PC(USA) Weekly News

Week of May 27 - 31

Prayer for our nation during tumultuous times May 31, 2024

Nationalism and Christian Zionism focus of latest webinar Current theology is the antithesis of Christ’s message

Gathering of the National Council of Korean Presbyterian Churches has the feel of a family reunion PC(USA) leaders are grateful for their longtime partners across the Pacific

‘God’s got this’ A Corp President Kathy Lueckert delivers comfort and insight during Wednesday’s Chapel Service sermon

Effecting change from inside the corporate tent Tim Smith, senior policy advisor for the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, talks about shareholder engagement on the ‘A Matter of Faith’ podcast

Presbyterian Mission Agency, 100 Witherspoon Street, Lousiville, KY

WCC FEATURE: Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland showcases Thursdays in Black exhibition in Finnish and Swedish

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, during its General Synod, presented for the first time a Thursdays in Black exhibition with Finnish and Swedish texts.  FCA Executive Director Tomi Järvinen with the exhibition and the book: Sini Tyvi/Finn Church Aid 30 May 2024 The exhibition, which is centered on the Waterfall of Solidarity and Resistance tapestry and based on templates shared by the World Council of Churches, was set up by Finn Church Aid on 15-16 May. As this was the first meeting of the synod since elections took place in February, many new members were able to learn more about Thursdays in Black. Many who stopped to read the texts described the exhibition as very powerful and thought-provoking, and said that the topic is very important. Churches in Finland will now have the opportunity to host the exhibition locally. Rev. Dr Tapio Luoma, archbishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland and a Thursdays in Black ambassador, shared a message with the world via Instagram. “Gender-based violence is an unfortunate reality in every country in the world,” he said. “It is one significant obstacle to the realization of equality. Although gendered violence is very common in Finland, the phenomenon often remains hidden and is not always recognized.” Tomi Järvinen, executive director of Finn Church Aid and also a Thursdays in Black Ambassador said, “Finn Church Aid is involved in Thursdays in Black and takes a broad approach to gender-based violence in its work. We invite all churches to join the campaign and act to identify and prevent gender-based violence.” Exhibition panels in English are available to download and print as posters or roll up banners. Order the publication: The Waterfall of Solidarity and Resistance – sharing the stories More about the Waterfall Tapestry Thursdays in Black See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 352 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa.  Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches 150 route de Ferney Geneve 2 1211 Switzerland

RNS Morning Report: The second coming of Doug Wilson

Top Stories The second coming of Doug Wilson (RNS) — Conservatives are elevating long-controversial Idaho pastor Doug Wilson, framing him as a champion of a relatively moderate form of Christian nationalism — but critics says his ideas remain extreme.   Photos of the Week: Corpus Christi; Lord of Great Power (RNS) — This week’s photo gallery includes South American commemorations of Corpus Christi and the Lord of Great Power festivals and more.   Latino Episcopalians in the spotlight with Gutiérrez presiding bishop nomination HYATTSVILLE, Md. (RNS) — Latino Episcopal clergy say that their congregations are thriving.    New film depicting ‘hero’s journey’ of Swami Vivekananda comes to PBS (RNS) — 'America's First Guru' is a 90-minute look at how Swami Vivekananda introduced yoga and Hinduism to the Western world.   Off-color LGBTQ remarks deepen mystery of a pontiff who can’t be pinned down VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Despite repeated media attempts to define Pope Francis, he remains difficult to label 11 years into his pontificate. RNS Opinion Would Madison have been OK with posting the Ten Commandments in classrooms? (RNS) — Nope.   Christian ethics has long supported disability justice. Today, we need to do more. (RNS) — Catholics and others must fight for a broader ideal of disability justice. ICYMI Adults raised in the ‘Christian parenting empire’ of the ’70s-’90s push back (RNS) — Leveraging social media, these parents and professionals aim to show that this parenting approach can result in trauma, estrangement and views of God as abusive.   With strawberries and goats, a ‘farmastery’ reaches out to its neighbors HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. (RNS) — Part of the new monastic movement began three decades ago among lay Protestants, Spring Forest is a model for how Christians can work, eat and worship as a community. In Other News Pope Francis joins in Corpus Christi celebration in Rome for first time in years Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accepts invitation to address joint meeting of Congress   Talk to Us We want your feedback on the RNS Morning Report — what you think we're doing right and what we should be doing differently. Send us an email at Comments@ReligionNews.com Subscribe to other RNS Newsletters. Forward this email to a friend. View the archive of past newsletters. RNS is free to read, but it's not free to produce. If you value our reporting, please consider making a donation today at religionnews.com/donate. If you prefer to mail a donation, please address to: Religion News Foundation, PO Box 1808, Columbia, MO 65205. Yes, I support the work you're doing! Forward this email to a friend

