by Ruy O. Costa
This is the fourth of four papers developed by the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy (ACSWP) and made available to the church for study, reflection and feedback on issues related to globalization and international trade and the church's advocacy on trade issues in the public arena. In this paper, Ruy Costa examines the impact of globalization upon various cultures.
by the Rev. Bonnie M. Orth
Gloucester (Mass.) Men Against Domestic Abuse started with men in the community realizing that in order to end domestic violence, they must take a stand, publicly state their belief that "Strong Men Don’t Bully" and take a proactive approach.
For two hundred years, General Assemblies of the Presbyterian Church have been concerned with religious liberty and the relationship of church and state. The first General Assembly might well have heard the echo of Hanover Presbytery’s mighty Memorial to the Virginia legislature: "We ask no ecclesias-tical establishments for ourselves; neither can we approve of them when granted to others." Since 1788, our basic Principles of Church Order have placed in the first position the powerful commitment of our Reformed faith to religious liber-ty: "God alone is Lord of the conscience.…
This paper affirms work, paid and unpaid, as an integral part of the believer’s response to God’s call, the call to vocation in God’s world. Good work should reflect the principles of justice on which the church’s witness is based, and is described as full, fair, participatory and sustaining. The heart of the policy statement is its “Principles of Vocation and Work” (in Korean and Spanish also) which include the church's role as "model employer," fair compensation, human dignity and non-discrimination, and collective bargaining rights. Recommendations include economic planning for full employment, economic …
The goal of realizing equity in the church and the world for all of God’s children is sealed in Scripture, rooted in the Reformed tradition, and consistently mandated in Presbyterian policy statements. From its founding, God’s church has been called to provide a prophetic witness wherever and whenever equity remains unrealized. Whenever there are patterns of inequality that profoundly distort what is equitable—what people deserve and need to sustain themselves—not necessarily strict equality, then both the witness and the unity of the church are at stake. In the church and in the world today there is a disturbing disparity in …
Suppose someone gave you $200 to give to a charity or religious cause. How would you decide where to contribute? We presented Presbyterians that scenario on a 2005 survey, asking them how important each of 12 factors would be in their decision making.
- from the January/February 2009 issue of Presbyterians Today magazine.
The number of Presbyterians has been declining slowly but steadily in recent decades. Let’s look at concurrent changes in the number and size of congregations.
- from the November 2009 issue of Presbyterians Today magazine.
Results from a late 2008 survey provide a recent snapshot of Presbyterian opinion on homosexuality and ordination.
- from the October 2009 issue of Presbyterians Today magazine.
To help the Presbyterian Committee on Congregational Song as it works toward the development of a new hymnal, Research Services surveyed a sample of pastors, music leaders, and members in congregations using the current denominational hymnal.
- from the July/August 2009 edition of Presbyterians Today magazine.
In the 1990s, the General Assembly set two diversity goals: increasing the racial ethnic (nonwhite) share of the membership to 10 percent by 2005 and to 20 percent by 2010. How are we doing?
- from the August 2010 issue of Presbyterians Today magazine.
In 1999, the earliest year with near-complete racial ethnic data for all congregations, 6.4 percent of Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) members were racial ethnic.
By 2005 that share had grown to 8.1 percent, and by 2008 to 8.6 percent.
Numerically, racial ethnic membership grew from 169,000 in1999 to 187,000 in 2006, before dropping slightly to 184,000 in …