Nearly giddy with excitement, over 1,000 members and friends of the Association of Church Educators (APCE) streamed into the grand ballroom of the Convention Center here Wednesday evening for a performance by award winning artist and local Presbyterian Amy Grant.

Grant was introduced by Bill Caruso, the director of adult education at First Presbyterian Church here, where Grant is a member. He highlighted the fact that Grant is not just another Music City musician. She is extensively involved in the community, working on behalf of the symphony, philanthropic organizations and active with youth at First Church, even teaching Sunday school. …

Music City is more than just a descriptive nickname for Nashville — it’s part of the city itself. Country music plays from speakers on downtown sidewalks, and there are several music museums and auditoriums within a few blocks.

The Association of Presbyterian Church Educators is taking the idea of music to heart. At its annual event here, Jan. 27-30, participants have been treated to a series of musical worship services.

Opening worship for the group’s annual conference here featured Celtic music, complete with a band of violin, bodhron, mandolin, guitar, pennywhistles, flute, accordion and Celtic harp.

The sermon, “The Great …

The Rev. Philip W. Butin, who concludes eight years of service as president of San Francisco Theological Seminary on Jan. 31, and his wife, The Rev. Jan Butin, have accepted a call to serve as co-pastors of the First United Presbyterian Church of Fayetteville, Ark.

A farewell reception in the Butins’ honor is scheduled for Feb. 7, at 7:30 p.m. in Alexander Hall on the San Anselmo campus of SFTS.

The Butins are scheduled to begin serving First United Presbyterian Church on March 1.

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Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School has announced that the Rev. Gay …

ATLANTA — The Rev. Joan Gray, former moderator of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assembly is teaching polity at Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary this semester. Gray is co-author with Joyce Tucker of Presbyterian Polity for Church Officers.  

The Rev. Carrie Scott is joining the JCSTS staff as an ordination coach/mentor. Her job will be to help students negotiate the ordination process in the PCUSA, giving particular attention to the educational requirements of students’ respective presbyteries, and ordination exam preparation. 

The seminary will celebrate its 143rd Founders Day, March 2-4, 2010. The theme of this year's Founders Day is “Apostolic Leadership for the …

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Coordinator Randy Ackley has recorded a video message for Presbyterians, thanking them for their support for PDA’s relief efforts in Haiti and outlining the next steps in the PC(USA)’s response to the devastating earthquake that killed more than 100,000 Haitians on Jan. 12.

The video was accompanied by an updated PDA “situation report” on the disaster and PDA’s response to date.

The video link and full text of the report from PDA:

By now most of the world knows of the terrible earthquake that hit Port-au-Prince, Haiti. In the wake of this great human tragedy, we are …

This conversation, held at the annual event of the Association of Presbyterian Church Educators here, is attended by pastors and church educators wondering just what the “emergent” church is all about. Or is it the “emerging” church?

And why do those involved seem to be pierced or tattooed or using mild expletives in conversation while scribbling in moleskin notebooks?

It all seems a little hard to define. Exactly.

This is the nature of the emergent church movement — trying to create tomorrow’s church today.  It is fluid, a bit elusive and ever-evolving. Or it may be dead altogether. Those most …

The Nueva Vida sewing co-op here is bustling with activity. Sewing machines are whirring, scissors are clipping and a light breeze moves through the building’s open windows and doors.

It’s a Friday morning, the last day of the work week. But the end of the week doesn’t mean the end of work for the co-op members, who often stay late to discuss business issues or hold board meetings. Saturdays are spent studying up on business practices.

But all that hard work is worth it for the co-op members, said Julia Yadira Vallejos, a co-op member.

Nueva Vida provides a tranquil, …

Global humanitarian agency Church World Service (CWS) today launched a novel fund-raising campaign for Haiti earthquake relief: calling for Wall Street’s financial industry leaders to tithe their bonuses for the reconstruction of Haiti following the disaster that killed more than 100,000 people and destroyed much of Port au Prince and the country’s fragile infrastructure.

According to CWS’ Lesley Crosson, “People are already joining the ‘Bonus4Haiti’ tithing call to Wall Street now, signing on to CWS's Facebook Cause page, tweeting the campaign to others, and raising the shoutout volume virally through the Internet, with the message, ‘Tell corporate CEOs that …

With Haiti’s healthcare services in worse shape than before the earthquake, ACT Alliance members in Port-au-Prince continue to support medical care for Haiti’s most vulnerable. 

ACT is a global alliance of churches and faith-based groups — including the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) through Presbyterian Disaster Assistance — drawn from the membership of the World Council of Churches and the Lutheran World Federation. It is based in Geneva, Switzerland.

As it had done long before the Jan. 12 temblor, ACT is caring for the children. Traumatized, ill and suffering loss of limbs, hundreds of children need round-the-clock care.

At Port-au-Prince’s Aprosifa malnutrition clinic, …

Two and half years ago, two pastors here were having a conversation of lament. The Rev. Judy Hay had served 150 members at Calvary St. Andrews Presbyterian Parish for more than 30 years. The Rev. John Wilkinson had been pastor at 1,380-member Third Presbyterian Church since 2001.

Their collective years of pastoral experience taught them that no church should go at it alone.  

So here they were, putting a voice to the loss and fear of an uncertain future facing the 11 churches left in their urban core in Genesee Valley Presbytery. Two Presbyterian churches in Rochester had already …