Every Fear Silenced
A Sermon by Meg Peery McLaughlin at the Kansas City Area Regional Conference: "But the truth is: there are some words that bear repeating. Some words that we simply need, desperately need, to hear over and over and over again... Do not be afraid."
The Redemption of Our Bodies
At the Kansas City Regional Conference, Dr. Mark Achtemeier continued his exploration of biblical insights into marriage: "...We have now come to the end of our experiment in reading the Scripture like the faithful scribe in Jesus’ teaching. We have taken what is old – the testimony about God’s purposes for love and marriage and sexuality that comes to us from the broad sweep of the Bible’s story. We have brought out this old, time-tested wisdom and combined it with what is new: the recently emerging opportunity for gay and lesbian people to openly makes vows and commitments to one another in the covenant of marriage.The result of this combination of old and new is not the abolition of biblical sexual morality or the abandonment of Scripture’s teaching. The result is the right and proper extension of the Bible’s time-honored teachings on love and sex and marriage into these new relationships where it manifestly belongs..."
Santa Barbara "Union Presbytery" Plan Found Unconstitutional
The action of the Presbytery of Santa Barbara to form a "union presbytery" with the Presbytery of the West of ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians has been ruled unconstitutional by the PJC of the Synod of Southern California and Hawaii.
There's No Place Like Home
A Sermon on Mark 6:1-6a by Meg Peery McLaughlin, for the Installation of Pen Peery at First Presbyterian Church of Charlotte on November 4, 2012: "...Because Jesus is always reminding us that contrary to how we think about it, home... where we really belong, is not something behind us, something return to.. home is always ahead of us. Something we are always living toward..."
Smudged Lenses
The Rev. Laurie Kraus celebrates the faith and the gifts of new Inquirer Danny Morales, and his first sermon: "...Since wearing glasses for a few months now, I’ve learned we don’t always see the smudges on them. Instead we get so accustomed to those smudges, that foggy vision, that we create or even become our own impediments to clarity, impediments to the voices that like Bartimaeus are still screaming..."
“A Reformed Understanding of Marriage”
Sermon on Romans 8:22-30 by David D. Colby, Central Presbyterian Church, St. Paul, MN, October 28, 2012: "So let’s be clear. The Bible does not talk about marriage as only between a man and a woman. If we are honest the Bible has a shifting definition of marriage within its pages. Because we believe in “a church reformed, always reforming according to the Word of God”[2] we are not beholden simply to tradition. The church is not supposed to do things the way we have always done them simply because. No, we are called to question, to be critical; as creation unfolds, we can see more clearly the blind spots in our culture or the culture in which the Bible was written and pull out the gospel good news from the cultural expectations."
October 2012 GAPJC Decisions
Three decisions by the General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission address the controversial issues of marriage, the property trust clause, and ordination standards.
Baltimore/DC Regional Conference Postponed
The Regional Conference scheduled for Friday, November 2 at Catonsville Presbyterian Church has been postponed due to Hurricane Sandy. The tentative new date for the conference is Saturday, March 9.
The Plan-B God
Dr. Mark Achtemeier addressed the Twin Cities Regional Conference on same-gender marriage: "...The vocation of groups like the Covenant Network will be critically important in the months and years ahead. It is not within our power to turn back the rising tide of cultural and historical forces that are sweeping our church into a period of decline. But we are confident that the day will come when God will purge the poisonous legacy of exclusion and hatefulness from our culture’s image of Christianity. Until that time it falls to you and me to keep the lights of a gracious witness burning in the midst of the surrounding darkness.To carry out that task, to make that positive Christian witness, you and I must be absolutely clear that our affirmation and celebration of gay marriage is a consequence of the Bible’s testimony and not its contradiction..."
Are you a student? Regional registration's on us!
The Covenant Network regional conference season is fast approaching - have you found the conference nearest you? Seminary and college students attending a conference may register for free.
Our Award-Winning Executive Director!
Covenant Network Executive Director Brian Ellison was honored last weekend by the Religion Newswriters Association. Together with two colleagues at KCUR-FM, Brian won Second Place in the Radio/Podcast Religion Report of the Year, a national contest recognizing excellence in professional journalists.
Covenant Network Adopts New Call to Covenant Community
The Board of Directors of the Covenant Network has approved a new Call to Covenant Community, inviting congregations and individuals to renew their commitment — or make one for the first time — to the Covenant Network’s work for inclusion and unity in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).While we rightly celebrate the passage of G-2.0104b, returning historic and just standards for examination and ordination, the new Call reminds the church that there is still much work to do. All are invited to read the new mission statement and Call to Covenant Community – and to sign on by clicking the “JOIN” button at the left of the page.
Find a Regional Conference Near You
As our local organizers are firming up their plans, details are being added to the Regional Conferences page.You can now find links and registration information to the events in the Twin Cities on Saturday, October 27; the Baltimore/DC area on Friday, November 2; and Milwaukee on Saturday, November 17.
Journey Through the Land of Ahhs
An Autumn Devotion by the Rev. Jay McKell: "I want you to join me on a journey I took across Kansas recently. Actually it’s a journey we’ve been taking for quite some time now. We just may not have realized it. Join me in the driver’s seat as you use your imagination to create the pictures I describe. But before we get going I want to suggest you read Psalm 139:1-18..."
A Life of Service
A Sermon on Mark 9:30-37 by the Rev. Ken Kovacs: When Jesus embraces the child it’s a symbolic action that demonstrates what Jesus is all about, what matters most in the kingdom of God; he shows us the kinds of values and questions that matter to God.[5] We should not be arguing who is the greatest. Instead, we are called to question the moral structure of society if that structure does not allow for the care of the “least of these” (Matthew 25:40). What is more, we have to work against that structure if society is not willing to care for the “least of these.”
Welcome Home
A Sermon on Acts 8:26-39 by the Rev. Chris Henry: "...All the preventative barriers and exclusive restrictions are no match for the Spirit’s radical acceptance. Who are we to say no when it is so clear that God has already said yes? Can we ever overestimate the love of God?..."
Twin Cities Will Host the Next Regional Conference
Instead of the national conference this year, a series of regional conferences will take place across the country.The first of the fall will be at Westminster Church in Minneapolis on Saturday, October 27; read on for details and online registration. Mark Achtemeier is the keynote speaker, and Dan Vigilante will preach.
Union Presbytery?
Can a PC(USA) presbytery form a “union” with a “presbytery” that has been set up by a group that is not recognized as a denomination, and that has no existing congregations, ministers, seminaries, or programs? Read the complaint against the action of the Presbytery of Santa Barbara to form a "union presbytery" with ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians.
God vs. Gay?
God vs. Gay? The Religious Case for Equality, by Jay Michaelson. Beacon Press, 2011.A Book Recommendation from Tricia Dykers Koenig