouse Christianity Today International, citing hard times in its industry, is shutting down four publications and laying off 31 workers.

Renowned Presbyterian evangelist Ralph Winter dies

LOUISVILLE — The Rev. Ralph D. Winter, a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) minister who pioneered frontier evangelism and was named one of America’s 25 most influential evangelicals by Time magazine in 2005, died May 20 at his home in Pasadena, Calif. after battling multiple myeloma and lymphoma. He was 84.

Can Presbyterians and Episcopalians bury the hatchet?

A set of principles developed by persons from the Episcopal Church and the Presbyterian Church was sent recently to the presbyteries in hopes that some of the barriers that have divided us may be removed, or at least, modified in the spirit of Christian cooperation.

A Christian’s lament over the Pew torture poll

(ABP) — Dear Jesus, Everyone seems to be talking about the poll by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.

Clutching Straws

We all have the right to clutch at straws.

Majority to minority — Good or bad?

Religion in America used to be a landslide for Protestants. No more. Recent surveys show that we Protestants are no more than 50 percent of the population.

BIG TENT: The future is now: youth ministry task force gets feedback at Big Tent

ATLANTA — What do young people want from the Presbyterian church? And — for the young and energetic, the skeptical and the faithful and the passionate — what do Presbyterian churches have to offer?

WARC’s Nyomi applauds appointment of Roman Catholic dean at Presbyterian seminary

(ENI) —The appointment of a Roman Catholic nun as dean of San Francisco Theological Seminary illustrates the truth of the saying "to be Reformed is to be ecumenical", says the general secretary of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches.

Faith groups cheer as Congress approves FDA regulation of tobacco industry

(NCC) Faith leaders have applauded Congress for its action approving landmark legislation authorizing the Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco products.

Protestant Christianity’s Reluctance

Swiss politician seeks inspiration from 16th-century Calvin

GENEVA — (ENI) The16th-century teaching of John Calvin can inspire a "reformation of values" in the face of the economic and ecological crises that confront the world, a Swiss politician has said at a ceremony to mark the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformer's birth.

Kobia tells Dutch gathering Christians should welcome all faiths

Doom, Netherlands — (ENI) The head of the World Council of Churches has warned of a backlash in Europe against migrants and refugees, after gains by anti-immigration parties in elections to the European Union parliament.

Stephen A. Hayner named president of Columbia Theological Seminary

DECATUR, GA.—Stephen A. Hayner has been unanimously elected the ninth president of Columbia Theological Seminary by the board of trustees.  [caption id="attachment_20641" align="alignright" width="150"]Stephen A. Hayner [/caption]Following a nationwide search for a successor to Laura S. Mendenhall, who served Columbia since 2000, the board turned to its own Peachtree Professor of Evangelism and Church Growth to lead the school. His appointment is effective July 1, 2009.

Graham Baird tells Presbyterians to embrace the messy life of ministry

ATLANTA — Is it possible for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to experience a Pentecost-like renewal?

BIG TENT: Mendenhall goes out with a bang

The moving truck was nearly full, the family pick-up truck was gassed and ready to roll in the morning, and the seminary was just three days away from announcing her successor.

BIG TENT: PC(USA) Evelyn Hwang’s retirement is honored at the Big Tent

Linda Valentine, Evelyn Hwang, and Gradye Parsons standing togetherATLANTA - A buoyant gathering of grateful well-wishers packed the Peachtree Suite at the Hyatt Regency Hotel here to celebrate the retirement of Evelyn Hwang after her more than 48 years of service on the national staff of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) both in New York City and Louisville.