Developing fresh vision and practices for being church in the 21st Century will often involve cultivating a new way of talking together. Like a garden, the distinctive nature and manner of the church's conversation must first be desired and planned for. It doesn't just happen. Then it is sown into all occasions when the church gathers – for worship, learning, and decision‐making. Then it is tended to and pruned so that it grows and flourishes. And as a result, the fruits of love, joy, and peace will be harvested in the life of the gathered people.
A missional hermeneutic will incorporate and then ultimately move beyond broad overviews of biblical mission toward a focused and contextualized exegetical engagement with particular texts, including those that are not usually understood in terms of mission. This approach is rooted in the conviction that God has a mission in the world and that Christians read Scripture as those called and sent to participate in those divine purposes.
Win-lose, in one form or another, appears to be the prevailing strategy for making decisions and resolving conflicts in the church. This is true of local churches, regional church bodies such as Presbyteries, conferences, districts, synods, or dioceses, and it is true of national agency staffs and boards. Without counting the costs of win-lose, church members and leaders have tended to create competitive norms and operating procedures within their organizations.
Create a community garden or other faith-based initiative using the Food Sovereignty for All Handbook for guidance.
This publication is a project of the Indiana University's Center for Public Health and was adapted with permission by the Presbyterian Hunger Program. A handy feature of this guide is the ability for anyone to add local urban agriculture organizations and resources on the last page by typing into the PDF and saving, thereby customizing it to your community, town or city. The guide is an accessible primer on soil testing, including a myth-busting section, and it covers basic techniques for urban gardening. Links to more in-depth instruction and resources are also included on the last page.
Research Services developed three questionnaires in cooperation with and at the request of the Middle Governing Body Commission:
All three were placed on the PC(USA) website on March 24, and their availability was publicized widely throughout the denomination by the Commission. Responses were accepted through July 8, 20 II. Individual Presbyterians were invited to go to either the leader or individual survey, as appropriate. Sessions were invited to download a copy of the survey, come up with one set of responses for the entire group, and then have …
These power point slides provide a brief overview of the Mid Council Commission II's mandate and scope of responsibilities as assigned by the 220th General Assembly (2012). Presentation was made by Jill Hudson.
Mid Council Commission II worked together to create this list of group norms/ covenant.
The General Assembly Middle Governing Body Commission asked the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Research Services staff to help the commission consult with Presbyterians as it reimagines presbyteries and synods. Research Services staff conducted one-hour telephone focus group discussions with representatives of 11 PC(USA) constituencies. The staff drafted focus group questions (with input from a research subcommittee of the commission), sampled and recruited focus group participants, moderated the discussions, and summarized and analyzed the discussions. Operating mainly in pairs, commission members opened and closed the focus groups and listened to the discussions. The focus groups took place during the second and third …