Twenty mission co-workers soon to serve in places from Nicaragua to Taiwan were introduced to the Churchwide Gathering of Presbyterian Women July 13 during a service of commissioning.

The 20 co-workers, who stood on stage with 10 children who will accompany their parents overseas, participated in the commissioning while in Louisville for orientation. Most will depart the United States for their assignments in August. Also introduced were two Young Adult Volunteers who will attend orientation next month. The Young Adult Volunteers are among 59 YAVs who will soon begin a year of ministry at sites across the United States and …

For Reformed leader John Calvin, theological worship has three crucial elements — the trinity, the engagement of worshippers and the indispensible role of tangible signs — said John Witvliet in his July 10 lecture at the July 8-11 Calvin Jubilee conference here, the celebration of Calvin’s 500th birthday.

In his speech, “Lift Up Your Hearts: John Calvin, Theological Imagination, and the Practice of Corporate Worship,” Witvliet — director of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship and teacher of worship, theology and music at Calvin College and Calvin Theological Seminary — outlined the three elements of worship valued by Calvin and …

What exactly does it mean for the Presbyterian News Service to have “editorial freedom?”

Who is responsible for public relations for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), and how well is that being done? When controversy burbles up — as it inevitably will from time to time — how can the institutional church get its message out effectively to the secular media and to the world at large?

And the questions don’t stop there. Where should the funding for the Presbyterian News Service come from — the mission budget or per capita? It’s currently funded by undesignated mission giving, already a stressed …

What began with a General Assembly action four decades ago has become a program that has raised more than $125 million for hunger relief.

The Presbyterian Hunger Program celebrated its 40th anniversary with speakers, music and a raffle at the Churchwide Gathering of Presbyterian Women July 14.

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) was the first denomination to state that hunger is a grave threat and moral imperative for the church, said PHP Coordinator Ruth Farrell, adding that the program was originally charged with five focus areas surrounding hunger: direct food relief, development assistance, influencing public policy, lifestyle integrity and education and …

In her first year as president of Union Theological Seminary, Serene Jones called on John Calvin as one of her most valuable mentors.

Calvin not only understood theology, he also understood the way institutions are run and managed, she said, drawing several similarities between Calvin’s  setting and her own in New York City.

Her July 9 speech, “Calvin, Creation, and the Holy Spirit,” was part of the July 8-11 Calvin Jubilee conference here, celebrating Calvin’s 500th birthday.

In Geneva, Calvin lived in a global city of his time, Jones said. Geneva was marked by immigration and a diversity of …

AUSTIN, TX — A memorial service was held June 25 for the Rev. Prescott Harrison Williams, professor emeritus of Old Testament languages and archaeology at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Williams died June 18.

One of the longest-serving members of the Austin Seminary faculty, Williams arrived in 1959 and served in every capacity: as professor, dean (1966-1976), acting president (1971-1972), and president and dean (1972-1976). Following his tenure as president he continued his work in the classroom for many years. Williams was also a frequent guest lecturer and visiting professor at The University of Texas at Austin, teaching in the …

Rocking gently on a quiet porch surrounded by the serene beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Rev. Victoria Kelly couldn’t have been farther from the daily rigors of chaplaincy with a carrier air wing group in the U.S. Navy.

“Coming here has been really helpful,” Kelly said. “It’s nice not being in uniform for a few days.”

Kelly was one of some 60 active duty and retired Presbyterian military chaplains who gathered for several days of rest and renewal at the annual Chaplains’ and Families’ Conference and Retreat, sponsored by the Presbyterian Council for Chaplains and Military Personnel (PCCMP).  …

With clapping hands and stomping feet, whoops and hollers and swaying arms, a packed house of 1,300 Presbyterian teenagers kicked off week three of the annual Montreat Youth Conference here July 12.

The theme of the week is “World on Fire” — alluding to both the scourges of war, degradation and violence that plague the planet, but also the power of God working through countless people to restore God’s vision for creation.

And throughout this week, these young people are certain to be challenged — in keynote addresses, worship and small group interactions — to take the healing of God’s …

W. Stacy Johnson, associate professor of systematic theology at Princeton Theological Seminary, admires the John Calvin who was a church leader, wrote the Institutes of the Christian Religion and once refused to be paid his stipend.

But he is bothered by the Calvin who taught the doctrine of double predestination and was intolerant, superstitious and self-righteous.

“I confess that I have a love-hate relationship with John Calvin,” said Johnson July 9 at the Calvin Jubilee, a July 8-11conference here honoring Calvin’s 500th birthday. “Coming to grips with Calvin means coming to grips with ourselves as Reformed Christians. For …

Julia Thorne, manager for immigration issues in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and an immigration attorney, spoke during the July 13 morning plenary session at the Churchwide Gathering of Presbyterian Women.

Gathering participants have shared various opinions on immigration, Thorne said.

“I’m hearing that immigration issues are complex and people don’t have enough information to know what to think,” she said.  “But Presbyterian women have always had to grapple with tough issues — especially issues about the laws in our country.

“In 1850, with the passage of the Slave Fugitive Act, Presbyterian women had to decide to either obey the …