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Written by Paul Detterman
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Friday, 18 November 2011 15:58 |
Editor’s Note: PFR has been uncommonly quiet since the passage of Amendment 10-A in May. This is partly due to the amount of time and energy PFR has been investing in helping to promote and advance The Fellowship of Presbyterians, and partly due to the fact that when everyone else is talking it is often polite to wait your turn. Here is what I hope will be a helpful commentary as we come into the season of preparation we call Advent and, as evangelicals in the PC(USA), begin another type of preparation altogether on the threshold of 2012.
I’m blessed. I’ve never had to endure, in my immediate family, the kind of agony I have seen close friends and parishioners experience; misunderstandings that lead to anger, unresolved anger that leads to acrimony, and acrimony that ends in deep and prolonged bitterness and loss.
Like most adults, I know another kind of grief, however—the grief that comes with the experience of death and the re-ordering of life that includes closing a family home, sorting and disposing of family “things” (many of them with memories attached), and moving on. That grief not only includes lament over what has happened, but the homesickness that comes at the end of an era or the close of a relationship we cherished and thought we could count on.
In the days leading up to this season of Advent, innumerable evangelicals who have been part of the family of faith called the PC(USA) are grieving—a deep grief that has yet to be adequately named by those of us who are experiencing it, and will seemingly never be understood by those who are causing it. This is not the momentary sadness of watching your political party take a beating in an election or the frustration of seeing your favorite team lose in the playoffs. Nor does our grief find appropriate expression in anger, acrimony, or bitterness. We have witnessed something beautiful, meaningful, and central to our identity destroyed—an expression of the body of Christ that was our theological, sacramental, and communal home. Everyone who has been around for the destruction has been permanently marred as well. At one level we are furious. But we are also hurting, heartbroken, and homesick.
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Written by Dr. Ken Bailey
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Thursday, 14 July 2011 15:15 |
 Once a small mouse was playing around the feet of a family of elephants. The mouse suddenly decided to run down the hill away from the elephants. The elephants did not follow the mouse.
The Presbyterian Church (USA) in 2011 is just over one half of one percent of the population of America and America is approximately 5% of the population of the world. We are a very small blip on the radar screen of world Christianity. Sixty percent of the world’s Christians are now in the Global South which is comprised of South America, Africa, and Asia. Paul wrote to the churches of his day and affirmed, “You (plural) are the body of Christ.” He also said, “You (plural) are the holy temple.” In our day the interconnectedness of each part of the larger body of Christ is more profoundly a reality than at any time since the earliest beginnings of the Church in the middle of the first century. What can be said about Presbyterian world mission and 10-A? |
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Written by PFR
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Thursday, 27 October 2011 10:04 |
The 'Gathering' in Minneapolis in August 2011 was a significant event in the life of the PCUSA. If you are interested in some of the plenary session content, online videos are now available. Click here.
Included are:
1. Ken Bailey's Bible study on the Father of the Prodigals (responding in grace not anger);
2. Richard Mouw's two addresses on "Reformed Essentials" and "The denominational crisis and what to keep in our hearts as we explore options."
3. Jim Singleton "Why a Fellowship of Presbyterians?"
4. John Crosby "Why a New Reformed Body?" and
5. A variety of current and future church leaders envisioning "The Church Jesus Christ Wants Us to Be." [How encouraging to see these newer generations of leaders.]
Consider attending the next Fellowship event in person: Wednesday, January 18, 7:30pm to Friday, January 20 5pm; at Rosen’s Shingle Creek in Orlando, FL. Take your spouse and extend your stay up to 3 days before or three days after for the same economical hotel rate. Go to The Fellowship of Presbyterians website for more information: http://www.fellowship-pres.org/ . Registration for the Covenanting Conference is now open.
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Written by PFR
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Thursday, 14 July 2011 13:49 |
 Each year since 1989 PFR, through our Network of Presbyterian Women in Leadership, has awarded the Lydia Scholarship to a female seminarian who exhibits vibrant faith in Jesus Christ, has a vision of spiritual renewal, and desires to serve Christ through ordained ministry in the PC(USA). We are pleased to announce the winner of the 2011 Lydia Scholarship: Christine Myers-Tegeder. |
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