Inspired by a common spiritual conviction that God has called on all people to protect the vulnerable and promote the dignity of all individuals living in society,” Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Stated Clerk Gradye Parsons joined other Christian, Jewish, and Muslim leaders on Tuesday to meet with Republican and Democratic Congressional leadership, lifting up those struggling with poverty in the U.S. and abroad.
Presbyterian history buffs and researchers now have access to a wealth of archival materials available for the first time at the Presbyterian Historical Society (PHS) here.
The newly available historical materials ― the result of a grant project designed to reveal “Hidden Collections” in a number of Philadelphia archives ― include personal accounts of Presbyterian mission work in the Congo, Latin America and Korea; religious media in the United States from the early 1800s to the 1990s; and the life and work of Maggie Kuhns, a Presbyterian who founded the “Gray Panthers.”
Presbyterians have stuff in their garages that can save lives in the world’s newest nation.
The Rev. Heidi McGinness told Synod of Lakes and Prairies Synod School participants Monday (July 25) that even though South Sudan gained independence on July 9, there’s still much work to be done, including freeing an estimated 200,000 of its people from slavery.
That’s the most pressing work of McGinness and her colleagues at Christian Solidarity International, a Swiss-based human rights organization that campaigns for religious liberty and human dignity.
The Kenyan government has promised to expand a refugee camp for thousands of desperate Somalis fleeing a drought crisis in the Horn of Africa, and faith groups and humanitarian agencies are praising the move.
“The LWF [Lutheran World Federation] welcomes the decision as a vital life-saving measure, especially in view of the current high influx of Somali refugees fleeing drought and insecurity at home,” the Rev. Martin Junge, the LWF’s general secretary said in a letter on July 18 to Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minster Raila Odinga.
The LWF, which manages the camp for the U.N. …
For years, many religious and political conservatives in the U.S. have sought to connect Islam to violence carried out by Muslims, and argued that Muslims often fail to denounce terrorism committed by Islamic extremists.
But in the wake of the horrific attacks in Norway by a right-wing extremist who identified himself as a Christian warrior against Islam, many of those American conservatives are finding themselves on the defensive, especially after some of them prematurely portrayed the terror attacks as the works of Muslims.
Mark Juergensmeyer, author of Terror in the Mind of God, noted close parallels between the 32-year-old …
The town of Bend, in central Oregon, is in what is often referred to as the least-churched county in the least-churched state. Even still, it is no stranger to church plants.
“Bend is like a graveyard for churches,” said one of its more recent pastors, the Rev. Zachary Hancock.
Hancock was called to be the organizing pastor for a proposed Presbyterian new church development in Bend.
Anna Carter Florence, who teaches preaching at Columbia Theological Seminary, said she’s very interested in one topic: how the people of God talk about God.
That includes everyday people giving their testimony, Florence said, which makes Presbyterians “hyperventilate, because a lot of us have seen it done badly, where people talk about themselves, not about God.”
Florence is adult convocation speaker at the 58th Synod of Lakes and Prairies Synod School, being held this week at Buena Vista College. More than 625 people are attending what is the last synod school remaining in the PC(USA).
Minority Christian denominations in Greece are closing down their charity work and having trouble paying clergy salaries because of the economic crisis, according to church leaders in Athens.
“Like other Protestant churches, we’re financially autonomous here and not supported by anyone but our own members, so our revenue has fallen sharply,” said Dimitrios Boukis, general secretary of the Greek Evangelical Church, which has 29 congregations in two regional synods in Greece, and another in North America.
Though national and local Jewish groups have strongly condemned San Francisco’s proposed ban on infant circumcision, a small but vocal movement of Jews is trying to convince more of their own to abandon the practice.
What they won’t do, however, is join the San Francisco push to outlaw the practice in their pursuit of a circumcision-free world.
“It was a big mistake,” said Dr. Mark Reiss, executive vice president of Doctors Opposing Circumcision and an active member of his San Francisco synagogue. “We are experiencing a tremendous backlash from the Jewish community.”
If Patricia Reid had not been actively browsing the Internet last year seeking grants to assist with her seminary education, McClintock Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, N.C., might not be celebrating the first anniversary of its life-changing Family Matters Project.
“It was all God’s providence throughout the whole thing,” said Reid, an elder at McClintock Presbyterian Church and a student at Union Presbyterian Seminary at Charlotte. “When I was searching the PC(USA) website for information regarding the Presbyterian Study Grant, I happened to come across the Presbyterian Mariners Family Ministry Grant. Thanks to that grant, we have just completed a full year of our Family Matters Project.”
The Mariners Family Ministry Grant – administered through the General Assembly Mission Council’s Financial Aid for Studies office – is a program for churches and other Presbyterian organizations to use to create new projects to fund and develop family ministry programs. The grant program is funded from the assets of the Presbyterian Mariners and continues the work of the Mariners to strengthen family ministry. Although the Presbyterian Mariners no longer have a national umbrella organization, numerous Mariners groups continue to thrive in local congregations such as McClintock.