The worshippers sat in plastic chairs, not pews. The music they heard came not from a piano or organ, but a CD player. And surrounding the worship area were not stained glass windows, but the sounds of neighbors coming and going.

The setting may have seemed unusual to many Presbyterians used to attending church in the United States, but the message and sense of family presented in this carport church was the same, if not stronger.

Ciudadela Metropolitana is a new church development in Soledad, south of Barranquilla. The congregation meets in a carport, right in the middle of a …

Three people attended orientation for new Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) mission personnel in January and will soon begin their international assignments.

The Rev. Bob and Kristi Rice will serve in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where Bob will be a Christian education and evangelism consultant with the Presbyterian Community of Congo. Kristi has been appointed to team ministry and will assist Bob in his role.
 
The Rices come to Presbyterian mission service with prior overseas experience. They met in Rwanda in 2003, when Kristi was working with a microfinance program run by World Relief and Bob was serving as a …

For the past 10 years, the husband-and-wife pastoral team of Revs. Bill Hathaway and Alison Halsey have discovered that the foundation of their marriage is strong enough to withstand simultaneous renovation projects at their churches.

“This has worked because we are pastors with 30 years of experience under our belts,” said Hathaway, who has been married to Alison for 32 years and has served First Presbyterian Church in Annapolis, Md., for 10. “The demands can be great at times, so we intentionally pace ourselves and take time off when the opportunity presents itself. Because we are so busy, we cherish …

Nearly half of Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) members (43 percent) are age 65 or older and a larger percentage of pastors than ever (27 percent) are women.

These are two of the findings from a survey of representative samples of members, elders, pastors and ministers — known as the Presbyterian Panel — that the denomination assembles every three years.

The fall 2008 profile survey found that the median age of members and elders has continued to climb, from 58 in 2005 to 60. The median age of pastors is 53 and, of ministers whose calls do not involve pastoring congregations, 56. …

In the weeks since Haiti’s Jan. 12 earthquake, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and its partners have mobilized to help, both on the ground in Haiti and from the United States.

Through its partnerships with Church World Service and ACT International, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance was able to help ship baby kits and hygiene kits to Haiti the day after the earthquake, said PDA Coordinator Randy Ackley.

As of Feb. 2, PDA has collected about $2 million in donations for Haiti relief and recovery. So far, $409,000 has been sent — $209,000 for the kits and $200,000 for a Leogane hospital …

The wave of the future is here. They are a generation called the Millennials, and the church better make room because business as usual isn’t going to work. If the rest of us want them included, we’d better adapt.

This is according to a workshop at the Association of Presbyterian Church Educators’ annual event here Jan. 27-30. “Young Adult Voices,” led by Michael Harper, sought to help those attending better understand this generation, often called the Millennials. Harper is an associate for youth and young adult curriculum development in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s Congregational Ministries Publishing.

Millennials were …

At a displacement camp surrounded by drying scrub grass, a group of people is gathered around bowls filled with water, soil and seeds.

The bowls represent all that those at the camp are fighting for, and the people gathered are members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the Presbyterian Church of Colombia (IPC). They’re laying their hands on three farmers who live here, praying for hope, justice and comfort.

The farmers are just a few of the people who live in this camp, which is about the size of 51 football fields and is home to 64 families. Many have …

When the Rev. Sue Krummel talks with minister couples, where both husband and wife sport “the Rev.” before their names, she speaks from experience.

Krummel, who is general presbyter and stated clerk for the Presbytery of Great Rivers with offices in Peoria, Ill., is married to the Rev. Forrest Krummel, pastor of First Federated Church in Peoria.

They’ve been married for 33 years.

“My husband and I were married six days before starting seminary,” Sue Krummel said. She and her husband graduated from Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary and were ordained in 1980.

This year marks their 30th year as ordained …

David Loleng has been named associate of evangelism for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), effective Jan. 25.

In his new role, Loleng will help connect the ministry of evangelism to the foundational ministry of disciple-making. “David has almost 20 years of experience helping students and adults become disciples of Jesus Christ,” says Ray Jones, coordinator of evangelism. “He will help us grow healthy churches that are serving Jesus and learning to share their stories of faith.”

“I want to be part of what God is doing in our ministry area at the national church by helping the local church …

The connectionalism that binds the Presbyterian faith is mightily at work in El Paso, Texas, and the result is an effort of prayer and discernment to determine the way forward.

The eight churches of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in El Paso, which are part of Tres Rios Presbytery, began worshipping together Jan. 10 in a weekly service of evening prayer. 

“It’s a quiet, meditative emphasis on listening and prayer and coming together to worship ... as Presbyterians in El Paso,” said the Rev. Cathy Cummings Chisholm, executive director of the partnership. “It’s exciting to see what has happened already.” …