The Board of Pensions of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), one of six national agencies of the General Assembly, administers the church Benefits Plan and Assistance Program, provides educational opportunities, and manages investments of approximately $10 billion. The Program Administrator, Presbyterian CREDO, reports to the Vice President, Education, and is responsible for supporting the planning and decision-making of the Board’s Presbyterian CREDO Program, a week-long conference designed to support ministers in different phases of ministry. This individual supports the design, budget, communications, and Presbyterian CREDO growth initiatives, overseeing operations and procedures related to Presbyterian CREDO while driving project and program timelines among conference staff, faculty, vendors, and the Board’s Meeting Planning team. If you believe you have the professional and personal credentials to join us as a colleague and would like to support the Board of Pensions as we … [Read more...]
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Outlook Features 18 hours ago
Patiently waiting
Author’s note: This is a work of fiction. However, “Connecting Grace” is a real initiative of Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary, in partnership with the Philadelphia Leadership Foundation, that equips faith communities to be agents of healing for families affected by crime, incarceration, criminalization and stigmatization. Between 2013-2018, I had the honor and privilege of working with James H. Costen Jr. at Johnson C. Smith. During the workday, we shared dreams for this developing initiative. Mr. Costen passed in April 2018. The story that follows is in honor of the… continue reading... -
Book Reviews 18 hours ago
The Templars
Dan Jones Viking Press, 448 pages Dan Jones is a wonderful storyteller and historian. It’s not always clear which skill is foremost. He is perhaps most well known for his massive “The Plantagenets: The Warrior Kings and Queens who Made England.” No surprise: He’s also a consultant for the History Channel, and his narrative style lends itself well to that task. This book explores the period of the Crusades from 1102-1314, through the slow rise and dramatic fall of the Knights of the Order of the Temple, otherwise known as… continue reading... -
Commentary 4 days ago
On loving pastors
Guest commentary by Lara Hauser I was recently invited to give the charge to the congregation at the installation of a dear friend at his new call. I was honored, but a little surprised he asked. You see, I have been to a lot of installations, certainly more than your average church-goer, and in my experience, the person giving this charge is usually a pastor, or an elder, perhaps a PNC (pastor nominating committee) member or part of the presbytery commission. I am none of those things, but perhaps having… continue reading...
Parties in Stamford case had tried to expedite process in order to get a ruling on the merits of the case January 1, 1995 Uncategorized76 views The General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission -- in sidestepping the question of exactly how deeply a session should be required to probe into the private life of a gay elder who has acknowledged being in a committed, life-long relationship but has declined to say whether he is sexually active -- has put the question off but has not put it to rest.- Ministering with the Earth January 1, 1998 Book Reviews69 views By Mary Elizabeth MooreChalice. 1998. 226 pp. Pb. $19.99. ISBN 0-8272-2323-4 Ministering with the Earth is a quiltwork, both the on-the-ground activity and Moore's book about so ministering. Moore, professor of theology and Christian education at Claremont School of Theology, is fond of the metaphor, suitably pastoral and feminist.
- Remembered Voice: Reclaiming the Legacy of 'Neo-Orthodoxy' January 1, 1998 Book Reviews62 views By Douglas John HallWJKP. 1998. 145 pp. Pb. $18. ISBN 0-664-25772-0 It was in this order. I first read Tillich's Dynamics of Faith. Riveting. Next came The Courage to Be. Gripping. Then I went back and read the first volume of the Systematic Theology. Things began to make sense. Next came Biblical Religion and the Search for Ultimate Reality. Positive.
Up and running: Reconfigured Presbyterian Church (U.S.A), A Corporation, board convenes for its first meeting September 4, 2018 Outlook Reporting2 comments LOUISVILLE – The newly-reconfigured board of the Presbyterian Church (U.SA.), A Corporation, is up and running – and the list of questions or issues it may need to take on in the months to come is considerable.
That new board is holding its first meeting Sept. 4-5 in Louisville, with the first day spent on introducing the people and some of the issues involved, and with the board expected to take its first votes Sept. 5, including electing its chair, considering its committee structure and electing at least some officers of the corporation.
The first day’s discussion, however, also demonstrated in broad...
Stony Point to receive year-by-year funding from Presbyterian Mission Agency April 26, 2018 Outlook Reporting2 comments CINCINNATI – The Presbyterian Mission Agency Board voted April 26 to provide at least a year’s funding to Stony Point Center for capital improvements – and voiced its support of Stony Point as being an important ministry of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
The board’s Stony Point Sustainability Task Force had asked the board to approve spending $3 million over three years for deferred maintenance and capital improvements at Stony Point, a facility of more than 30 acres about an hour outside New York City.
