LOUISVILLE — As the Witherspoon Society — founded in 1973 and built upon the push-for-change energy of the 1960s — celebrates its 30th anniversary, some of its own members are thinking through what it means to be a progressive voice in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) with a nation preparing for war and a church divided against itself.
The most famous, the most influential, and, arguably, the most effective Presbyterian minister in America died Feb. 27. And the response of the American people was overwhelming.
The death of Fred Rogers, better known as Mr. Rogers, was front-page news in the New York Times and a prominent story on most network newscasts. Even this past Sunday’s New York Times arts section, almost two weeks after the fact, included a wonderful article headlined "What Mr. Rogers Could Have Taught Michael Jackson."
In recent weeks we have been discussing the renewal of our covenant with God and with another, that is, God's covenant of grace, in which God promises to be our God and we promise to be God's faithful people — and are enabled to be such solely by the grace of God.
Editor's note — Following is the Report of the Pastoral Committee appointed by the Presbyery of Northern New England to work with Christ church, Burlington, Vt. The report was accepted without change by voice vote at the presbytery's stated meeting on March 8. It is the final report of the presbytery's compliance under the GAPJC decision in the Londonderry case.
By Peter Gomes
Harper. 2002. 388 pp. Pb. $23.95.
ISBN 0-06-000075-9
— Review by Lewis F. Galloway, Columbia, S.C.
The Good Life by Peter Gomes is a fresh presentation of the challenge to live a good life by practicing virtue. His book will give rise to much discussion about the crisis of purpose in North American higher education, the meaning of virtue and the nature of the good life.
KANSAS CITY — The General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission will hear a complaint over whether the 214th General Assembly should be called back into session, but with only one defendant — Moderator Fahed Abu-Akel.
The trial is scheduled to begin March 17 in Kansas City. It's not clear whether, if the judicial commission were to rule against Abu-Akel, if there is still enough time to call the Assembly back into session before the next General Assembly — the 215th — opens for business in Denver May 24.
Menaul School, a PC(USA)-affiliated secondary school in Albuquerque, N.M., is facing an economic crisis which must be resolved by April.
To continue operation, the school is seeking $550,000 in loans — $450,000 from the General Assembly and $100,000 from Southwest Synod. [Note — School officials had earlier told The Outlook that the GA request would be for $900,000. It has since been reduced.] The good news for the school is that the synod has approved a $200,000 loan. On the other hand, the GA committee that must recommend the larger loan does not meet until April 1.
KANSAS CITY — Katie Morrison got a lot of people's attention when she told reporters that she's lesbian, that she lives in a committed relationship with a longtime partner, and that to her way of thinking, chastity is not at all the same thing as celibacy. But Morrison, who was ordained as a Presbyterian minister in California in October 2001, told Redwoods Presbytery, when it was considering her ordination that fall, that she could comply with the requirement in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Constitution that those being ordained practice fidelity if they are married or chastity if they are single.
KANSAS CITY ‑- The General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission is supposed
to decide by March 3 whether to move ahead with a complaint regarding the refusal of
top Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) leaders to call last year's General Assembly back into
session.
The congregation of God's people is the heart of Christ's church on Earth. If the Presbyterian Church is to be to renewed by God's grace in the "time between the times," then the members of each congregation need to renew their covenant, individually and corporately, with the Lord, and to reframe life together in ways that exhibit the body of Christ in all of its fullness.
DALLAS – The elephant finally ambled into the room at the fifth meeting of
the Theological Task Force on the Peace, Unity and Purity of thePresbyterian Church (U.S.A.). But it hasn't kicked anybody yet.
DALLAS - Mark Achtemeier, a theology professor from Iowa, talked
about the dangers of "cut-and-paste" biblical interpretation - taking what
you like, tossing out the rest.
If the Presbyterian Church is to be reshaped and reconstituted for God's purposes in our time, our covenant with God, based on God's grace, must be remembered, sought and renewed.
Faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is at the heart of the Christian life and the life of the church. However, a faith that is devoid of serious content or that is not robust, that cannot be communicated in the language and thought patterns of the people who hear the gospel preached, will not be a faith that endures
In a recent book review there was a distinction drawn between being ideological and being existential. The reviewer, Adam Schatz, was commenting on a biography of the jazz musician, Miles Davis. His point was that Miles Davis was more existential than ideological in his approach to racial issues.
Chuck Barris' life has been so bizarre that when they made a movie of it, you still can't tell what's real, what's fantasy, what's fiction, and what's such a whopper of a tale that it could very well be the truth.
Emile H. Dieth Jr., president of the Montreat Conference Center since 1998, resigned Tuesday, Feb. 18, according to a Montreat news release.
In a message addressed to his staff and board colleagues, Dieth wrote, in part, "I take pride in the many achievements and accomplishments which have been concluded during my administration."
It's the subject weighing on the heart and conscience of almost every American, the one pastors know is troubling people but about which they aren't sure what they should do. Should the United States attack Iraq? And, facing that prospect, what is the Christian response?
At some Presbyterian churches, members pass out "Peace is Patriotic!" signs and gather in candlelight vigils for peace, along with sympathetic new friends who may be Quaker or Muslim or Catholic or of no faith tradition at all.
We are saved by grace through faith, not by works of the law, according to the Apostle. Faith, the trusting relationship with God our Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, is at the heart of the Christian life, and must be the starting point for the renewal of its covenant with God by the Presbyterian Church.
I am a Presbyterian who cherishes our heritage. The Reformed understanding of our faith and of Scripture is for me a rich source of nourishment spiritually, emotionally and communally. So what I propose below comes as the conclusion of a long lament on my part.
If the Presbyterian church is going to thrive in the 21st century, what we desperately need are fewer members.
Without a doubt, the term "member" has a solid basis in the Scriptures. The apostle Paul invites Christians to view themselves as members of Christ’s body, with each member performing a different function, yet all working together for a common goal.
By Bruce Feiler
William Morrow. 2002. 224 pp. $23.95. ISBN 0380977761
— Review by James H. Gailey, Brevard, N.C.
Bruce Feiler's Abraham is not an attempt to solve the political problems of the Near East. Instead it is the personal journey of a sensitive Jew seeking understanding of the spiritual ancestor of Jews, Christians and Muslims. Feiler has literally walked over significant sites in the Holy Land, and he realized that no physical traces of Abraham could be found.
General Assembly Moderator Fahed-Abu Akel, says he won't call the 214th Assembly back into session, but a challenge pending in the church courts could bring a different result.
The General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission, the denomination's highest court, is scheduled to meet Feb. 28 in Kansas City. During that session it may consider a remedial case filed against Abu-Akel and others involved in the decision to not recall the Assembly.
If we Presbyterians are to live faithfully and to the glory of God in the "time between the times," as discussed recently in this space, then some intentional framework will be necessary for the church as a whole. It will be necessary to reclaim its heritage and to go forward in mission to the ends of the Earth.
"Shall the Fundamentalists Win?" When Harry Emerson Fosdick preached a sermon by that name in 1922, he galvanized the modernist-liberal movement that carries on to this day.
"Can the Fundamentalists Win America?" When Harold John Ockenga preached a sermon by that name in 1947, he galvanized the neo-evangelical movement (a label he would later coin) that also carries on to this day.
Marvin M. Ellison and Sylvia Thorson-Smith, eds.
Pilgrim. 2003. 393 pp. Pb. $21.
— Review by Isabel Rogers, Richmond, Va.
"Despite decades of debate, conflict over human sexuality continues to persist unabated in the church." So begins the last chapter in a book that has grown out of that long debate, Body and Soul: Rethinking Sexuality as Justice/Love.
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