The three groups tasked with discerning the form, function and vision of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) gave updates October 15 to 300 church leaders gathered here for the annual Mid Council Leaders Gathering.
Initiated by the 222nd General Assembly (2016) in Portland, Oregon, the 2020 Vision Team, the All Agency Review Committee and the Way Forward Commission have worked for more than a year at their respective tasks. The presentation to mid council leaders provided the groups’ representatives an opportunity to describe the process and possible outcomes of their activities.
For the Rev. Olivia Stewart, participating in the Christian Formation Symposium — a gathering of seasoned practitioners from across the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) — was “awesome.”
우리 세상의 사건들이 혼돈 속으로 소용돌이 치는 것처럼 보입니다. 지난 몇 달 동안 들었던 질문입니다: "요즘 뉴스에 어떻게 대처합니까?"
이 세상에서 제가 가장 두려워하는 것는 선함goodness 또는 신God-ness의 죽음이라는 것입니다. 그리고 저의 머리를 떨구고 그저 울기를 원하는 때가 있습니다. 때로는 그렇습니다! 예수님께서 예루살렘을 위하여 눈물을 흘리셨던 때로부터 가끔 하나님께서 저와 함께 울고 계신다고 생각합니다.
Hope, the faithfulness of God, and whether Louisville is really the center of the Presbyterian universe were among the topics addressed in a wide-ranging dialogue between two top leaders of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) at the 2017 Mid Council Leaders Gathering here October 16.
A medida que los acontecimientos de nuestro mundo parecen estar envueltos en el caos, he escuchado una pregunta durante meses: «¿Cómo afrentar las noticias en estos días?»
<한국어> <Espaňol> As the events of our world seem to swirl into chaos, a question I’ve heard for months: “How do you cope with the news these days? I know that what I fear most in this world is the death of goodness, or God-ness. And there are times I just want to put my head down and weep. Sometimes I do. Since Jesus wept over Jerusalem, sometimes I think God weeps with me, too.
In a time when immigrants are increasingly stigmatized and threatened with deportation, Teresa Waggener, an immigration attorney for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A), asked a group of synod and presbytery leaders:
“How can we be the hands and feet of Christ? How do we reach out and support immigrants and refugees without doing any harm or putting them in danger?”
A trio of Office of the General Assembly (OGA) leaders briefed the 300-strong Mid Council Leaders Gathering here Sunday (October 15) evening on the progress – or lack thereof – of conversations between the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians (ECO) over the sometimes chaotic process of departure of churches from the PC(USA) to ECO.
In recognition of World Food Day, the Presbyterian Hunger Program has announced that more than 70 Presbyterian churches have become Hunger Action Congregations since the initiative was announced last summer.
Leaders of Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) presbyteries and synods examined the “State of the Church” during a series of plenary sessions at the 2017 Mid-Council Leaders Gathering in St. Louis.
“We need to embrace who we are,” said Kris Valerius, assistant stated clerk for denominational rolls and statistics in the Office of the General Assembly, at a session on “Congregational Realities” October 15 here.