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In the mirror at the Episcopal Convention

The 75th Episcopal Convention and Triennial Assembly in Columbus, Ohio, was held the same week in June as the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assembly in Birmingham. Since our usual representative to ecumenical bodies, Stated Clerk Cliff Kirkpatrick, could not attend. I gladly accepted the role as the Presbyterian ecumenical partner representative.

Amidst all the other issues coming before the Episcopalian delegates at their bicameral bodies, the House of Deputies and the House of Bishops, were two larger issues: The election of a new presiding bishop, and their response to the Windsor Report from the wider Anglican Communion. 

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Edgar to leave NCC in 2007

(RNS) The Rev. Bob Edgar, general secretary of the National Council of Churches, said Oct. 2 that he will not seek a third four-year term as the top administrator of the ecumenical organization.

His current term ends Dec. 31, 2007, and a third term would have been unprecedented in the NCC's history.

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Mejía family adjusting to new life, ministry outside Colombia

© 2006. Used by permission.

 

LOUISVILLE, KY. - Adelaida Jiménez is keeping secrets from her two pre-teen sons. It is a habit that she has learned: Tell them only what they need to know and save the rest for later.

When they are bigger. Or, when the threat has passed.

After all, how do you explain terror? How do you justify exile as the only way to keep hired killers or armed paramilitary soldiers from blowing your father, or his children, to Kingdom Come? How do you tell your children that staying safe means leaving home, maybe for good, or, at least until the political climate cools down? How do you say that and not scare your child out of his mind, especially when you are trying to tend to your own trauma and not fall prey to your own worst fears?

So Jiménez is parceling out information on a "need-to-know-basis."

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BYU, Reed at opposite ends of College Religiosity Poll

 

c. 2006 Religion News Service

 

Considering that 98 percent of the students are Mormon, some classrooms are converted into worship spaces on Sundays, and alcohol and drugs are banned from campus, perhaps it's not surprising that Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, received the sacred No. 1 spot on the list of schools where "Students Pray on a Regular Basis" in the Princeton Review's 2007 college rankings.

Meanwhile, the liberal arts Reed College in Portland, Ore., where the Christian student group is called "Oh, for Christ's Sake," ranked atop the "Students Ignore God on a Regular Basis" category, according to the same rankings, which were released in August.

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Campus religious groups try to hook students early

c. 2006 Religion News Service

   

Mark Schaefer knows how to throw a good party, and offering free food to hungry college freshmen is a sure-fire way to satisfy guests.

Making the rounds, Schaefer talks to the students and thanks them for attending the recent Friday-night event at American University, aptly named S'mores with S'Methodists.

"That's one thing I've learned," said Schaefer, the chaplain for the United Methodist Student Association. "You have to thank people for coming. We actually appreciate that they show up."

Leaders of campus religious groups find that an early commitment is often a lasting one. That makes this time of year prime recruitment season for campus religious groups before freshmen get swept up in college life and other activities. Some campus leaders say if they don't catch students early, they may never get their attention.

"People are creatures of habit," Schaefer said later. "The relationships you make during the first few weeks at school are often the lasting ones."

Senior Aaron Bregman, president of AU's Jewish Student Association, understands the time crunch. "Freshman year," he said, "basically you have a small window to get involved in things."

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Church starts national trend by building housing for Cal students

reprinted with permission

 

As college students across the country returned to campuses recently, more and more were moving into church-sponsored dorms -- a trend that can trace its roots to the corner of College Avenue and Bancroft Way in Berkeley.

There, just across the street from the UC Berkeley campus, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) renovated its Westminster House campus ministry building a few years ago and added a dorm for 125 students. Besides a room, students there are offered Bible study, theology classes, and social justice projects.

It was a success at Cal, where student housing is always an issue, and soon religious denominations around the country took note.

Mark Elsdon, the pastor of Pres House at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, which is building a 280-bed student residence hall, said many campuses looked to Berkeley and said that if it could be done there, it could be done anywhere.