RNS Photos of the Week: Corpus Christi; Lord of Great Power

(RNS) — Each week RNS presents a gallery of photos of religious expression around the world. This week’s photo gallery includes South American commemorations of Corpus Christi and the Lord of Great Power festivals and more.   People pray as they walk on a rug made of colored salt toward the Christ the Redeemer statue after a Catholic Mass celebrating Corpus Christi in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, May 30, 2024. Corpus Christi celebrates the tradition and belief of the Holy Eucharist, which for Christians represents the body and blood of Jesus Christ. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)   A child in an angel costume covers her ear as fireworks go off over a Catholic procession celebrating Corpus Christi in Antigua, Guatemala, Thursday, May 30, 2024. Corpus Christi celebrates the tradition and belief of the Holy Eucharist, which for Christians represents the body and blood of Jesus Christ. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)   Rio de Janeiro’s Archbishop Orani Tempesta leads a Catholic Mass celebrating Corpus Christi at the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, May 30, 2024. Corpus Christi celebrates the tradition and belief of the Holy Eucharist, which for Christians represents the body and blood of Jesus Christ. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)   Members of the United Methodist Church in Zimbabwe hold placards while protesting at the church premises in Harare, Thursday, May 30, 2024. The protests, which denounced homosexuality and the departure of the church from the scriptures and doctrine, come barely a month after the United Methodist Church Worldwide General Conference held in North Carolina, U.S. repealed their church’s longstanding ban on LGBTQ clergy, removing a rule forbidding “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” from being ordained or appointed as ministers. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)   Palestinians look at the destruction after an Israeli strike where displaced people were staying in Rafah, Gaza Strip, May 27, 2024. Palestinian health workers said Israeli airstrikes killed at least 35 people in the area. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)   “La Morenada” dancers perform in the annual parade honoring the “Lord of Great Power” in La Paz, Bolivia, Saturday, May 25, 2024. Bolivians celebrate one of the country’s biggest and most extravagant religious festivals which pays tribute to Jesus Christ in a fusion of Indigenous beliefs and Catholicism. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)   A “Kullagua” dancer performs in the annual parade honoring the “Lord of Great Power” in La Paz, Bolivia, May 25, 2024. Bolivians celebrate one of the country’s biggest and most extravagant religious festivals, which pays tribute to Jesus Christ in a fusion of Indigenous beliefs and Catholicism. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)   Grow It organizer Leah Reichardt-Osterkatz, right, helps children make smoothies from strawberries they picked, plus kale grown on the farm, at Spring Forest in Hillsborough, North Carolina, on Wednesday, May 29, 2024. Spring Forest is a working farm and a new United Methodist monastic community. (RNS photo/Yonat Shimron)   Attendees listen to a presentation during the biennial Christ at the Checkpoint conference at Bethlehem Bible College in the West Bank in late May 2024. (Photo by Alaa Khoury/Bethlehem Bible College)   Archival Photos   This 40-year-old African artist has been responsible for a major “breakthrough” in the union of South Africa in Nov. 1964. Gladys Mgudlandlu was given a “one-woman show” which exhibited her art in Johannesburg to the country which follows a policy of strict apartheid, or racial segregation. A mixed throng of 200, whites and native Africans, attended the opening of her show, which exhibited some 100 paintings of the country’s best known non-white woman artist. (RNS archive photo. Photo courtesy of the Presbyterian Historical Society.)   A giant screen at Georgetown University projects a video of Pope Paul VI as he congratulates the school on the start of its 175th anniversary year in Sept. 1963. From his private library in the Vatican, the pontiff read a message in which he described the Jesuit institution as the alma mater of Catholic colleges in the U.S. The program was televised via the Telstar communications satellite on the Pope’s 66th birthday. Georgetown was founded in 1789, the same year in which the U.S. Constitution was adopted. (RNS archive photo. Photo courtesy of the Presbyterian Historical Society.)   Talk to Us We want your feedback on the RNS Photos of the Week — what you think we're doing right and what we should be doing differently. Send us an email at Comments@ReligionNews.com Subscribe to other RNS Newsletters. Forward this email to a friend. View the archive of past newsletters. RNS is free to read, but it's not free to produce. If you value our reporting, please consider making a donation today. If you prefer to mail a donation, please address to: Religion News Foundation, PO Box 1808, Columbia, MO 65205. Yes, I support the work you're doing! Forward this email to a friend