God, We are surrounded by violence, learning geography through tragedy: Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Brooklyn Center, Chicago. No place is safe. So many lives needlessly lost in just one week — we feel so small, so helpless in the wake of these murders. We pray for all whose breath has been taken. Receive them into your loving embrace. We pray for all who grieve. Carry them gently through the darkness. Be their strength and ever-present help in this terrible time of trouble. We confess this violence that surrounds us lies within us as well. Though we measure life in years, we take seconds to size up friend or foe. We say we are one nation under God, yet division is embedded in every system and every heart. We do violence to each other whether we carry weapons or not. But from the margins the voices cry: Let us reimagine How and who and what we protect! The lost, the least, the vulnerable — your divine image is in all of us. It’s a call for new creation, for … [Read more...]
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Worship Resources 5 hours ago
O God of resurrection hope: A prayer in response to violence
God, We are surrounded by violence, learning geography through tragedy: Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Brooklyn Center, Chicago. No place is safe. So many lives needlessly lost in just one week — we feel so small, so helpless in the wake of these murders. We pray for all whose breath has been taken. Receive them into your loving embrace. We pray for all who grieve. Carry them gently through the darkness. Be their strength and ever-present help in this terrible time of trouble. We confess this violence that surrounds us lies within us… continue reading... -
Commentary 17 hours ago
Board of Pensions shares steps it’s taking on diversity, equity, inclusion
Guest commentary by Lea Sitton PHILADELPHIA — Even as the Board of Pensions of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) received a 2020 NACD NXT award, its focus was on the road ahead. The national award recognized the agency for making diversity and inclusion a priority. Yet, it knew that there was more to be done. “We all still have work to do,” said Philip Amoa, chair of the agency’s Board of Directors Development and Governance Committee, who accepted the award on the Board of Pensions’ behalf. “I am grateful for this… continue reading... -
Looking into the lectionary 18 hours ago
3rd Sunday of Easter – April 18, 2021
Luke 24:13-48 Easter 3B The final chapter of Luke narrates two back-to-back appearances of the risen Lord to disciples, and both feature Luke’s characteristic “journey” theme. Looking into the lectionary is sent to the Outlook’s email list every Monday. The first appearance takes place in transit, as two dejected disciples on a dusty road en route to Emmaus encounter a stranger they do not recognize at first — who turns out to be the risen Christ. Their journey takes an abrupt change in direction as they rush back to Jerusalem… continue reading...
Parties in Stamford case had tried to expedite process in order to get a ruling on the merits of the case January 1, 1995 Uncategorized87 views The General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission -- in sidestepping the question of exactly how deeply a session should be required to probe into the private life of a gay elder who has acknowledged being in a committed, life-long relationship but has declined to say whether he is sexually active -- has put the question off but has not put it to rest.- Ministering with the Earth January 1, 1998 Book Reviews97 views By Mary Elizabeth MooreChalice. 1998. 226 pp. Pb. $19.99. ISBN 0-8272-2323-4 Ministering with the Earth is a quiltwork, both the on-the-ground activity and Moore's book about so ministering. Moore, professor of theology and Christian education at Claremont School of Theology, is fond of the metaphor, suitably pastoral and feminist.
- Remembered Voice: Reclaiming the Legacy of 'Neo-Orthodoxy' January 1, 1998 Book Reviews86 views By Douglas John HallWJKP. 1998. 145 pp. Pb. $18. ISBN 0-664-25772-0 It was in this order. I first read Tillich's Dynamics of Faith. Riveting. Next came The Courage to Be. Gripping. Then I went back and read the first volume of the Systematic Theology. Things began to make sense. Next came Biblical Religion and the Search for Ultimate Reality. Positive.
Plans and docket proposed for 2022 General Assembly March 18, 2021 Outlook Reporting3 comments The Committee on the Office of the General Assembly (COGA) considered a “first read” on a series of documents that would shape the 2022 General Assembly — with a formal vote on those proposals to come at COGA’s next online meeting, April 13-16.
Some of the big takeaways from the draft proposals, which COGA work groups presented in a Zoom meeting March 18, are that:
The 2022 General Assembly would be a hybrid of in-person committee meetings in Louisville from June 20-July 3, 2022 and onl...
A hymn for a hot mess February 13, 2020 Outpost Blog1 comment What’s my favorite hymn? There are two I simply cannot decide between.
The first is #525 in the blue Presbyterian Hymnal (the one from the ‘90s). It is the only hymn I know by number in the hymnal of my youth. There are certain hymns that many a pastor are tired of or don’t want to sing or hear anymore. #525 is such a hymn for many. When I meet with other pastors and we do all our top-secret pastor business and this hymn comes up, there is a collective groan. Every single time. (Please don’t tell them I told you this. I will get kicked out. After all, I am already skating on thin ice with my hymn choice.) The ...
