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Increasingly, we find that we are living in a world with numerous walls and barriers. These are walls that force us to live in sometimes small and isolated compartments. These walls and the resulting compartments often prevent us from seeing and understanding the lives of others who live in different compartments or on the other side of the wall from us. These walls are leading many to live in fear, isolation, and poverty; therefore, preventing all parties from living in peace.
Congregational-based community organizing (CBCO) is a means for congregations to engage their members to connect with their neighbors and communities, and to address social inequalities while simultaneously transforming communities and congregational life. Through this model, congregational members share their stories, deepen relationships with one another, discover issues of common concerns, develop leaders and act to improve the lives of members of their communities.
January/February 2013
Knowledge of the Bible
How well do Presbyterians know the Bible?
Freedom of conscience, as we use it in the life of the church, is the right to disagree with a position of a council or councils of the church. It is derived directly from this principle that ‘God alone is Lord of the conscience’ and that our consciences are thus bound to nothing other than Scripture. Freedom of conscience is extended only to individuals and not to councils of the church and G-2.0105 of the Book of Order delineates specific limits on the freedom of conscience for those who serve in ordered ministries.
The Calling of the Church and the New Form of Government
With greater freedom and flexibility, the new Form of Government encourages congregations and councils to focus on God’s mission and how they can faithfully participate in this mission. In offering a structure that is more horizontal than hierarchical, the new Form of Government encourages the church to be open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit as it seeks to be Christ’s body and live out its calling as a community of faith, hope, love and witness.
December 2012
How pastors spend their time
Being a pastor takes a lot of time: a median of 50 hours per week, according to these survey results. While large parts of the week are typically spent in preaching and worship leadership and in administration (a combined median of 22 hours per week), pastors spend a few hours each on a variety of other tasks.
This was the handout distributed in "Managing Presbytery Stress and Conflict," lead by Rev. Jill Hudson, Coordinator of Mid Council Relations.
This is a U.S. Christian response to the outpouring of hope that has challenged dictatorships in the Middle East, Africa, and several Asian countries. Along with hope, there has also been rage at injustice, sometimes misdirected, and desire for better material life. Each country has its own particularities, and our partners within these countries differ by age and institutional perspective, with younger Arab Christians often expressing more optimism. Overall this movement has changed assumptions about Arab and Muslim religion and politics, and called into question foreign policies that have too often enabled authoritarian leaders or accommodated oligarchies. The church’s traditional …