By the Presbyterian News Service At its June 6-8 meeting in Albany and Schenectady, N.Y., the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy heard from its study teams, discussed General Assembly referrals and met with local Presbyterians engaged in outreach in Albany Presbytery. The 12-member committee is elected by the General Assembly to help the whole…
The Presbyterian Story: Origins & Progress of a Reformed Tradition By S. Donald Fortson III Professor of Church History Reformed Theological Seminary Order a copy at Amazon. Being Presbyterian involves multiple layers of identity and connection. As Christians, Presbyterians are “catholic,” sharing the common heritage of ancient Christianity with all believers, of all times, in all…
As the nation waits on the ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court on same-sex marriage, a recent Presbyterian Church (USA) poll shows that there are an equal number of pastors who either agree (44 percent) or disagree (44 percent) that the PCUSA should permit ministers to perform same-sex marriages in U.S. states and territories where…
A study process under way in the Presbyterian Church (USA) asks church members to “[s]eek clarity as to God’s call to the church to embrace nonviolence as its fundamental response to the challenges of violence, terror, and war.” The process, initiated by the 2010 PCUSA General Assembly, is expected to yield policy changes proposed by…
In mid May I had a long sit down at the Brick Presbyterian Church in Manhattan with Rev. Mieke Vandersall, executive director of Presbyterian Welcome and the pastor of a new worshiping community called “Not so Churchy.” The two of us could hardly be further apart on the issues that divide Presbyterians today but I…
by Dennis H. Piermont on The Presbyterian Outlook In the fall of 2011, four congregations in the Presbytery of the Miami Valley each decided to hold congregational meetings on Reformation Sunday to seek “disaffiliation with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).” Each of these congregation occupied significant places in the life of the presbytery; each of their…
A Korean Presbyterian church in Texas was dismissed to join ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians during a meeting of Irving-based Grace Presbytery. According to presbytery documents, Bethany Korean Presbyterian Church was dismissed from the Presbyterian Church (USA) on April 20. The congregation – comprised of 344 members – voted April 7 to be…
The Fellowship of Presbyterians The Fellowship of Presbyterians was created in 2011 to help individuals and congregations who are committed to building flourishing congregations who make disciples of Jesus Christ. In early 2012, ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians was formed. While some who have joined The Fellowship anticipate an eventual transition into ECO,…
By Kirsten Blake, Kanabec County Times The First Presbyterian Church of Mora recently changed from belonging to a denomination they felt strayed from scripture to a denomination they felt more accurately reflected the congregation’s beliefs — a switch that cost the 88-member church $150,000. The switch from their previous denomination, the Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA),…
By Larry Brown, The Aquila Report I have just read where the Presbyterian Church, USA (PCUSA) lost 102,791members for the year ending December 31, 2012. This is a more than 5% decrease from the previous year, and the biggest decline since the Presbyterian Church US (PCUS) and the United Presbyterian Church USA (UPC, USA) merged…