Editorials

Highest education

Given that most growing mainline denominations began to shrink around 1964, what was it that made that year such an unhappy turning point? In the Outlook's "Just the Stats" issue (Sept. 11),  columnist Tom Ehrlich says, "'What happened in 1964 ... was that post-war Baby Boomers began to graduate from high school.'"

What did they do after graduating from high school? One thing they did not do was to wake up before noon on Sundays. Some attended on-campus Bible studies that fit into the eyes-open hours on their body clocks. Like 10:30 p.m. Others squeezed a chapel service between classes in their church-related colleges. Way too many simply suffered spiritual starvation. Years later, when they felt a need to return to worship they found other, non-mainline, churches more to their liking.  

Voices

Sending a kid to college

 

The headline on the cover of a recent Time magazine asked, "Who Needs Harvard?" The featured article was about students finding the right college. Not the school with the highest SAT scores or the lowest acceptance rate, but the one where your daughter, son, grandchild, neighbor, Sunday school pupil, or youth group member is most likely to succeed. The place where he or she will come away not only with a diploma but with a purpose in life.

Too much to expect?

Not if you help that young person choose a college wisely.

Voices

The “studied ambiguity” of a church-related college

During an orientation gathering, a parent of a first-year student raised the question: Is the school affiliated with a church? Pausing to formulate an answer, the complexities of the matter became much clearer to me. It brought into focus the question of how a college begun by a Presbyterian pastor and long (though loosely) associated with a Presbyterian congregation becomes an institution that now refers merely to its "religious heritage."  

The simple answer points to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Andrew Carnegie established the Foundation in 1905 to provide pensions for college teachers. The following year Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, keen to secure a pension for a retiring faculty member, turned to the Foundation. But there was a hitch. Sectarian schools were ineligible for Carnegie pensions, since they presumably received financial support in exchange for church control. Moreover, the Foundation discouraged sectarian education because of its supposed interference with the search for truth.

Voices

It IS easy being green: Possibilities in campus greening

Much has happened in the area of "greening" since Kermit the Frog first sang the woes of blending in, with his 1970's hit It's Not Easy Being Green.  The world has changed drastically since then, as has the meaning of "green."  Scientists have come to agree on the effects of human consumption on global ecosystems ... and the data are frightening and not easily ignored. Nationally, environmentalism has lost its radical connotations and finally joined the mainstream consciousness. Even the church now seems comfortable discussing sustainability and the need for balance between economy and ecology.

Voices

College Briefs 2006

2006-07 academic year underway

Colleges and universities related to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) report on new programs, faculty members, and campus changes as they start academic year 2006-07.

 

Book Reviews

A Time to Embrace: Same-Gender Relationships in Religion, Law, and Politics

by William Stacy Johnson. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2006. ISBN 0-8028-2966-X. Hb., 320 pp.  $25.

 

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven. ... William Stacy Johnson believes that it is time: to address the issue of same-gender unions as a society and church and to lend his reasoned voice to the discussion. In A Time to Embrace he offers a well-documented, cogent argument in support of a welcoming and affirming posture toward persons in exclusively committed same-gender relationships. In so doing he traverses the terrain of religion, law, and politics, carefully reviewing where we have been, analyzing where we are, and setting forth a path for where we might go faithfully into the future. He limits his affirmation to those in committed, monogamous, egalitarian, same-gender relationships, for it is in these unions that he finds not only the possibility for compassionate support, but also the responsibility for faithful action.

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Playing with a purpose: Upward church sports

If I were honest, I would have to confess that my most enjoyable moments in seminary were not those hours spent parsing Greek verbs or memorizing important dates in church history--though of course, both are worthwhile endeavors. No, the most enjoyable and most memorable times of my seminary experience were spent on the intramural field. It was that time of shared experience, coming together as a team whose members spanned many denominational and theological divides, and getting to know each other on an entirely different level than the classroom allowed that made my seminary experience.

