<한국어> <Espaňol> The Book of Order calls ordained deacons to a ministry of “compassion, witness, and service, sharing in the redeeming love of Jesus Christ for the poor, the hungry, the sick, the lost, the friendless, the oppressed, those burdened by unjust policies or structures, or anyone in distress" (G-2.0201). A tall order! In addition, the previous Form of Government, when describing the responsibilities of a session, included the charge to ruling elders to “lead the congregation in ministries of personal and social healing and reconciliation in the communities in which the church lives and bears its witness” (Book of Order, 2009–11 version, G-10.0102g).
Mark Hinds remembers the effect that confirmation had both on himself and his brothers. “In our family, it had a 30 percent success rate,” Hinds told a room full of Christian educators at the 2016 Association of Presbyterian Church Educators (APCE) gathering here. “I’m still in the church, my brothers aren’t.”
미국 장로교의 정체성 및 목적에 대해 토론해 보자는 장로교 사무 총회 이사회 (COGA)의 요청에 3000명 이상의 사람들이 온라인으로 반응했다.
이 러한 범교회적 대화는 사람들로 하여금 그룹으로 모여서 우리 교단이 어떤 존재로 그리고 무엇을 하도록 부름을 받았는지에 대해 대화를 나눈 다음에, 온라인 형식을 통해 자신들의 생각 및 감정들을 개별적으로 나누도록 권장했다. COGA는 3000 명 이상의 사람들이 온라인을 통해 반응했으며, 이것은 주류 개신교 교단이 행한 이와 유사한 연구들 중에서 가장 반응이 좋은 것이라고 보고했다.
While the color red is associated with Valentine’s Day, many Presbyterian congregations will be opting for blue this year. The first Sunday in Lent (February 14) is designated by Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) as “Wear Your Blue T-Shirt to Church Sunday,” a testament to one of the ways One Great Hour of Sharing is making a difference.
More than 3,000 Presbyterians responded online to the call issued by the Committee on the Office of the General Assembly (COGA) to discuss the identity and purpose of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
The churchwide conversation urged people to gather in groups to dialogue about who and what the denomination is called to be and then to individually share their thoughts and feelings on an online form. COGA said it received 3,000-plus responses to the online form, reportedly the largest response to a study of its kind ever done by a mainline Protestant denomination.
The mystery of mortality—of our living and dying—played itself out a remarkable way last night as two Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) congregations in Southern California gathered for a joint Ash Wednesday service. Three bowls were on the altar at St. Mark Presbyterian Church. Two were filled with ashes for marking a visible cross on parishioner’s foreheads. The third bowl contained gunpowder.
They don’t call Jesus “the Teacher” for nothing. With those words—attributed to the great African-American teacher advocate, author, and scholar, Dr. Cain Hope Felder—the Rev. Alonzo Johnson opened his team’s “Educate a Child” presentation, one of some 60 workshops offered at the 2016 Association of Presbyterian Church Educators (APCE) gathering, held from January 27–30 in downtown Chicago.
Eighteen new missional ventures in churches and presbyteries have received Developmental, Risky, Experimental, Adaptive Mission (DREAM) Grants totaling $172,500 from Presbyterian Mission Agency.
With the opening hymn “Come Ye Sinners Poor and Needy” staff from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) gathered at the Presbyterian Center Chapel this morning for Ash Wednesday services. Ash Wednesday begins the season of Lent, recognized as a day of mourning for personal sin and the sin of humanity before God.
Contributors to the One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS) offering often wonder where their donations go. The Presbyterian Hunger Program, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance and Self-Development of People combined efforts to illustrate the reach of the offering’s funds. Today they launched an interactive global map that details initiatives being supported, along with Young Adult Volunteer (YAV) sites.