MOSCOW — (ENI) Alexander Solzhenitsyn, the Nobel Prize-winning author who survived the Soviet gulag of labor camps under dictator Josef Stalin, will go down in history as a "model of inner freedom and human dignity," a top official of the Russian Orthodox Church has said.
CANTERBURY — (ENI) Leaders of the Anglican Communion have left for home from the Lambeth Conference having heard Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams say there is "wide support" for measures to resolve a dispute over homosexuality that had threatened to tear apart the 77-million-strong grouping.
JERUSALEM — When Mona Nasir Tucktuck married her high-school sweetheart three years ago, she never imagined it would lead to the loss of her residency rights in her native city of Jerusalem.
As editor of a magazine that speaks to the whole church, I feel compelled to speak to friends of various convictions — while allowing all others to overhear the conversation. This week I begin with the group that has most nurtured my faith: conservative-evangelicals. Next week, I’ll write to those who have broadened my vision: liberal-progressives. Then I’ll address those who have grounded my churchmanship, centrist-ecclesiasts.
“We on the board believe that the church is changing. We don’t know exactly where it’s going, but the Outlook Foundation wants to be supportive of the church as it goes through these changes.” With those words, board chair Stacy Johnson welcomed 250 conferees to the Church Unbound Conference held on July 1-5 in Montreat, N.C. It was the first ever event of its kind.
SAN JOSE – The General Assembly’s effort at practicing communal discernment proved a lesson in ambiguity.
John Templeton, the American-born investor and philanthropist who devoted his later life to funding the scientific study of religion, died July 8 at Doctors Hospital in Nassau, Bahamas. He was 95.
Ulrich W. Mauser, 81, the retired Otto A. Piper Professor of Biblical Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary, of Trafford, Pa., died July 5.
Many will ponder the mood of the 218th General Assembly. There were no obvious clues that this would later be described as a radical assembly. Commissioners were as “Presbyterian” — i.e. as conservative, elderly and grey, like me — as usual. The atmosphere was exceptionally calm. A well organized COLA (Committee On Local Arrangements), superb facilities, and pleasant weather made this the most comfortable assembly I have attended in years.
This year’s General Assembly was returned again and again over the course of the week to its scriptural theme drawn from Micah 6:8: “To do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with God.” I admit that I don’t know the processes whereby themes are chosen, but I can think of no better theme for a denomination as fractured as ours — stress fractures rather than clean breaks, but fractures nonetheless.
Our brokenness is a spiritual reality. The ideological and theological divisions among good people of faith in the church are a reflection of this brokenness. Can we as brothers and sisters in Christ overcome the divides within our neighborhoods and our faith communities? Is there any common ground? Do we have the courage to engage in the conversations that might lead us to change our positions on controversial issues?
Recent actions by the 218th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) regarding G-6.0106b and G-6.0108 in the Book of Order (Advisory Opinion #22) are raising questions in sessions and presbyteries about the effect of those actions on the work of these ordaining bodies. This is a synopsis of some of those actions and their effects.
“If you want to completely shatter the denomination, then vote for this substitute motion. But if you want to give (the issue) the time it needs for us to learn from each other, listen to each other, then, please God, vote no.” Truly these words of a former moderator of our General Assembly, Marj Carpenter, were as influential as they were powerful in the opening moments of our denomination’s discussion of Item No. 408, regarding the definition of marriage. Influential enough that I voted against my own motion.
As part of the General Assembly’s deliberations on the John Knox Overture, we presented the following reflections, at the invitation of the Church Orders Committee, explaining why we, as former members of the Theological Task Force, continue to believe that the procedures outlined in Recommendation 5 are faithful expressions of our calling as a Reformed church body. We share them here with readers of The Presbyterian Outlook.
Almost three quarters of a century ago, more than 1,000 Presbyterian ministers got so angry at the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church that they signed a document called the “Auburn Affirmation” and circulated it throughout the church. The main issue at hand was the question, “Can the General Assembly amend the Constitution without the vote of the presbyteries?” Several times over the decades before, the GA had passed statements of summaries of doctrine that they wanted to be required of every candidate for ordination. These are summed up in what were called the “Fundamentals.”
At the beginning of General Assembly week Jack Haberer asked me to write “some words” about the General Assembly. By mid-week it was clear where this assembly was going and so I offered to Jack:
As a veteran of a dozen General Assemblies, I found myself fascinated by much of what happened in San Jose. There was a spirit and a Spirit about this bi-annual family gathering that felt distinctly different to me. It was not the most energetic assembly I have attended — much of the floor debate was sluggish. It was not the most adversarial gathering, either. On most issues these commissioners made careful, conciliatory, and centrist decisions. But it was truly Presbyterian, because what the body did as a whole was wiser and stronger than any individual agenda.
Like all buzz words, transparency can be overused. I understand why a colleague said recently, “I am so tired of the word ‘transparency.’”
NEW YORK — Despite dwindling membership numbers and continuing controversies over the issue of sexuality within the church, the outgoing “stated clerk” (chief ecclesiastical executive) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) believes his 2.2-million-strong denomination will remain a prominent voice within the United States if it is sensitive to “faithfulness to the Gospel” and the changing character the U.S. religious scene.
Theodora Grace Jackson, 84, a recipient of this year’s Women of Faith Award at the recent 218th General Assembly, died July 27 in Brewster, N.Y. A memorial service was held July 30 at First Church of Katonah, N.Y.
NEW YORK — (ENI) An independent U.S. commission that has government backing on July 30 urged President George W. Bush to speak out publicly on religious freedom and human rights when he attends the forthcoming summer Beijing Olympic Games.
LONDON — (ENI) The opening of a 2008 two-city conference in Oxford and Cambridge run by the C.S. Lewis Foundation has been marked by the unveiling of a "blue plaque" at the restored former home of the author and broadcaster in the Oxford suburb of Headingly.
CANTERBURY — (ENI) The Anglican Archbishop of Uganda, Henry Orombi, will accuse the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, of "betrayal" in a comment piece to be published in Britain's The Times newspaper.
CANTERBURY — (ENI) V. Gene Robinson, the openly gay U.S. bishop whose consecration in 2003 polarized the worldwide Anglican Communion, says he believes that one day the Church will regret its rejection of homosexuals the way that it now regrets its support in the past for slavery.
LOUISVILLE — Four top leaders of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) have sent a letter to all of the denomination’s congregations asking them to pray for those affected by the shootings in a Knoxville, Tenn., church on July 27.
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