Earlier stories are indexed:

Grants will support congregation-based community programs
[5-2-08]

From Presbyterian News Service — The Presbyterian Hunger Program (PHP) in partnership with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s Small Church and Community Ministry office, recently allocated $214,000 to 39 congregation-based community organizations (CBCOs) in urban and rural areas across the country.

They are among the hundreds of Presbyterian U.S. congregations making a difference in their local communities through CBCOs.

CBCOs are broad-based coalitions of congregations working in partnership with other community organizations that address quality of life issues such as affordable housing, public healthcare for children, living wage and public education.

Grants are provided to support training for lay leaders, pastors, middle governing bodies staff and seminarians to develop the skills for congregational-based community organizing. “Presbyterian congregations and their leaders are working together through congregational-based community organizations with other churches and faith communities to effectively address poverty-related issues impacting their larger communities,” said the Rev. Phil Tom, associate for the PC(USA)’s Small Church and Community Ministry office.

The funds are from the Community Development portion of the One Great Hour of Sharing offering. Recipients were chosen during a March 14 meeting of the Presbyterian Hunger Program Advisory Committee.

Presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama has lifted up the subject of community organizing since he worked as a community organizer on the Southside of Chicago in the mid-1980's. The community organizing movement was pioneered in Chicago in the late 1930's by Saul Alinksy. The PC(USA) has been a supporter of the community organizing movement since the 1950's.

News release from Ed Koster, dated April 17, 2008.

See also the Presbyterian News Service report >>

The Rev. Edward H. Koster shall stand for election as Stated Clerk of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

"We know Ed Koster, have seen his dedication to Jesus Christ and his Church, and have observed his skills in his work as stated clerk of the Presbytery," said Neil Cowling, spokesperson for Advisors to Ed Koster. "For eight months we have been advising, meeting with him, and praying with him as he has described his sense that God has called him to seek election. We believe that his call is genuine, and that if elected he will make an outstanding Stated Clerk."

Koster comes to the election from a varied experience. He is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, and served five years in the Navy during the Viet Nam War. After receiving his Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, VA, he studied Old Testament history in the doctoral program of the Department of Near Eastern Studies of the University of Michigan for three years, receiving his MA in 1974. He served as pastor of Calvary Presbyterian Church in An Arbor, Michigan for 10 years, during which time he also served as chaplain in the Washtenaw County Jail, President of the Ann Arbor Council of Churches, and chaplain at the VA Hospital in Ann Arbor. He studied organizational development in 1985-86 under the late Dr. Ronald Lippitt, then at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan, and Kathie Dannemiller, who was principal in Dannemiller-Tyson Associates of Ann Arbor.

He entered the University of Toledo College of Law in 1988 and began his law practice in Ann Arbor in 1992. He practices in the Washtenaw County Juvenile Court in cases of abuse, neglect and delinquency. He is trained by the Michigan Supreme Court Administrator's Office as a mediator and mediator trainer in Michigan's community mediation program.

Koster has served since 1995 as the Stated Clerk of the Presbytery of Detroit, the regional body of Presbyterian churches in southeast Michigan. The Detroit position is the regional parallel to the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). This work involves organizing seven Presbytery meetings a year and preparing the minutes, advising on process and parliamentary procedure, staffing various committees and teams of the Presbytery. He works with Presbyterians throughout the region to advise on church rules and procedures, and consults with local churches to help them through times of change and difficulty. He is a parish associate at First Presbyterian Church, Ann Arbor.

Koster is the author of a dozen published articles about issues facing the church at national and local levels.

Responding to the announcement of his advisors, Koster said, "I feel that God has called me to serve the Church in this way, to lift up issues I see from my experience in the church as pastor, attorney, and 13 years as Stated Clerk of the Presbytery of Detroit. I believe that while our leadership has been faithful and competent, it has increasingly strayed from the core of the church. If I am called to serve, I believe I can make a difference."

The election to the position will take place at the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), which will be held in San Jose, California, June 21-28. Nominations will be made to the Assembly on the evening of June 22^nd, and the election will take place on the morning of the 27^th. Mr Koster will be nominated by his pastor, Douglas Brouwer of First Presbyterian Church of Ann Arbor. The Presbytery of Detroit voted to support Mr. Koster when he announced in January that he had submitted his application.

The Stated Clerk is an officer of the General Assembly, responsible for arrangements for the biennial meetings of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), publishing and announcing the proceedings of the Assembly, giving advisory opinions on the Constitution of the Church, representing the Church in its relations with other churches and faiths, and performing administrative functions for the agencies and boards of the General Assembly. The term is for four years.

Among the Advisors to Ed Koster are Ruth Knoll (Ann Arbor, Michigan), Elders Dixie Elam (Livonia, Michigan) and Virginia Koster (Ann Arbor, Michigan), and ministers Allen D. Timm (Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan), William Zambon (Ypsilanti, Michigan), Douglas Brouwer (Ann Arbor, Michigan), and Kevin Johnson (Detroit, Michigan). 
 

