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GA NEWS: Presbyterian Writers Guild honors Marj Carpenter and Mary Frances Bennett; remembers Vic Jameson

“Glorious words we all have written, members of the Writer’s Guild,” sang those gathered today (June 26) at The Presbyterian Writers Guild 30th Annual Luncheon in San Jose, singing “The Presbyterian Writers Guild Hymn”, written by Vic Jameson. Jerry Van Marter, writers guild vice president shared words in memory of the late Jameson, asserting that singing the hymn was a very appropriate method of tribute.

GA NEWS: Award recipient says “do your work and expect the Holy Spirit”

SAN JOSE — With a rousing rendition of “My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less,” Presbyterians for Renewal (PFR) opened their General Assembly breakfast on Wednesday (June 25), with PFR executive director Paul Detterman enthusiastically leading those gathered in song.

GA NEWS: General Assembly prayer chapel offers a space for pause

Lisa Wraith, liturgical artist and recent graduate of San Francisco Theological Seminary is the designer of the 218th General Assembly’s prayer chapel.  “I went to seminary because of General Assembly,” Wraith says, admitting that it is perhaps a bit unusual to receive a call to ministry through committee participation at GA.

GA NEWS: Ordaining gays and lesbians, and related issues aired at opening hearing with corrections

CORRECTION: The original version of this story, posted June 23, incorrectly quoted Ben Willis, a pastor from Lehigh Presbytery. The story quoted Willis as saying, "I'm not gay any more -- I used to be. It's the transforming power of the Holy Spirit," when Willis was actually recounting a conversation he'd had with a man who attends his church, and who made those remarks.

GA News: Melva Costen wasn’t sure reunion would work

SAN JOSE — For Melva Costen the year leading up to the 1983 reunion was busy, demanding and deeply personal. Her husband, the Rev. James Costen, was the 1982 moderator of the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (UPCUSA).

GA News: Iraqi Christian leader speaks from “severely wounded land”

SAN JOSE – “I come from a severely wounded land,” said Archbishop Avak Asadourian, the primate of the Armenian Apostolic Church of Iraq.

GA News: Two men remember two historic reunions

On the 25th anniversary of the reunion of the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (northern stream) and the Presbyterian Church in the United States (southern stream), people who were there look back.

GA News: Bridging the ecumenical divides: GA discusses different understandings

SAN JOSE – If Presbyterians want to speak of the common ground in the faith of Christians, Muslims and Jews — perhaps as a way to build a bridge to deeper conversation — what’s the best way to do that?

GA News: Voices of Sophia speak loudly for justice

“Let the needs of the world and not the failings of the church set our agenda,” said Mary Hunt, Catholic feminist theologian, to those gathered for the Voices of Sophia breakfast Tuesday (June24).

GA News: Assembly Approves Development of New Human Development and Sexuality Resources for Adolescents

A Church Growth and Christian Education Committee recommendation to produce human development resources for adolescents was approved by the 218th General Assembly Wednesday (June 25) after deliberations that included passionate, personal arguments for and against the creation of what was expected to take form as a new curriculum.

GA News: Foundation and GAC begin new courtship

SAN JOSE – They had to endure some scolding, but the General Assembly Council (GAC) and the Presbyterian Foundation seem to have found a path for resolving future disputes over the disbursement of funds – disagreements that, at this week’s meeting of the 218th General Assembly, slid messily out into public view.

GA News: Leaders for foundation, PILP, and publishing confirmed

SAN JOSE – Leadership is a big deal at this year’s General Assembly – with the election June 21 of Bruce Reyes-Chow, https://www.mod.reyes-chow.com/ the young, tech-savvy pastor of a multicultural church, as moderator, and with the assembly scheduled to pick a new stated clerk on June 27.

GA News: Committee to bring motions supporting youth ministry

SAN JOSE -- The General Assembly Youth Committee meeting June 24, using an interactive visioning process to address Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) concerns about the nature of adolescents, youth ministry, and resources for faith development, hammered out a series of recommendations for the Assembly's consideration later this week.

GA News: Kim calls Presbyterian Church to racial confession, repentance

SAN JOSE -- Using his own church as an example, the Rev. Jin Kim, pastor of the Church of All Nations in Minneapolis, Minn., called for Christians to “lay down their sword of power and privilege and to walk humbly with God.”

GA News: Committee maintains per capita status quo

SAN JOSE -- All attempts to mandate changes in the ways per capita is spent at the General Assembly level were turned aside by a General Assembly committee meeting Tuesday (June 24).

GA News: Committee approves new social creed

SAN JOSE — One hundred years after “A Social Creed of the Churches” [www.pcusa.org/acswp/socialcreed] joined Christians together to work to ease the human costs of industrialization, General Assembly’s Social Justice Issues Committee passed a new social creed Tuesday June 24) to “meet the challenges of sustainability and globalization.”

GA News: Committee to recommend four ecumenical agreements

SAN JOSE — The Committee on Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations has voted to recommend that the 218th General Assembly adopt four ecumenical agreements intended to move the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) toward greater unity with other denominations.

GA News: Committee rejects new definition of marriage

SAN JOSE — By a vote of 38-20 on Tuesday (June 24) the Assembly Committee on Church Polity rejected a proposal from Baltimore Presbytery that would have changed the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) constitutional definition of marriage from a man and a woman to “two people.”

GA News: Archbishop Chacour urges Presbyterians to ‘get their hands dirty’ for peace

“I am a walking contradiction,” began Archbishop Elias Chacour in his sermon to those gathered for the ecumenical service of worship held Wednesday morning (June 25) as part of the General Assembly week.. As a Palestinian, Arab, Christian, Israeli, Chacour said,

GA News: Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles shakes hands with His Eminence Elias Chacour

GA News: Form of Government committee recommends referral for study

The 218th General Assembly Committee on the Revision of the Form of Government, charged to address the Report of the Form of Government Task Force, voted Tuesday (June 24) to refer the report to churches and presbyteries for a 19-month study process. 

GA News: Transformation is beyond quick fixes, pastor says

SAN JOSE — Being a minister of a growing church used to be about the “three Ps” said the Rev. Mark Lau Branson, speaking at the Congregational Transformation luncheon June 23, during the 218th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). “Preaching, pastoral care, and program would be the basic job description.

GA News: Peacemaking and International Issues Committee approves resolution on support of the church in Zimbabwe

In all the voting, unrest, and violence of Zimbabwe in recent weeks, a poll of a different type emerged from the deliberations of the peacemaking and International Issues committee Tuesday (June 24).

GA News: Committee approves resolution on support of the church in Zimbabwe

“It was good news that at least in this election, Mugabe got no votes,” said a Zimbabwean church leader who, for security reasons, cannot be named.