Yes, on the surface it might seem trivial--though we took it quite seriously. Flag football is hardly serious business in the grand scheme of things, but it provided an excuse for a group of diverse individuals to get to know each other better through the shared task and time spent together in pursuit of that task.

Voices

Saving the earth by Spirit and science

Religion and science have had a testy relationship ever since Galileo was convicted of heresy and put under house arrest by the Catholic Church for daring to publish his beliefs that the earth circulated around the sun. But in the last 30 years or so, a sort of détente, and even appreciation, has occurred. Scientists (some of whom secretly practice their faith, but don't discuss it) and religious leaders (who vary all over the map in their own scientific training) have realized that these differences pale in contrast to their shared concern and values for the condition of the earth.  

Collaborations are occurring from a new sense of urgency. Threats to the environment are no longer abstractions whose effects might be felt sometime in the future. We can see the damage occurring before our eyes. When glaciers are melting, deserts are spreading, and the Arctic ice is disappearing, we as people of faith see the degradation and changes occurring around us and we wonder not only what our faith has to say but also about how we are called to act. In order to respond, we will have to connect outside of the church culture into new collaborations.  

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Hearts and Hands director resigns

Jan Opdyke has resigned as director of the Mission Initiative: Joining Hearts & Hands fundraising campaign of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

The $40 million, five-year effort came under close scrutiny at the Sept. 26-29 meeting of the General Assembly Council, when Opdyke announced that the campaign had not raised enough in unrestricted revenue to pay its expenses in 2007. Opdyke said Hearts & Hands only had enough unrestricted money to pay its operating costs through February or March, and if additional funds couldn't be found to pay the campaign's operating expenses, it was in danger of shutting down prematurely.

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MIJH&H needs funds to continue, GAC told; Questions raised

LOUISVILLE -- A major fundraising campaign of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) could shut down early, falling as much as $15 million short of reaching its five-year, $40 million goal, if it doesn't obtain money soon to pay its operating expenses.

The Mission Initiative: Joining Hearts & Hands campaign so far has raised $25 million in pledges for new church development in the United States and Presbyterian mission work overseas. But much of the money has been given with strings attached -- donors are insisting that it be spent for particular projects, reflecting perhaps distrust of the national church or enthusiasm for particular projects.

Editorials

Let’s play the imagination game

Let's play the imagination game. Let's imagine that your maternal great-grandparents were charter members of the church you presently attend. In fact, your mom's folks were Sunday School friends, then high school sweethearts, then tied the knot--in this very sanctuary.  Your dad first attended the church as a young adult, which led to your parents' courtship and wedding, and in time, to your baptism and confirmation, too.

Let's imagine that those four generations of family all have spent enormous energy building up the church. Many have served on the Session. Those so talented have sung in choir. Most have taught church school classes. Those great-grandparents and a couple grandparents were buried in the church graveyard just to the west side of the sanctuary.

Voices

Helping the next generation of ministers

 

c. 2006 Religion News Service

   

When Amanda Adams was growing up, she considered a number of professions: doctor, nurse, writer, teacher, psychologist and bareback rider.

She eventually became a Presbyterian minister because it includes all the things she wants. "Ministry," said Adams, 26, "is an extraordinary balancing act between what we do every day -- the mundane paperwork and meetings, sitting at people's beds when they're ill -- and personal time, time for our own devotions."

Adams and two other young ministers arrived at First Church in Ann Arbor, Mich., last September, committed to two-year residencies. They're part of the Transition-Into-Ministry Program funded by the Lilly Endowment.

