The Presbyterian Church of Rwanda (EPR) is a few weeks into its annual 100 days of remembrance of the genocide against the Tutsi, which extends from early April through July 4. Each year these days are devoted to helping bring healing to survivors of the genocide who continue to struggle with poverty, unemployment, sickness and other issues. All 212 parishes in EPR’s seven presbyteries are focused on the transformational power of the gospel to bring unity, reconciliation and restoration to all who have been traumatized — from one generation to the next.
What a trap! They came to put Jesus in jeopardy with the authorities regarding the payment of taxes to Caesar, and he turned it back on them. They were caught in their own theological trap because they had a double standard. They did their best to get along with the Roman authorities, while quietly teaching their people that God — not the civil authorities — must be the ultimate object of their worship. They taught that in the end, everything belongs to God, so when Jesus put before them the coin showing the image of Caesar, they were in a bind. The worship of the one on the coin was a basic principle of Roman citizenship. He was to be worshiped and obeyed not simply as the political primate, but as a god, and therefore a divine alternative to the God of Israel, to whom the Jewish leaders were bound.
After almost a year as chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives, which The New York Times called “one of the most reviled congregations in the country,” the Rev. Patrick Conroy was back in Portland, Ore., for a few days to meet with his Jesuit counterparts.
Nearly a year into her stint as the State Department’s point person on religious freedom, the Rev. Suzan Johnson Cook has traveled to eight countries and seems to have moved beyond questions about her lack of diplomatic experience.
Inspired by a common spiritual conviction that God has called on all people to protect the vulnerable and promote the dignity of all individuals living in society,” Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Stated Clerk Gradye Parsons joined other Christian, Jewish, and Muslim leaders on Tuesday to meet with Republican and Democratic Congressional leadership, lifting up those struggling with poverty in the U.S. and abroad.
Church leaders and activists in Sri Lanka are warning that the Indian Ocean island could become a “constitutional dictatorship” after the country’s parliament voted changes to the nation’s fundamental law.
Flexibility and framework are words coming up often in the discussions surrounding the Form of Government revision being considered here at the 219th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
The new Form of Government Task Force of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has The Form of Government Task Force has submitted the final draft of its report to the 219th General Assembly (2010).
The task force voted unanimously at its meeting here last month to approve the report.
The new proposal makes some changes from the recommendations regarding the Form of Government (FOG) that the General Assembly considered in 2008, but it keeps intact some key recommendations from that first plan, including some considered controversial.
Among them:
The Form of Government Task Force has unanimously approved and submitted to the stated clerk of the General Assembly the final version of its work to revise the Form of Government of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
The 11 members of the task force spent a major portion of their August 12-14 meeting here reviewing and refining their work before taking a final vote on Thursday (Aug. 13).
The task force released the initial draft of its work last fall. It invited feedback from across the church, which was taken into consideration as the group made final revisions to …