Starting Sept. 4, Presbyterians are invited to join their voices in a denominational sing-along for the next few months.

Many Voices, One Song is an effort of the Presbyterian Hymnal Project, and seeks to have Presbyterian congregations sing a common hymn in worship on selected dates.

“We want to do this to put attention on congregational song,” said the Rev. Meg Flannagan, hymnal advocacy and relations coordinator for the Presbyterian Publishing Corporation (PPC), which is publishing a new Presbyterian hymnal in 2014.

Cynthia Bolbach, Moderator of the 219th General Assembly (2010), Gradye Parsons, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly, and Linda Valentine, Executive Director of the General Assembly Mission Council, today released a call to prayer for all those impacted by Hurricane Irene:

The strong winds and heavy rain of Hurricane Irene left a trail of devastation along the eastern seaboard from North Carolina to southern New England.  While the immediate level of damage from Hurricane Irene did not meet that which was feared or predicted, the storm continues to wreak havoc by causing significant flash flooding.  Thousands of families are still …

Christian leaders in Australia have welcomed a ruling from Australia’s highest court that Australia cannot send asylum seekers to Malaysia, throwing the Australian government’s refugee “swap” plan into disarray.

A full bench of the High Court, in a 6-1 majority decision on Aug. 31, found Immigration Minister Chris Bowen’s declaration of Malaysia as a country to process asylum seekers was “invalid.” This made permanent an Aug. 8 injunction preventing Australia from transferring 800 asylum seekers to Malaysia, in return for Malaysia sending 4,000 registered refugees.

When congregants of West Side Church and the Christian Life Center in Bend, Ore., awoke in June to news that their churches had been vandalized, they expected to be frustrated.

What they didn’t expect was to be confused.

In addition to the anti-Christian slogans scrawled on the walls of the two buildings, the words “Praise the FSM” were painted everywhere. Churchgoers were left scratching their heads.

Peacemaking is the human response to God’s gift of peace. In an increasingly violent and unjust world, we as Christians are called to understand and address the root causes of violence and injustice by building a culture of peace and nonviolence for all

Since 1988, the Peacemaking Program has brought 261 International Peacemakers from 63 countries who made about 1,700 individual visits to presbyteries, synods, colleges and presbyteries. International Peacemakers are leaders who are engaged in peacemaking in their own areas of the world. The Presbyterian Peacemaking Program invites leaders from our partner churches around the world to share their experiences as peacemakers in their own contexts.

The Church of Christ in Thailand is hoping to recruit several hundred native English speakers to serve as volunteer teachers in its 25 schools and eight hospitals, said two leaders of the church Aug. 23.

The Rev. Rung Ruengsan-Ajin, vice moderator, and Elder Chusak Wuthiwaropas, treasurer, were here this week to meet with leaders in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and learn more about opportunities for partnership.

The PC(USA) has dispatched mission worker Sharon Bryant to Chiang Mai to help facilitate the volunteer effort.

In the wake of Irene, a powerful hurricane that crossed the eastern United States on Aug. 27 and 28, faith-based groups have mobilized to bring relief efforts to hard-hit communities. The storm caused more than 20 deaths, an estimated $3.1 billion in damages and knocked out electricity for more than five million homes and businesses.

A beleaguered 11th-century church in England is losing its worshippers and has been forced to suspend services indefinitely because of bats in its belfry.

A new book offers a critical examination of the Twilight series from both a theological and feminist standpoint. In The Gospel according to Twilight: Women, Sex, and God (Westminster John Knox Press), author Elaine A. Heath analyzes the disturbing messages about women, marriage, and family Stephenie Meyer could be sending to young readers of the popular series, particularly through its gender stereotypes and depictions of violence against women. The book arrives just as Breaking Dawn, Part One prepares to hit theatres on November 18, 2011.

Whether to stay within the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and, if so, under what conditions dominated the first gathering of the Fellowship of Presbyterians (FOP), which drew more than 1,900 disaffected Presbyterians here Aug. 25-26.

The seven large church pastors who form the FOP’s core leadership readily acknowledged that PC(USA) congregations dissatisfied with decisions and perceived trends in the denomination “are all over the map” about how to respond. Much of the gathering was spent exploring four “tiers” or options that are being developed ― from trying to reform the denomination from within to the creation of “a new Reformed body.”