By Melody K. Smith, Presbyterian Mission Agency. Two Presbyterian Mission Agency ministries have merged to form Theology, Formation and Evangelism. The two areas involved were previously called Theology, Worship and Education and Evangelism and Church Growth. Along with the new name comes a new reporting structure that was recently implemented by executive director Linda Valentine and…
By Leslie Scanlon, The Presbyterian Outlook. Linda Valentine, executive director of the Presbyterian Mission Agency, has announced that she intends to resign her position, effective July 10, after serving since 2006. Valentine said in a statement that “my decision has little to do with recent events. It is much more about my sense of call.”…
By Leslie Scanlon. The Presbyterian Outlook. For those following the saga of the 1001 New Worshipping Communities inquiry and Presbyterian Church (USA) governance issues, here are some of the twists and turns. The Presbyterian Mission Agency Board executive committee met in closed session by conference call on Thursday, June 4, and, according to minutes of…
By Leslie Scanlon, The Presbyterian Outlook. The Presbyterian Mission Agency has been rocked in recent months by a trifecta of investigations and a lot of criticism involving the 1001 New Worshiping Communities program, the Special Offerings 2015 advertising campaign and overspending for the last Presbyterian Youth Triennium. That’s leading some to ask harder systemic questions about why so many problems…
By Adelle M. Banks, Religion News Service The Presbyterian Church (USA) is scrapping an ad campaign for the needy after it was blasted for being culturally and socially insensitive. The One Great Hour of Sharing campaign originally included an image of an Asian girl with the words “Needs help with her drinking problem” and, in smaller lettering: “She can’t find water.” Another…
By Linda Valentine, Executive director of the Presbyterian Mission Agency A recent incident involving the Presbyterian Centers for New Church Innovation Inc. (PCNCI) has caused much pain and distrust. It has left lingering questions among supporters of 1001 New Worshiping Communities and the church at large. We at the Presbyterian Mission Agency began this process…
DALLAS, Texas — Addressing the speculation that the newly formed Fellowship Community was merely a way to keep Presbyterians for Renewal (PFR) going, Paul Detterman said, “No, not at all.” He was speaking at the launch of the new Fellowship Community, created from merging the Fellowship of Presbyterians and PFR. The launch was held during…
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)…
Presbyterian News Service Effective immediately, the publication Zionism Unsettled, will no longer be sold on the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) website. Last week in Detroit, the 221st General Assembly passed a resolution declaring that the booklet Zionism Unsettled “does not represent the views of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).” The Israel-Palestine Mission Network, which produced the booklet,…
A panel of Presbyterian Church (USA) leaders took up the topic of racial issues during a session of the third annual Big Tent meeting at the Galt House Hotel in Louisville, Ky., on Aug. 3. Linda Valentine, Gradye Parsons, Arlene Gordon, Bruce Reyes-Chow, Teresa Chavez Sauceda and Marcus Lambright had a conversation on racial matters…