By Leslie Scanlon, The Presbyterian Outlook. Members of the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board’s finance committee continue to be concerned about the likelihood that the Presbyterian Mission Agency of the Presbyterian Church (USA) will deplete its unrestricted reserves by 2017 and are searching for ways to respond to that financial possibility. By the end of this…
By Leslie Scanlon, The Presbyterian Outlook The Presbyterian Church (USA) is facing more unwelcome news – this time involving financial mismanagement of the 2013 Youth Triennium, which was held in July 2013. An audit review has discovered that costs for the 2013 Youth Triennium exceeded the budget by nearly $600,000 (more than 29 percent over…
By Jerry L. Van Marter, Presbyterian News Service A prominent Nashville attorney has been hired by the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board’s (PMAB) Executive Committee to investigate the circumstances surrounding the unauthorized establishment of an independent corporation in southern California. The corporation was designed to benefit the 1001 New Worshiping Communities movement of the Presbyterian Church…
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…
By Leslie Scanlon, The Presbyterian Outlook An internal investigation has found that four employees of the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s national staff were involved in an unauthorized plan in which funds were channeled from the denomination to an outside entity. The four – all connected with the PCUSA’s evangelism efforts at the top levels – have…
The Presbyterian Mission Agency Board (PMAB) issued a surprising comment about an overture from Pittsburgh Presbytery (11-02) which called for the Presbyterian Church (USA) to turn its attention to the plight of Christians suffering persecution due to sectarian violence in Egypt and other parts of the world. The comment reads: The suffering of the church…
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A letter written to accompany the Confession of Belhar declares it to be a “word from God” in the first paragraph, thereby raising the confession to the level of canonical, instead of being what it is – the word of men. Written by the Special Committee on the Belhar Confession, the 3,131-word…
The Presbyterian Mission Agency Board, on the recommendation of the Mission Responsibility Through Investment (MRTI) committee, is recommending to the 221st General Assembly meeting this summer in Detroit that the denomination purge its investment portfolios of Caterpillar, Hewlett-Packard and Motorola Solutions stocks. Presbyterians speaking with voices on all sides of all issues were raised during…
By Jerry L. Van Marter The Presbyterian Mission Agency Board (PMAB) today (Feb. 6) approved a proposal from four key staff that they be allowed to develop a plan for the ongoing ministry of Stony Point Center in New York for the board’s consideration in April. The agreement—temporarily, at least—gets the PMAB out of an…
The Presbyterian Mission Agency Board just firmly bit one of the hands that still was feeding it. The message to Presbyterians who lead, manage and operate the Corrections Corporation of America could not have been more clear: “Our request would be that they cease doing the business that they’re doing.” The statement was made by…