The General Assembly Special Committee on the Confession of Belhar has made available The Bible and Belhar, a new resource co-authored by Stephen Hayner and Mark Labberton which addresses the biblical basis of the confession. The 220th General Assembly (2012) voted to begin the process of amending The Book of Confessions to include the Confession of Belhar, and Moderator Neal D. Presa appointed the special committee to study the confession and provide education throughout the church.

The Rev. Matt Schramm, chair of the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board (PMAB), has appointed a three-member Evaluation Committee to review a proposal that the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s Stony Point (N.Y.) Center be separately incorporated as a constituent corporation of the denomination.

Recently this year’s group of PC(USA) Young Adult Volunteers commented that, since most of their placements are with Presbyterian or Methodist congregations and community projects in largely Unionist/Loyalist (pro-British) districts, it would be good to have some additional contact with those from Catholic and Nationalist/Republican (pro-Irish) backgrounds before their year ended.

Madagascar is scheduled to hold presidential elections on Oct. 25, 2013. Legislative elections and a second-round presidential election (if needed) are scheduled for Dec. 20.

Author Malcolm Gladwell may not be known for writing on religion. His New York Times best-selling books “The Tipping Point,” “Outliers,” “Blink” and “What the Dog Saw” deal with the unexpected twists in social science research. But his newest book, “David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants,” also includes underlying faith-related themes, and not just in the title. Gladwell said that while researching the book, he began rediscovering his own faith after having drifted away. Here, he speaks with RNS about his Mennonite family, how Jesus perfectly illustrates the point in his new book and how Gladwell’s return to faith changed the way he wrote the book. The interview was edited for length and clarity.

Some of the first new worshiping communities to receive Seed Grants ($7,500) have been awarded Investment Grants ($17,500) by the Presbyterian Mission Agency.

Twenty-one U.S. religious leaders ― including Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assembly Stated Clerk Gradye Parsons ― today (Oct. 21) sent a letter to President Barack Obama urging “concrete action to pursue a path toward improved relations with Cuba.”

The closing of several Protestant denominational newspapers, magazines and other news services has played a part in eroding the standards of professional religious journalism, according to members of the Associated Church Press.

It is hard enough to be a pastor, but being the pastor of two churches at the same time is a challenge not just anyone can accept. Pastor Paul Snyder, resident in the For Such a Time as This (FSATAT) Class of 2012, accepted that challenge a year ago. Two small churches in North Dakota had been functioning without a pastor for more than twenty years when they found relief and support from the FSATAT program of the Presbyterian Mission Agency.

 For Such a Time as This was designed to renew and grow small churches and help them to …

Yvonne Thurmond, a 2012 resident of the For Such a Time as This program of the Presbyterian Mission Agency, is restoring the unity of the Quaker Meadows Presbyterian Church in Morganton, North Carolina. The church was without effective leadership for more than two years. During that time, the members had differences that divided the church, resulting in poor relationships with one another.

For forty years, members of the Quaker Meadows church struggled with a construction project because they couldn’t find an understanding with one another. When Thurmond accepted the residency at the church, she never thought she would have to …