That money, however, would have had to come from Presbyter...
Taking a long look October 15, 2018 Editorials1 comment The title of the project that has culminated in the articles you will find in this issue of the Outlook is ambitious, audacious even: “Taking a long look: Using long-form, narrative, theological essays to transform issues into empathy and foster thoughtful discussion on contentious topics.” That is a complicated way of saying, “I want to tell stories that will help us talk about difficult topics in nuanced, theological ways.”
Over a year ago I was given the great gift of being invited to apply for a Duke Faith and Leadership Innovation Grant and I wrote the following in my applicati...
Program Administrator, Presbyterian Credo
“Bridge” Associate Pastor
Crossroads Presbyterian Church in Mequon, Wisconsin is looking for a "Bridge" Associate Pastor to provide continuity with our Deacons, Adult Education, and Mission/Outreach ministries. This is a temporary role to bridge time until our PNC finds a new Pastor/Head of Staff and we begin searching for a full-time Associate Pastor. Specific training in transitional work not required. Detailed job description available at crossroadspres.org. Send résumés or PIFs to [email protected] Include links or clips of relevant sermons or recordings. Crossroad Presbyterian Church 6031 W. Chapel Hill Rd Mequon WI 53097 … [Read more...]
On loving pastors
Guest commentary by Lara Hauser I was recently invited to give the charge to the congregation at the installation of a dear friend at his new call. I was honored, but a little surprised he asked. You see, I have been to a lot of installations, certainly more than your average church-goer, and in my experience, the person giving this charge is usually a pastor, or an elder, perhaps a PNC (pastor nominating committee) member or part of the presbytery commission. I am none of those things, but perhaps having been to a lot of installations was my qualification. Briefly, here are my bona fides: I have been a PK (preacher’s kid), PW (pastor’s wife), PS (pastor’s sister), PSIL (pastor’s sister-in-law) ... and the list of pastors who I count as friends, both in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and in other churches, is quite long. I am in a unique position to talk about loving a pastor. I have both observational and first-hand experience. I know quite a bit about the inner life of … [Read more...]
22nd Sunday after Pentecost — October 21, 2018
Job 38:1-7 (34-41); Hebrews 5:1-10; Mark 10:35-45 Ordinary 29B Proper 24 I feel for Job this week. We are on chapter 38 of the book of Job. Job has suffered much. In last week’s readings, he finally took God to task and cried that God refused to hear his complaint and was silent in the face of his suffering. This week God replies. Silent no more, God lets Job have it in a breathless “who do you think you are?” diatribe. These verses have an “and another thing, Job” quality to them. Just when you think God is finished taking Job to task, God adds another piece of evidence in the case against Job’s audacity: “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Who determined its measurements — surely you know! Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Well have they?!” God will go on for another entire chapter before Job responds. Even then, Job gets three verses before God gets going again for another chapter and a half. Clearly, if word count is any … [Read more...]
As refugee admissions drop, fewer persecuted Christians admitted to US: World Relief
(RNS) — The number of Christian refugees coming to the United States from the countries where Christians are most persecuted has dropped dramatically under President Trump’s administration. That comes despite the president’s pledge during his first week in office that helping persecuted Christians overseas would be a priority for his administration. According to a new analysis by Matthew Soerens of World Relief, an evangelical Christian organization with a long history of resettling refugees, the number of Christian refugees admitted to the U.S. from countries noted for their persecution dropped nearly 79 percent between fiscal years 2016 and 2018. A total 1,215 Christian refugees were welcomed from those countries in fiscal 2018, Trump’s first full year in office, which ended Sept. 30. That’s a drop from 5,731 in fiscal 2016, former President Obama’s last full year in office, which Soerens said was a “uniquely high time for refugee resettlement.” “This dynamic with … [Read more...]
Clergywomen numbers increased significantly in two decades, sometimes equaling men
(RNS) — The share of women in the ranks of American clergy has doubled — and sometimes tripled — in some denominations over the last two decades, a new report shows. “I was really surprised in a way, at how much progress there’s been in 20 years,” said the report’s author, Eileen Campbell-Reed, an associate professor at Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Nashville, Tenn. “There’s kind of a circulating idea that, oh well, women in ministry has kind of plateaued and there really hasn’t been lot of growth. And that’s just not true.” The two traditions with the highest percentages of women clergy were the Unitarian Universalist Association and the United Church of Christ, according to the “State of Clergywomen in the U.S.,” released earlier this month. Fifty-seven percent of UUA clergy were women in 2017, while half of clergy in the UCC were female in 2015. In 1994, women constituted 30 percent of UUA clergy and 25 percent of UCC clergy. UUA President Susan Frederick-Gray … [Read more...]
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