Widely recognized for his contributions toward Christian education in Asian-American congregations, the Rev. David Chai was honored as 2013’s Educator of the Year by the Association of Presbyterian Church Educators (APCE) Feb. 8.

Leaders of Catholic and Reformed churches have signed an agreement to recognize each other’s sacraments of baptism, a public step toward unity among groups that are often divided by doctrine.

Play isn’t simply an activity — it’s a way of seeing the world, said the Rev. Jaco Hamman, professor of religion, psychology and culture at Vanderbilt Divinity School and the keynote speaker for this year’s Association of Presbyterian Church Educators (APCE) annual event — the theme of which is “Let us play.”

In a move aimed at streamlining operations to “free up the Council to be about the priorities that the churches set together,” the National Council of Churches (NCC) will consolidate its operations in Washington, D.C.

Six Tibetan pilgrims prostrated themselves face down on the road, then rose, took three paces forward and repeated the dusty act of devotion around the 250-year-old monastery here.

With one eye on an approaching blizzard and the other on its meaty agenda, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s Mission Responsibility Through Investment Committee (MRTI) approved a host of shareholder resolutions Feb. 8 designed to put the denomination’s investments where its beliefs are.

Dan M. McGill, 93, a legend in the pension industry and the author of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s Pension Plan following reunion in 1983, died Feb. 5 in Bala Cynwyd, Pa.

Pope Benedict XVI will soon become the first pope to resign since 1415, short-circuiting many of the initial stages of electing a new pope. But the Vatican says the transition to a new papacy shouldn’t be all that different from normal.

The Board of Pensions of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is postponing a vote on a new dues structure for its healthcare plan until its June 2013 meeting.

Growing up in Johannesburg, South Africa, the Rev. Jaco Hamman and his friends played with the big green grasshoppers they saw outside. Although grasshoppers are usually solitary animals, they gather during food scarcities. When they get together, their swarming instinct kicks in and the grasshoppers become locusts, eventually turning on each other when all other food is gone.