The funding arm of the Presbyterian Mission Agency that helps establish New Worshiping Communities is revising its “1001” grant program to better serve the movement.
The Reverend Gradye Parsons, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), preached on the theme “Pits, Pitfalls, and Possibilities” during opening worship of the 2014 Polity Conference on October 19.
Benjamin A. Reist, who inspired and challenged generations of students —including this reporter — for five decades as professor of systematic theology at San Francisco Theological Seminary, died peacefully on Sept. 15. The cause of death was complications arising from Alzheimer’s disease. He was 87.
Lilly Endowment Inc. has awarded a grant of just under $8 million ($7,993,517) to Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary to continue the work of the Louisville Institute through 2018. Supported by Lilly since 1990, the Institute has been a national leader in the study of religion and support of pastors and church leaders in North America.
The tug-of-war at the Vatican over calls for the Catholic Church to be more open to gays and cohabiting couples intensified Oct. 16 as conservative bishops sought to rein in or renounce draft language they feared might condone lifestyles not in accord with church teachings.
High concrete walls, barbed wire, deteriorating buildings, and a large, rusty key over an archway are strong reminders of the daily lives of Palestinians at Aida, a refugee camp just north of Bethlehem in the central West Bank. Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assembly Moderator Heath Rada traveled to the camp during his recent visit to the Middle East, to get a firsthand look at life inside the walls.
Over the next few days, 2014 Polity Conference participants are getting the chance to discuss the state of the church, share common concerns, learn about polity issues, and discern life together. View some of their reflections shared on Tuesday. The conference runs Oct. 19–21.
Nashville producer and multi-instrumentalist Melissa DuPuy has created a second Legacy Christmas album that is as stunning as the first. Last year’s Treasured Carols of the Kirk raised more than $100,000 for Living Waters for the World (LWW), a clean water mission of the Synod of Living Waters, and Presbyterian Women’s Birthday Offering. It featured some of the world’s best instrumentalists and vocalists of the Celtic, Americana and Folk genres.
The Presbyterian Committee on the Self-Development of People (SDOP) has approved grants totaling $133,270 to 10 self-help projects in the United States. The money is from the One Great Hour of Sharing offering.
Bishop Munib A. Younan of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land is to receive a Canadian award for peace work in the Holy Land.