The decline of the Presbyterian Church (USA) accelerated in 2014 as total membership dropped below 1.7 million. According to the Comparative Statistics released yesterday by the Office of the General Assembly, the denomination’s membership declined by 92,433 in 2014 to 1,667,767. That is a 5.54 percent decline from 2013’s total membership of 1,760,200. While this year’s…
From the Office of the General Assembly. The Presbyterian Church (USA) has voted through its presbyteries to add the Confession of Belhar to The Book of Confessions. The final step will be a vote at the 222nd General Assembly (2016) meeting June 18–25 in Portland, Oregon. View a video message from Gradye Parsons, stated clerk…
On March 17, the deciding vote was cast. Palisades Presbytery was the 86th presbytery – a clear majority of the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s 171 presbyteries – to vote in favor of changing the denomination’s definition of marriage to allow same-sex marriages. The vote officially changed the definition of marriage found in the PCUSA’s constitution from being…
Our hearts are heavy as we join the world in mourning the Egyptian Christians beheaded in a video released Sunday by the Islamic State in Libya. The twenty-one Coptic Christians, part of the largest concentration of Christians in the Middle East, had been taken hostage. Our deepest sympathies are with the Coptic Orthodox Church of…
In the Presbyterian Church (USA), both the stated clerk of denomination and its Office of Public Witness are praising President Barrack Obama’s recent announcement about shifting the country’s policy toward Cuba. On Wednesday (12/17/14) Obama announced his plans to normalize relations with Cuba, stating that the United States would end its “outdated approach” with the…
While Gradye Parsons, stated clerk of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and other religious leaders in the United States wrote a letter to President Barrack Obama asking that the US respond to the escalation of violence in Iraq with peaceful – non-violent – reconciliation, religious leaders in Iraq and Syria are pleading for international help to…
By David Gibson | Religion News Service Even as some prominent Christians are calling on the U.S. to take more forceful military action against Islamic extremists in Iraq and Syria, more than 50 mainly Catholic and Protestant leaders are telling President Obama to halt American airstrikes and pursue solely peaceful means to resolve the conflict. “While the…
Presbyterian News Service LOUISVILLE – The Reverend Gradye Parsons, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A), has signed on to the following statement welcoming the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas and calling for renewed negotiations for a two-state solution in the land. As leaders of American Jewish, Christian, and Muslim…
By Michael Gryboski The largest Presbyterian denomination in the United States released a statement Tuesday demanding that President Barack Obama push Israel and Hamas towards negotiating a ceasefire immediately. “The situation is escalating beyond control. The bloodshed and wielding of power in the contested land is unconscionable,” reads the statement from the Presbyterian Church (USA)…
By Mark Tooley The stated clerk of the Presbyterian Church (USA), Gradye Parsons, has released a verbose statement demanding an end to the “violence” between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. For emphasis, he even lists ALL the names of Gazans reportedly killed by Israeli air attacks, or 174 names. Not having seen any PCUSA official…