Voices

The Virtue of Mark’s “Little People”: Part Three

I have been trying to show that, while Mark aims in his Gospel to call people into, and cultivate in them, mature discipleship -- that is, discipleship that faithfully joins the confession of one's life to the confession of one's lips -- it's the "little people" in his narrative, and not (ironically) the disciples, who model this trust in Jesus as the Son of God. The initial picture of such faith, up through the appearance of Bartimaeus in the narrative, is a steady stream of "little people" who stop at nothing to get themselves and beloved others into Jesus' presence. They ask of and expect from him the impossible, and prostrate themselves worshipfully before him. This picture changes, however, as the last of Mark's "little people" appear and disappear in the passion narrative concluding his Gospel.

Voices

Local option, ordination standards, and those who want it all!

A current television commercial shows two men fishing on a dock. One asks the other, "What are you going for?" The camera then pans back to show a vast array of fishing poles lining the dock as the other guy answers, "I want it all."* This thinking may well serve as an apt metaphor for the two sides in the debate over ordination standards within the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

Both sides seem dissatisfied because no one "got it all" at the last General Assembly. Even more ironic, by looking at the General Assembly's actions on most issues, it appears the more conservative side of the church gained considerable ground, yet now acts the most dissatisfied. The General Assembly strengthened its position opposing late-term abortion, back-peddled and apologized on divestment regarding Israel, only "received" the Trinity Report, and reaffirmed the "fidelity and chastity" clause. Yet, when one reads material from some of the more conservative groups within the church, one would think the liberal element really won the day.  

Voices

Hearing silent voices

Editor's Note: The author worked in Xela, Guatemala, from August 20 through September 3, volunteering with the Highland Support Project of Richmond, Va. The following thoughts stem from two separate interviews with a former guerrilla fighter and the president of a Presbyterian women's organization.

 

Before arriving in Guatemala, I knew that the country's recent history was horrific: over thirty-six years, a quarter of a million citizens lost their lives, including more than four hundred villages wiped off the face of existence in the "scorched earth" policy of ethnic cleansing.  Over the previous semester, I had studied John Calvin's doctrine of total depravity at Union-PSCE; after a few minutes of testimony with a veteran guerilla, I had gained an education. 

Voices

How one congregation seeks to be fueled by love

When I was a youngster, there was an ongoing argument about the "professionalization" of the Olympics. Americans carped that we sent amateurs to compete against professional athletes from Eastern Europe, whose full-time work was their athletic pursuit.

That complaint has largely died down, of course, now that Americans now send highly paid professionals to Olympic events. In popular usage, amateur often means "second rate" while professional means "excellent." Both, though, are superficial understandings of the words. "Amateur" comes from a Latin word that means doing something "for love."

Voices

Remembering thanks

Editor's Note: For the past few issues, the Outlook has highlighted the ministries of church pastors. Here Presbyterian pastors recall members' expressions of thanks. Also in this issue, we publish individual expressions of appreciation from churches to their pastors.

 

Unexpectedly a member stopped into my office a few weeks ago carrying a large, professionally framed photograph of a beach sunset. She said that the minute she saw it she thought of me. Looking at the photo of the beach scene, with a somewhat broken wind fence in the foreground and a rainbow in the background, I asked, "Why?" She replied, "Because you often break down barriers and think out of the box. Or, it could have something to do with mending fences. But for sure, the rainbow in the background is for God's Hope you remind us to remember." -- Lisa Rzepka, associate pastor, Providence Church, Fairfax, Va. 

 

Voices

In appreciation

Editor's Note: For the past few issues, the Outlook has highlighted the ministries of church pastors. Here we publish individual expressions of appreciation from churches to their pastors. Also in this issue, Presbyterian pastors recall members' expressions of thanks.

 

Arkansas

We love you, Clare Kelley, and are so fortunate to be able to share you. First Presbyterian, Eureka springs and Holiday Island Presbyterian Churches, Ark.

 

California

The Rev. Sandy Tice: First Presbyterian of San Bernardino, Calif., loves you and looks forward to many years together.

Thank you, Interim Pastor Jeff Cheifetz, a skilled and dedicated pastor, a gifted peacemaker and caregiver. The Session and members of Old First Presbyterian Church, San Francisco.

 

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