PC(USA) - Re-Forming Ministry - papers and essays


	Papers and essays The Travail of the Presbytery Joseph D. Small Ordained? To what? Joseph D. Small The Professor, the Prefect, and the Pope Joseph Ratzinger: A Reformed Appreciation Joseph D. Small Praying for the Unity of the Church Joseph D. Small Local Church — Universal Church Joseph D. Small Authority in the Church and the Authority of the Church in the World Joseph D. Small Marked for Community: The Mark of Community Jim Gunn Notes of the True Kirk By the Rev. Rufus Burton Ministerial Authority By the Rev. Rufus Burton Pastoral Authority By the Rev. Anne HK Apple Nurturing the New Reality By Paul Hooker (executive presbyter, Presbytery of St. Augustine) Toward an Inclusive Christian Faith: Theology, Plurality, and the Voice of the Other By John R. Franke, D.Phil. (professor of theology, Biblical Theological Seminary, Hatfield, Pennsylvania) Ministry as Crucifixion By Timothy Beach-Verhey Reflections on Developmental Issues Related to Discernment and Response to Call to Ordained Ministry By Anne K. Apple Identity–Polity–Praxis By Paul K. Hooker (executive presbyter, Presbytery of St. Augustine) The Nicene Marks in a Post-Christendom Church By Darrell L. Guder, Henry Winters Luce Professor of Missional and Ecumenical Theology, Princeton Theological Seminary Nations Will Bring Their Glory: A Homily on Revelation 21:22 — 26 By Kevin Park (Core Cluster, pastor of Bethany Presbyterian Church, Bloomfield, N.J.) "What is communion, and when is it full?" By Joe Small — Ecclesiology, Vol. 2, No. 1, 71-87 (2005)


	Identity–Polity–Praxis: What the Book of Order, The Book of Confessions, and the Book of Numbers Have to Say About Ecclesiology and the Presbytery By Paul K. Hooker Executive Presbyter, Presbytery of St. Augustine Presbyteries are one of the places in our system where the dying of old patterns of church life and the birth of new patterns come together most intensely. It can be difficult to see the opportunities such a moment brings; the challenges, difficulties and losses press in so closely. And yet there are presbyteries all across the PC(USA) imagining, seeking the opportunities, gathering for new possibilities. Paul Hooker’s essay, "Identity – Polity – Praxis," is a contribution to this ferment. Hooker calls us to hear and respond to the questions we face in this time of intense transition — “who are we called to be?”, “what are we called to do?”, “how are we called to do it?” Envisioning presbyteries as embodiments of life together, thinking through how they can become such places — that’s a conversation that is energizing. "Identity – Polity – Praxis" is an invitation to continue (or to join) that conversation. Free single downloads available Additional copies are available at $3.00 each ($2.00 in quantities of 10 or more sent to the same address) from Presbyterian Distribution Service. PDS #21165-07-001


	The Nicene Marks in a Post-Christendom Church Darrell L. Guder Henry Winters Luce Professor of Missional and Ecumenical Theology, Princeton Theological Seminary Dislocation and Opportunity The issue that is either openly addressed or subtly at work in all our discussions about a denomination like the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is the fact that Christendom is over. Wherever one is located on the theological or ecclesial spectrum, this is the common ground that links us together. The grant proposal that led to the funding of the “Re-Forming Ministry” project put it very succinctly: Mainline Protestantism is no longer the religious expression of American society, the culture’s de facto established church. The social and religious climate has altered dramatically, pushing denominations such as the PCUSA out of the center of American Christianity, and pushing Christianity itself to the margins of a culture that is increasingly secular, pluralistic, and indifferent to the institutional church.


	Presentations Nations Will Bring Their Glory: a Homily on Revelation 21:22 by Kevin Park Pastor, Bethany Presbyterian Church, Bloomfield, NJ Revelation 21:22-26 — “Nations will bring their glory” I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of earth will bring their glory into it. Its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. People will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. My family immigrated to Toronto, Canada from Seoul, Korea when I was nine years old. I remember the plane ride well. It was Japanese airlines. I remember because my father spoke Japanese to the flight attendants. I didn’t know he could speak Japanese. When we arrived in Toronto airport my father asked for directions in English. I didn’t know he could speak English. I thought he was pretty cool. [Read more]


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