The Coordinating Committee of the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board approved comments on two important items of business that will come before commissioners to the 225th General Assembly this summer. With the committee’s approval on Thursday, consideration on the comments will go to the full board for consideration during its meeting April 27-29.
Some committees of the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board (PMAB) made more news than others during their Wednesday meetings.
Here’s a roundup of some of the actions taken and input received from among the Board’s half-dozen committees.
As part of its work helping the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to overhaul two of its main websites, the denomination’s consultant, Centralis, has produced short videos of Presbyterians trying to navigate the current sites, https://www.pcusa.org and https://www.presbyterianmission.org.
Two major initiatives from Compassion, Peace & Justice (CPJ) ministries took significant steps forward Friday during the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board (PMAB) winter meeting and will be up for approval by General Assembly 224, June 20 to 27.
A complete revamping of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s two main websites as they merge into one site, at http://www.pcusa.org, will take about two years and will come about only with significant input from the Presbyterians who use them.
One was a former school administrator who had instituted energy-saving measures at schools he oversaw and brought that same passion to his work with the church. Another was concerned with climate change and felt that collective action was necessary to reverse the damaging effects of relying on fossil fuels.
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) A Corporation (A Corp.) took an important step Wednesday toward achieving its mandate from the 223rd General Assembly (2018).
According to a news release issued following an executive (closed) session, the board voted unanimously to approve structural changes combining seven departments into the newly named Administrative Services Group.
Iona, an island off the coast of Scotland, was home to a medieval monastic community. By the early 1900s, the community was long gone, and the buildings were in ruins. George MacLeod, a pastor in a working-class dockside congregation, was frustrated by the men being sent to him for internships from the seminary. They had head smarts but were unable to connect with the men on the docks and the families in his community. So he devised a plan. During the crushing years of the Depression, MacLeod brought together unemployed tradesmen and young seminarians and sent them to rebuild the monastic quarters and the abbey chapel. Working, praying and sharing in everyday life, they rebuilt not only a historical landmark but also a spiritual community that continues to have global influence today.
