By James Warden, Minnetonka Patch. High school seniors Cody Kirk and Joy Gresham from St. Luke Presbyterian Church in Minnetonka have helped to convince the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area to divest its endowments of all stocks and bonds in fossil fuel companies, according to a St. Luke’s news release. Kirk and Gresham had…
By Leslie Scanlon An evaluation committee is recommending that a proposal to separately incorporate the Stony Point Conference Center not move forward at this time – saying too many questions remain unanswered about the business plan for Stony Point and the possibility of whether it can become financially self-sustaining. The committee also is recommending that…
Like all of those in the Presbyterian Church (USA) ordination track, I took courses in Biblical Greek and Hebrew in seminary. The rationale is that teaching elders should be able to translate the extant texts of the Bible from the languages in which they were originally penned. I readily admit that I did not “keep”…
Wabash Presbyterian Church officially will be part of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) when the new year rolls around. The Wabash congregation and Pastor George Dakin were dismissed from the Presbyterian Church (USA) during the Sept. 17 meeting of Seattle Presbytery. That dismissal becomes official Jan. 1, 2014. Located in Auburn, Wash., a southeastern suburb…
By Jerry L. Van Marter PRINCETON, N.J. – Because the meaning of biblical metaphors for the church are not always commonly shared, conversations about ecclesiology ― the doctrine of the nature and purpose of the church ― might be better served by relying on “foundational” statements, the Rev. Jerry Andrews told the second Moderator’s Colloquium…
By Greg Garrison BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – The members at the defunct Avondale Presbyterian Church were worried about Bette Wilson after her husband, Ross, died. She was in her eighties, living alone in a tiny, dilapidated house across the street. She had attended the church most Sundays for 50 years until the 16-member congregation disbanded in…
Members of St. Paul’s Cathedral Church know what it is like to rely on the kindness of others in a time of need. They also know the importance of sharing their abundant blessings with those in need of assistance. That’s why the Episcopal congregation in Burlington, Vt., has opened its doors to a neighboring Presbyterian…
By Jerry L. Van Marter PRINCETON, N.J. – With the idea of membership meaning less and less in American culture and its churches, the Rev. John Burgess today (Dec. 10) suggested rethinking the theology of baptism as the key to recasting what membership means in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). “Attention to baptismal theology and practice…
Less than three weeks before Christmas, a Long Island, N.Y., congregation finds itself worshipping in its community building after a fire gutted the sanctuary. Yaphank Presbyterian Church (YPC), located in the southeastern region of central Suffolk County on Long Island, was condemned after a fire raced through the building’s interior in the early-morning hours of…
By Frederick Melo In St. Paul’s Hamline-Midway neighborhood, the Knox Presbyterian Church at 1536 W. Minnehaha Ave. has put its 1914 building up for sale. The congregation, which was chartered in 1890, grew to 900 members in the 1950s. But it recently has dropped to about 55 regular attendees, victim in part to national trends…