If all the documents to the “paperless” 219th General Assembly here were printed out, they’d rival Tolstoy’s War and Peace in length. By the time the Assembly concludes July 10, the 712 commissioners and roughly 200 advisory delegates will have acted on more than 300 items of business that would span about 1,400 printed pages.
While most other committees of the 219th General Assembly (2010) are waiting to begin on Sunday, the Form of Government Revision Committee opened its meetings Friday, looking for a way to understand the substantial document and overtures it must consider during this year’s assembly.
There may be times when getting three presbyteries and a synod to work together is a challenge – especially when the task is as complex as hosting a General Assembly.
But the Committee on Local Arrangements (COLA) for the 219th General Assembly (2010) has made it look easy.
The Presbyterian News Service Web site will be inactive July 3-11 during the 219th General Assembly in Minneapolis so that PNS staffers Jerry Van Marter and Bethany Furkin can serve in the General Assembly Communications Center.
All General Assembly news will be available at the GA 219 website. The site will include photo galleries and streaming video as well as news stories and other information about the Assembly.
A global Protestant body representing 80 million Christians has issued an apology for the role played by churches in perpetrating abuse against Native Americans, First Nations and other indigenous peoples.
“We … repent of our history littered with ways in which we have betrayed Gospel values of justice, fairness, and love for our neighbor … by the confiscation of land, and mass killings,” delegates at the founding meeting of the World Communion of Reformed Churches said in a June 26 statement.
The June 18-28 gathering here took place on the traditional territory of Native American peoples, delegates noted.
In their …
A new Gallup Poll found that Americans’ self-reported church attendance has increased slightly since 2008.
When asked “How often do you attend church, synagogue, or mosque?” 43.1 percent of Americans in 2010 said they attended church “at least once a week” or “almost every week.” That’s up from 42.8 percent in 2009 and 42.1 percent in 2008.
Researchers previously believed that church attendance rises when economic times are bad. The Gallup data, however, indicates that the opposite may be happening.
“There has been well-publicized speculation about the possibility that church attendance has risen over the past two years as Americans …
The Office of the General Assembly has released the 2009 statistics of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). The report includes a comparative summary of the membership, a summary of receipts and expenditures for the past four years, and other statistical information.
As of 2009, the total membership of the PC(USA) is 2,077,138, a roughly 3% decrease, or 63,027 members, from the previous year.
The Rev. Gradye Parsons, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly, said the latest statistics contain both good news and bad.
“The good news is that adult baptisms rose for the first time in at least four years, and …
If all the documents to the "paperless" 219th General Assembly here were printed out, they'd rival Tolstoy’s War and Peace in length. By the time the Assembly concludes July 10, the 712 commissioners and roughly 200 advisory delegates will have acted on more than 300 items of business that would span about 1,400 printed pages.
Nearly half the business of the Assembly comes as overtures from presbyteries and synods. Added to the reports of Assembly agencies and permanent and special committees, the range of concerns presented to commissioners and advisory delegates for their deliberation and action is breathtaking in …
Five years ago, Self-Development of People, a ministry of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A), realized it would need to change its international strategy if it wanted to continue being effective in its mission of providing a hand up — not a hand out.
In the face of decreasing funds and increasing poverty, SDOP decided the most effective way of working would be to identify intermediary partners around the world and then commit to focus funding in one region.
SDOP chose the Dominican Republic as its focus — it began working there in 2007.
And at its May meeting, SDOP’s National …
A proposal to the 219th General Assembly this week in Minneapolis to create a commission to address a host of issues facing middle governing bodies in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is "essential" because so many presbyteries and synods are in crisis, says the Rev. Gradye Parsons, General Assembly stated clerk.
The proposed 21-member commission — which is recommended by the Committee on the Office of the General Assembly and strongly pushed by Parsons — would have the power to act between now and the 2012 General Assembly at the request of middle governing bodies that need to make changes …