A congregation in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina was dismissed to become part of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) during the April 30 meeting of the Presbytery of Western North Carolina (PWNC), giving up its manse in exchange for the remainder of its real property. Riceville Presbyterian Church, located in Swannanoa just east…
By Neal D. Presa, moderator of the 220th General Assembly (2012) Grace and peace in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ! Because this Father’s Day weekend will mark exactly 52 weeks until the convening of the 221st General Assembly (2014) in Detroit, Michigan, on June 14, 2014, I invite you to join me on…
By Mike Butts CALDWELL — Caldwell’s historic Boone Memorial Presbyterian Church split into two factions this spring primarily over whether gay members could serve as church leaders. The Church, founded in 1888, now has an evangelical group that continues to use the building on South 14th Avenue and another group that meets at the Jewett…
Membership in the Presbyterian Church (USA) declined by more than 100,000 last year, according to the 2012 statistics released recently by the denomination’s Office of the General Assembly. It is the single largest annual membership decline since the PCUSA was formed in 1983. By the end of 2012, total membership in the PCUSA was 1,849,496,…
The Layman ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians has been received into the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC). The newest Presbyterian denomination, formed in January 2012, will be officially welcomed into WCRC within the next few months but already has been reviewed and received provisionally. The Rev. Dr. Setri Nyomi, general secretary of…
By Ann Rodgers / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Last year, the dwindling congregation at Homestead United Presbyterian Church was bitterly divided over worship styles and how to face the fact that it could no longer afford both its beautiful building and a full-time pastor. “The church was really in despair,” said Mary Solomon, 83, a member since 1959….
By Hilary Trenda Some Davidson College students and faculty are pushing the school to drop a bylaw that requires the school’s president to be a Presbyterian. Since it was founded in 1837, the small liberal arts college in Davidson has been affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). Some form of the religious requirement bylaw has…
The Rev. Dr. Tom Trinidad, vice moderator of the Presbyterian Church (USA), is making the rounds at presbytery meetings and sharing his perspective on the state of the church. On May 21 the setting was Charlotte Presbytery in North Carolina, and the packed house at Paw Creek Presbyterian Church was eager to engage the denominational…
By Barton Gingerich At the start of May, Union University was graced with the presence of notable evangelical theologians who commented on the issues of homosexuality, marriage, the church, and society. Southern Baptist leader Russell Moore joined the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s Robert Gagnon at Union’s conference, “Salt and Light in the Public Square: Charles Colson’s…
A Texas church located on Galveston Island has been dismissed from the Presbyterian Church (USA) and accepted as a member of ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians. West Isle Presbyterian Church, located at the western end of Galveston Island some 50 miles southeast of Houston, was dismissed from the PCUSA during a March 16…