PC(USA) shelves plans for Big Tent in 2021 July 13, 2020 Presbyterian News Service1 comment (OGA) The COVID-19 pandemic coupled with major budgeting issues have prompted leaders in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to cancel plans for Big Tent in 2021. The Reverend Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the PC(USA), and the Reverend Dr. Diane Moffett, President and Executive Director of the Presbyterian Mission Agency, made the decision last week.
“These are uncertain times in the life of our denomination. While we believe that God has placed us here at this particular moment, we recognize that presbyteries, churches, and the national office are facing huge financial ch...
O God of resurrection hope: A prayer in response to violence
Tagged With: prayers
Board of Pensions shares steps it’s taking on diversity, equity, inclusion
Guest commentary by Lea Sitton PHILADELPHIA — Even as the Board of Pensions of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) received a 2020 NACD NXT award, its focus was on the road ahead. The national award recognized the agency for making diversity and inclusion a priority. Yet, it knew that there was more to be done. “We all still have work to do,” said Philip Amoa, chair of the agency’s Board of Directors Development and Governance Committee, who accepted the award on the Board of Pensions’ behalf. “I am grateful for this recognition of the work the directors, management and staff have done so far.” As a national agency of the PC(USA), the Board of Pensions shares the denomination’s Matthew 25 commitment to dismantling structural racism. Its board of directors, leadership and staff are identifying the effects of structural racism throughout the agency so they can eliminate them. The agency statement on racial justice, released amid the cries for justice that followed the killing of … [Read more...]
3rd Sunday of Easter – April 18, 2021
Luke 24:13-48 Easter 3B The final chapter of Luke narrates two back-to-back appearances of the risen Lord to disciples, and both feature Luke’s characteristic “journey” theme. The first appearance takes place in transit, as two dejected disciples on a dusty road en route to Emmaus encounter a stranger they do not recognize at first — who turns out to be the risen Christ. Their journey takes an abrupt change in direction as they rush back to Jerusalem to share this news with the 11, to whom Jesus makes his second appearance. Neither do they recognize Jesus when he appears, taking him to be a ghost. At the conclusion of the second appearance, the risen Lord forecasts a journey on the horizon for the church. Indeed, Luke 24:47-48 summarizes the plotline for the sequel to the Gospel that follows in the book of Acts: “Repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.” These … [Read more...]
The in-person meeting horizon: PC(USA) plans to meet remotely for 2021, mulls options for 2024 General Assembly
Although things could change – from the start, the COVID-19 pandemic has been a crash-course in switching directions – for now the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) does not plan to hold in-person meetings for the rest of 2021. Kathy Lueckert, president of the PC(USA), A Corporation, told the Committee on the Office of the General Assembly (COGA) in a Zoom meeting April 15 that leaders from PC(USA) agencies met in early March and created a phased plan for gradually re-opening the denomination’s national office building in Louisville and allowing staff to travel, with permission from supervisors. If some staff members decided to continue working from home, work spaces at the national offices might be consolidated on fewer floors, giving the PC(USA) an opportunity to lease more of the space to tenants, Lueckert said. But, the group decided there would be no in-person meetings in 2021 for the Office of the General Assembly, the Presbyterian Mission Agency, the Administrative Services … [Read more...]
Regarding ruling elders: Leaders see
(OGA) Each of us has a deep and profound need to be seen. That truth has never been more real to me than when a young white man shot and killed eight people, six of whom were Asian American women, in Atlanta recently. Those deaths brought into clear focus the dramatic rise of anti-Asian hatred across our country. I am a fourth-generation Japanese American. I was born in Honolulu. My parents were both born in California. Their parents, my grandparents, were born either in California or in Hawaii. It was my great-grandparents who emigrated from Japan to the United States. We have been Americans for more than 150 years. Yet we, like many other Asian Americans, are viewed as “perpetual foreigners.” It is one thing to live in a large metropolitan area with many other Asian American faces. It is another thing to live in the Midwest where there are fewer of us around. So it was particularly moving for me when I was walking to church in the week following the shootings in Atlanta, and I … [Read more...]
God’s family: Family faith formation @ home
Welcome Before you begin, invite those gathered to go outside (or if weather does not permit, around the house) and gather something that reminds them of new life (a flower, a leaf, water, a cross, the Bible or anything they think connects with resurrection) and place it in the center of the gathering after each repetition of “He is risen indeed!” Repeat as often as necessary. One: Christ is risen! All: He is risen indeed! (Place a sign of new life on the table.) One: There are signs all around. Christ is risen! All: He is risen indeed! (Place a sign of new life on the table.) One: The old has gone and the new is come. Christ is risen! All: He is risen indeed! (Place a sign of new life on the table.) One: Because of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, we can begin anew. Christ is risen! All: He is risen indeed! One: We are here, Holy Spirit. Show us new ways to be faithful. God sightings and prayer offerings Invite each … [Read more...]
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