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Presbyterian representation drops slightly in 115th US Congress

A recently released report by the Pew Research Center for Religion & Public Life shows the composition of the 115th U.S. Congress is losing members from historically mainline Protestant groups in favor of modest gains by evangelicals, Catholics and representatives from other faith traditions.

John Glenn, Presbyterian Ruling Elder and national icon, dies at age 95

John H. Glenn, Jr., best known as the first American to orbit the earth, died yesterday at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus at the age of 95. What is less known about Glenn is his lifelong membership in the Presbyterian Church and the faith that influenced his life’s work.

Parenting changes everything

Who could be more vulnerable than a young girl in first-century Palestine, unmarried, and told that she is soon to be the mother of the Son of God? Who could feel more helpless than a young man who discovers that his soon-to-be wife has been made pregnant through the Holy Spirit?

Pew study finds Presbyterians among top earners

A recent breakdown of the Pew Research Center’s 2014 Religious Landscape Study ranked Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) members fourth in its percentage of members who earn more than $100,000 annually.

Lisa Larges ordained as a teaching elder in the PC(USA)

Amidst a trilling of trumpets, a shower of stoles, and a grateful congregation’s affirming applause—interposed with the shedding of more than a few tears—Lisa Larges, a candidate for the ministry of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) since 1986, was ordained as a teaching elder at the Lake Nokomis Presbyterian Church.

Mission Responsibility Through Investment gets new name and new lead staff

The office of Mission Responsibility Through Investment (MRTI) has a new name and lead staff person. Rob Fohr, who has been serving in an interim capacity, has accepted the call to take the permanent position, replacing Bill Somplatsky-Jarman, who retired earlier this year.

Ethiopia

Two years ago Presbyterian mission co-workers John and Gwen Haspels were driving down a road in Ethiopia when a man carrying an assault rifle jumped out in front of them. As the couple drove on, the man fired at them, severely injuring both of them. Gwen Haspels recently reflected on that fateful day and on what reconciliation means in the aftermath of such an attack.

Despite fire at Philly church, ‘the church of Jesus Christ is very much alive’

Five weeks after fire ravaged a century-old Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, those affiliated with the church have responded with resilience. For more than a century, Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church stood tall in the city’s Overbrook neighborhood. Now only the charred outer walls of the building remain after fire raged through the church during an early Monday morning in late August.