Sometimes necessity is the mother of reinvention.

First Presbyterian Church of Centralia, south of Olympia, Wash., was a typical old downtown church. As such, it faced the usual old downtown church problems of shrinking numbers, aging members and little idea of how to make the church appealing to younger generations. Then something happened that — literally and figuratively — shook everything up.

When an earthquake struck the area in 2001, the resulting damage to the church sanctuary left the building unsafe. Repairs were estimated at $500,000 to $1 million.

The church had to make a decision on how to move …

Exciting stewardship is possible — and it doesn’t require a big church, contemporary bands or huge projection screens.

“We can grow stewards out there who are excited about being God’s people and Presbyterians,” said the Rev. Maggie Lauterer in the final plenary speech of the Stewardship Kaleidoscope conference, March 15-17.

Lauterer is pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Burnsville, N.C., where she has been for about 10 years. Before she arrived, the church had been struggling: it had experienced two splits in 10 years and the youngest member was 70 years old.

“We were a church that was dying,” Lauterer …

And nowhere is the IPRC’s transition in generational leadership more apparent than in del Centro Presbytery, the largest presbytery in area of the three IPRC presbyteries (the others are Havana and Matanzas.

“Our presbytery focuses on young people, where generational differences are not a handicap,” del Centro Moderator the Rev. Miriam Naranjo told a group of visiting U.S. Presbyterian leaders from the Synod …

Three months from now, more than 102 overtures will be considered during the 219th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), which opens July 3 in Minneapolis.

Among them is one of the two proposed overtures that the Presbyterian News Service began tracking  last fall as part of our “Project Overture” series. This Overture is now officially known as Ovt 009 – On Establishing an Annual General Convocation meeting and Moving Meetings of the General Assembly to Every Six Years – From the Presbytery of Foothills.

As for the other proposed overture we were following — from the Session of …

The Reverend Gradye Parsons, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), issued the following statement today in response to the signing of a new strategic arms reduction treaty (START) by President Obama and President Medvedev.

The Reverend Gradye Parsons, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), issued the following statement today in response to the agreement reached between the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) and Aramark Corporation:

On behalf of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), I commend the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) and Aramark Corporation for forging an agreement that advances human rights for farmworkers and takes us a step further in creating a food system that ensures the well-being of all.

God’s generosity is like a seed — it should yield fruit. It’s up to believers to plant the gospel of God’s grace.

That was the message of the second plenary session by the Rev. Brian Blount at the Stewardship Kaleidoscope conference here March 15-17. Blount is president and professor of New Testament at Union Theological Seminary and Presbyterian School of Christian Education.

He spoke of Paul’s work with the Macedonians and Corinthians. The Macedonians gave when they couldn’t afford to and ended up being better givers. Corinthians, on the other hand, were often more concerned with being spiritual instead …

The Reformed tradition has a particular way to interpret the events of Holy Week. Our focus is not the cross or the suffering of Jesus but his resurrection. Easter is the center of the celebration. Good Friday and Maundy Thursday are meaningless without Easter.

The meaning of Easter is Jesus Christ’s victory over death. His resurrection symbolizes the eternal life that is granted to all who believe in him. The meaning of Easter also symbolizes the complete verification of all that Jesus preached and taught during his three-year ministry.

If He had not risen from the dead, if He had …