An added note from your WebWeaver: 

Election of successor to Cliff Kirkpatrick set for June 27 at GA

by Jerry L. Van Marter, Presbyterian News Service   [4-3-08]

LOUISVILLE — April 3, 2008 – The Stated Clerk Nominating Committee (SCNC) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) announced today that the Rev. Gradye Parsons is its consensus nominee to serve as the next General Assembly Stated Clerk, the top ecclesiastical post in the 2.3 million-member denomination.

The election to a four-year term is slated for Friday, June 27, during the 218th General Assembly of the PC(USA). If elected, Parsons will succeed the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, who earlier this year declined to seek a fourth term.

Parsons has served as associate stated clerk of the General Assembly for the past eight years. In that role, he has been the director of operations for the Office of the General Assembly (OGA), including director of OGA’s General Assembly Meeting Services department.

Previously, Parsons served as pastor of two churches in Tennessee for fifteen years. He was executive presbyter and stated clerk of Holston Presbytery for six years.

“Guided by a strong faith in Jesus Christ and a deep love of the church in general and the PC(USA) in particular, Gradye Parsons brings a wonderful blend of experiences and creative leadership to successfully fill the position of Stated Clerk,” said Steve Grace, an elder, member of the Committee on the Office of the General Assembly and chairperson of the nomination committee.

“Gradye has led the way in changing from annual to biennial General Assemblies and encouraging the church to explore tools of discernment and other innovative ways of decision-making. The committee was excited to hear about his vision to revitalize elder leadership in the church, which began with the first-ever national elders conference last August.”

Grace noted, “Gradye brings a broad knowledge of the church, as well as a breadth of experience — from a pastoral perspective and a middle governing body leadership position.”

Parsons said, “I am humbled and excited to be asked to serve the PC(USA) as Stated Clerk of the General Assembly. This church matters, not only within the PC(USA), but as part of the larger body of Christ. I look forward to the opportunities to be both a leader and a learner in this new call.”

The SCNC was elected by the 217th General Assembly in 2006 in Birmingham, AL. The nine members include four past General Assembly commissioners, three individuals from the Committee on the Office of the General Assembly, a representative from the General Assembly Council and a representative of middle governing body staff.

Since its election, the committee has overseen a churchwide application process that resulted in fourteen applications being submitted and reviewed by the committee. Telephone interviews were held with all of the applicants. The committee then held face-to-face interviews with five of the applicants.

“Our committee has been through a marvelous discernment process,” said Grace. “We truly felt God’s presence with us on our journey. All the applicants had many gifts for ministry, but it is very clear to all of us that Gradye Parsons is the person we believe is being called by God to serve as Stated Clerk of the General Assembly.”

“We enthusiastically endorse his nomination.”

But most observers expect a contested election.

All of the applicants not selected by the nomination committee have until 45 days prior to this year’s General Assembly (May 7) to notify the committee that they intend to stand for Stated Clerk as well. The Standing Rules of the General Assembly require that persons wishing to stand for the position of Stated Clerk in addition to the committee’s nominee must have submitted an application to the committee by last December’s deadline and have gone through the committee’s process.

Formal nominations will be made on Sunday, June 22, the second day of the Assembly. “A new feature this year,” Grace said, “is a ‘meet-and-greet’ with the candidates on Wednesday morning, June 25. “We are very sensitive to the ‘no campaigning’ issue, but we want to give commissioners the opportunity for more time with the candidates.”

The Stated Clerk is an officer of the General Assembly, leader of the Office of the General Assembly staff, spokesperson for the church as directed by the General Assembly, and permanent ecumenical representative for the church.

If elected, Parsons will assume his duties no later than thirty days after the General Assembly.

In addition to Steve Grace, an elder from Beulah, MI, members of the Stated Clerk Nomination Committee are elders Tom Adger of Atlanta; Pamila Deichmann of Winterset, IA; and Joan Fong of Fremont, CA; and ministers Anna Case-Winters of Chicago; Helen Baily Cochrane of Bethlehem, PA; Lyle Hillegas of Santa Barbara, CA; John Purcell of Dallas; and Donnie Woods of Charleston, SC. Carol McDonald of the Synod of Lincoln Trails served as staff to the committee.

Additional information about the work of the nomination committee is available online.

‘Transitional’ term begins in August  [3-17-08]

Presbyterian News Service reports that former General Assembly moderator Rick Ufford Chase and his wife, Kitty, have been named transitional co-directors of financially-troubled Stony Point Center, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)-owned conference center in New York.

They will share the full-time director’s position beginning August 1, succeeding the Rev. William Pindar, who recently resigned.

Rick Ufford Chase founded BorderLinks in the 1980s to engage U.S. Christians with U.S.-Mexico border issues and served as its director until 2006, when he became executive director of the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship. He was elected GA moderator in 2004. He will continue part-time with the Peace Fellowship.

