Compassion, Peace and Justice (CPJ) Ministry of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has announced the appointment of the Rev. Laurie Ann Kraus as coordinator for Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA).
Corruption has gone too far. The righteous must break away. Hope now rests with a holy remnant that will honor foundational texts.
The message sounds familiar. A church schism?
No, mounting calls for secession from the United States.
The 220th General Assembly adopted a resolution calling for the passage of the Indonesian Family Refugee Protection Act. This bill has been introduced in the House and the Senate and would provide a way for Indonesians already in the U.S. to file a petition for asylum, which then would be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. This pastoral letter from the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) remembers those in the U.S. waiting for certainty in their immigration status and urges Presbyterians to take action to pass the Indonesian Family Refugee Protection Act.
In order to take some-much needed time off and to allow readers to focus on family and congregation during the Christmas holiday, the Presbyterian News Service (PNS) will be closed, except for breaking news, from Dec. 17-Jan. 2.
At Advent, we expectantly turn the page of a new liturgical calendar as we anticipate Christ’s coming, prepare for the story of the incarnation, and await Christ’s glorious return. Advent is a time of new beginnings and hopeful expectations. A time when the “now” and the “not yet” are held in an especially delicate tension. The cycle of days—both ordinary and extraordinary—begins anew.
In this season of new beginnings, our thoughts turn to congregations and individuals who are starting the new liturgical year—this year—outside the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Nowhere is our sense of the now and the not yet of Christian unity more apparent. New beginnings so often come with a sense of loss for what has been.
Today is a day of wailing and lamentation in our land. From coast to coast, Presbyterians weep with parents and grandparents, siblings and relatives, teachers and school workers, friends and neighbors. We cry out with mall workers and shoppers, security guards and crossing guards. There is no consolation for this tragic loss of life. There are no words.
Staff at the Presbyterian Center gathered today to give thanks to God for the life of Cynthia Bolbach, moderator of the 219th General Assembly (2010). Bolbach, a proudly Ruling Elder from National Capital Presbytery, died Dec. 12 after a nearly yearlong battle with cancer. She was 64.
Jazz legend Dave Brubeck died Dec. 5, the day before his 92nd birthday. His impact on the world of music in general and jazz in particular was profound, marked by the front-page announcement of his death in newspapers all over the world. Along with millions of others, I was a Dave Brubeck fan, a life-long lover of his music since I first heard it in the late ‘50s, and, I am honored to say, a friend.
Ask Kelley Taylor, a Southern Baptist college student, if she’s opened the steamy pages of Fifty Shades of Grey, and she has a ready response.
About three weeks ago, the Rev. Samson Tso, pastor of Brooklyn’s Homecrest Presbyterian Church, received an unexpected package from a woman he has never met.
Inside were hand-knitted baby blankets and hats — and a letter explaining that the donor hoped they could be given to people who had lost their homes and belongings in Superstorm Sandy.