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A river runs through Assembly’s daily worship services
Splish-splash! Water will run throughout the Assembly’s daily worship services, Tuesday through Saturday at 8:30 a.m., based on the Assembly theme from John 7:38: “Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.”
Posted at July 5, 2010 11:45 p.m. in ga219 , westminster presbyterian church
Mission Coordination Committee begins its work
The 219th General Assembly (2010) Mission Coordination Committee began its work on Monday by tackling the first of several funding items.
By a 43-10 vote, the committee endorsed a recommendation from the General Assembly Mission Council (GAMC) to end on Dec. 31, 2013, the practice of Mission Partnership Funds – monies distributed by the General Assembly to synods for redistribution to presbyteries.
Posted at July 5, 2010 11:45 p.m. in acrec , foundation , ga219
Committee on church growth discusses role of union churches, increasing diversity
"Lucy in the sky with diamonds" echoed down the hall from Committee 15 early Monday morning at the 219th General Assembly (2010). Presbyterians passing by peaked into the room and a few said, “I wish I was in that group!” The 55 members gathered in the room to consider overtures and reports regarding church growth, Christian education and the Presbyterian Investment & Loan Program, Inc.
Posted at July 5, 2010 10:53 p.m. in ga219
Respectful engagement is the way forward, Niebuhr tells Covenant Network
“Yes, he is one of the Niebuhr Niebuhrs,” said Deborah Block, co-moderator of the Covenant Network, as she introduced Gustav Niebuhr, featured speaker at the CovNet Luncheon Monday as part of the 219th General Assembly (2010).
Niebuhr began his talk, “Tolerance is a Floor, Not a Ceiling,” by recalling the time he was covering two advocacy groups on opposite sides of a divisive issue at a previous General Assembly. “What was remarkable was not that they disagreed with each other, but that both displayed a noteworthy calm – neither spoke unpleasantly about the other. Each group accorded to the other respect.”
Posted at July 5, 2010 10:40 p.m. in ga219 , the covenant network
Author tells GA breakfast-goers how cultural shift changes society, religion
“Let us hear about this crazy thing God is doing with the church.” That was the invitation of the Rev. Gradye Parsons, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly, to the capacity crowd at the 219th General Assembly (2010) breakfast Monday. His invitation was illuminated later by the breakfast’s speaker, Phyllis Tickle, author of The Great Emergence; How Christianity is Changing and Why.
Posted at July 5, 2010 10:02 p.m. in ga219
Their aid is of 'bib'-lical import
It’s hard to miss the smiling faces of the local host committee members.
These volunteers, each in their ubiquitous white bib (as modeled here by Judy Maul of Plymouth, Minn., and Carole Killpatrick, Minneapolis), seem to be everywhere, most appropriately when you can’t seem to locate a direct path from Hall E to Room 203D, for example.
Posted at July 5, 2010 6:12 p.m. in cola , ga
Presbyterian Peacemaking Program shares overview of its work
The Committee on Peacemaking and International Issues at the 219th General Assembly (2010) heard an overview Sunday of the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program during the committee’s opening session.
The Peacemaking Program has its roots in a statement called “Peacemaking: The Believers’ Calling,” affirmed by the two predecessor denominations of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in the early 1980s, said the Rev. Mark Koenig, coordinator of the Peacemaking Program. The statement “recognized that Presbyterians had been seeking peace for many years,” Koenig said. “It called us to renew our peacemaking ministries.”
Posted at July 5, 2010 5:53 p.m. in ga219 , peacemaking
YAADs bring new energy to GA while gaining experience
While other Assembly participants were retiring to their rooms following Saturday’s late-night Moderator election, Caroline Sherard and Michael East were just getting their second wind.
As the meeting room vibrated with the driving beat of energizers, the Young Adult Advisory Delegates co-moderators – elected from a field of 15 on Friday evening by the 161 YAADs of the 219th General Assembly (2010) – prepared to motivate and inspire their cohorts.
Posted at July 5, 2010 5:43 p.m. in ga219 , young adult
Assembly committee recommends Valentine for second term as GAMC leader
By unanimous vote, the Mission Coordination Committee of the 219th General Assembly (2010) recommended that Linda Bryant Valentine be confirmed to a second four-year term as executive director of the General Assembly Mission Council (GAMC).
The Assembly will vote on the recommendation later in the week.
Posted at July 5, 2010 1:10 a.m. in ga219 , linda valentine
Skype gets pastor to two places at once on Sunday morning
The Rev. Chuck Proudfoot worked in Minneapolis on Sunday. He also preached at the worship service of his congregation, Community Presbyterian Church, 1,600 miles away in Payson, Ariz.
Posted at July 5, 2010 12:50 a.m. in skype