Kitty Ufford-Chase, a life-long Quaker with a commitment to spiritual nurture and justice, most recently has been working as the “faith community coordinator” for the Community Food Security Center of Tucson’s Community Food Bank.

Four candidates seek election as GA Moderator     [3-3-08]

Since late November 2007, a total of four Presbyterians have declared their interest in serving as Moderator of the 218^th General Assembly when it gathers in June in San Jose, and for the following two years.

The Witherspoon Society has a practice of not endorsing any candidate for the position, but we do want to provide basic information on the candidates, and help our readers to find more information, especially if they will be serving as GA commissioners with the responsibility for electing the Moderator at the beginning of the Assembly.

We are providing now the Presbyterian News Service reports of each candidacy as it was announced, along with links to the websites of the candidates. We encourage you to get in touch with any or all of the candidates through their websites, asking your questions and letting them know your concerns and convictions.

Also, we will soon be sending a short list of questions to each of the candidates, seeking their responses to be published in the Spring 2008 issue of our newsletter, Network News, which will be sent to all commissioners and advisory delegates, and will also be posted here.

The four candidates are listed here in the order in which they announced their candidacies. They are:

We invite any and all of the candidates to submit occasional "think pieces" of their own for posting here, although we may need to exercise some editorial judgment to insure that submissions from no one candidate too far out-weigh those from the others.  

And you our readers are invited to share comments as well -- as long as they are not [in the opinion of your WebWeaver!] in bad taste, overly hostile or personal, or mere "campaign speeches" for or against any one candidate.

Jack Stotts was one of the first people I met when I went to Yale for graduate study. My carrel in the library was near his (and near the more controversial Jim Nelson's), and I learned much about ethics from them.

Jack Stotts was always notable for his quiet wisdom. He did not need to raise his voice; his thoughtfulness and the content of what he said were enough. While I know only indirectly of his contributions to McCormick and Austin, all that I have heard constitutes a tribute to him.

We invited him to be a speaker at the Witherspoon Society luncheon at a crucial time in the life of the church, and I am glad that Doug King will be making his address available once again.

I also recall that, in his capacity as chair of the Special Committee drafting the new Brief Statement, he attended the Witherspoon "gathering" in 1988 at the Bergamo Center in Dayton. If we in Witherspoon can brag a little, several of the suggestions made at that conference were incorporated into the final draft for the Brief Statement, and I am sure that Jack in his diplomatic way helped ease the way.

We will miss him greatly. But we can also be thankful for the many contributions he made to us, individually and together.

Theological giant’s career spanned pastorate, classroom and seminary president’s offices

[Headline for the report by Jerry Van Marter of Presbyterian News Service]

The Rev. Jack L. Stotts, whose ministry in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) took him from the pastorate to the classroom to the president’s office of two seminaries and into some of the most crucial theological deliberations of his generation, died Jan. 24 at Christopher House, a hospice care center in Austin, TX.

For the story from Van Marter >>

Presbyterian Outlook carries a tribute to Jack Stotts from James S. Currie, associate dean of Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, where Stotts served as president from 1985 to 1996 – among the many great things he did.

Currie notes that early in his ministry, Stotts served as chaplain at the University of Tulsa. His tenure there was brief because he invited Jim Lawson to speak to students and faculty there. Lawson had been expelled from the Vanderbilt Divinity School for leading non-violent civil rights sit-ins. As a result of this invitation to Lawson, the University did not renew Stotts’ contract as chaplain.

CHURCH UNBOUND
July 1-5, 2008 -- Montreat Conference Center

When are we going to stop complaining about the Church we see and start becoming the Church we dream of? What is standing in the way? What are you going to do about it? Who else can you work with to make this dream a reality?

Come together with Presbyterians across boundaries of age, gender, culture, race, theology, and other barriers to envision a Church Unbound. Experience speakers who are diverse, provocative, and challenging; workshops that hone skills; small groups that foster relationship-building; energizing worship and Bible study; and real conversations with real people doing ministry in different settings.

Register soon because of limited Montreat housing during the week of July 4th. Fee structures are designed to encourage students, spouses, newer ministers, and families. Recreational programs for children of conferees are provided. For more information (including speakers, program, costs, and more) and to register, go to http://www.montreat.org/current/2008-church-unbound

Earlier stories are indexed:

PVJ's Facebook page

Mitch Trigger, PVJ's Secretary/Communicator, has created a Facebook page where Witherspoon members and others can gather to exchange news and views. Mitch and a few others have posted bits of news, both personal and organizational. But there’s room for more!

John Shuck’s new "Religion for Life" website

Long-time and stimulating blogger John Shuck, a Presbyterian minister currently serving as pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Elizabethton, Tenn., writes about spirituality, culture, religion (both organized and disorganized), life, evolution, literature, Jesus, and lightening up.

Click here for his blog posts.

John Harris’ Summit to Shore blogspot

Voices of Sophia blog

Heather Reichgott, who has created this new blog for Voices of Sophia, introduces it:

Got more blogs to recommend?