Best-selling author and world religions scholar Reza Aslan visited the Presbyterian Historical Society (PHS) Thursday, laying eyes and hands on documents important to his recently published history, “An American Martyr in Persia: The Epic Life and Tragic Death of Howard Baskerville.”

Kicking off last week the first in what will be a series of discussions on the future of American democracy, the Rev. Dr. M. Craig Barnes, the president of Princeton Theological Seminary and professor of pastoral ministry, said surveys show half of young Americans believe democracy is in trouble or has already failed. One-third feel there could be another civil war in their lifetime. Among seminary students, there’s plenty of diversity of thought, Barnes said.

How can the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) help pastors and other church leaders thrive in their congregations and local communities? That perennial question has new urgency in this time of falling memberships, pandemic-accelerated societal shifts and other evolving realities impacting American religious life.

When we read about the first band of Christ followers selling their possessions and “distributing the proceeds to all, as they had need,” (Acts 2:45), we clap our hands, lauding such noble sacrifice, but snicker under our breath, whispering, “Now that’s a bit too much!”

A minister, social ethicist and scholar has been chosen to lead a new endeavor by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to repair the damage done by structural racism and white supremacy within the church and around the globe.

Princeton Theological Seminary announced Friday that the Rev. Dr. Jonathan Lee Walton has been elected by the Board of Trustees to serve as the Seminary’s eighth president, effective January 1, 2023. Walton will succeed the Rev. Dr. M. Craig Barnes, who has served as Princeton Seminary’s president since January 2013.

The inspiration to write his 2021 book “Our Angry Eden: Faith and Hope on a Hotter, Harsher Planet” came, of all places, during a meeting of National Capital Presbytery, the Rev. Dr. Mark Williams told Presbyterians for Earth Care during a Zoom conversation Thursday.

여러분은 충실한 사역 장로가 되어 사람들을 돌보고, 그들이 예배드리고 영적으로 성장하고 봉사하도록 인도하시겠습니까? 여러분은 교회의 운영과 징계에 참여하고, 교회의 공의회에서 봉사하며, 여러분의 사역을 통해 예수 그리스도의 사랑과 정의를 나타내기 위해 노력하시겠습니까?

제가 이 글을 쓰는 지금, 엘리자베스 2세 여왕의 장례식이 텔레비전에 방영되고 있습니다. 방송은 엄숙한 의식, 기념식, 역사, 가십, 시위가 기묘하게 혼합되어 있고, 행렬로 마무리되었습니다. 식민주의, 계급, 부에 대한 타당한 질문들과 더불어, 방송은 대체로 오랜 기간 재임했던 통치자에 대한 대중의 슬픔과 감사를 담고 있었습니다.

¿Será usted un(a) anciano(a) gobernante fiel, velando por el pueblo, proveyendo su adoración, crianza y servicio? ¿Compartirá usted el gobierno y la disciplina, sirviendo en los concilios de la iglesia, y tratará de mostrar el amor y la justicia de Jesucristo en su ministerio?

Mientras escribo esto, el funeral de la reina Isabel II está en la televisión. La cobertura es una curiosa mezcla de solemnidad, celebración, historia, chismes y protesta, rematada con pomposidad. Junto con las preguntas justificables sobre el colonialismo, la clase y la riqueza, el tono es en gran medida el dolor y la gratitud pública por un gobernante.

Will you be a faithful ruling elder, watching over the people, providing for their worship, nurture, and service? Will you share in government and discipline, serving in councils of the church, and in your ministry will you try to show the love and justice of Jesus Christ?

As I write this, the funeral service for Queen Elizabeth II is on television. Coverage is a curious mix of solemnity, celebration, history, gossip, and protest, topped off with pageantry. Along with justifiable questions about colonialism, class, and wealth, the tone is largely public grief and gratitude for a long-serving ruler.