Publications and periodicals
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Freedom of Conscience, Dissent, Protest and Defiance
From Office of the General Assembly—Constitutional Services
Freedom of conscience, as we use it in the life of the church, is the right to disagree with a position of a council or councils of the church. It is derived directly from this principle that ‘God alone is Lord of the conscience’ and that our consciences are thus bound to nothing other than Scripture. Freedom of conscience is extended only to individuals and not to councils of the church and G-2.0105 of the Book of Order delineates specific limits on the freedom of conscience for those who serve in ordered ministries.
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Building a Community of Faith, Hope, Love and Witness
From Office of the General Assembly—Constitutional Services
The Calling of the Church and the New Form of Government
With greater freedom and flexibility, the new Form of Government encourages congregations and councils to focus on God’s mission and how they can faithfully participate in this mission. In offering a structure that is more horizontal than hierarchical, the new Form of Government encourages the church to be open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit as it seeks to be Christ’s body and live out its calling as a community of faith, hope, love and witness.
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Call to prayer for Syria
From Presbyterian Mission Agency—World Mission
Presbyterian World Mission asks for prayer for members of the Presbyterian Synod of Syria and Lebanon and all Syrians who continue to suffer from the violence of civil war.
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Presbyterians Today - Go Figure - How pastors spend their time
From Presbyterian Mission Agency—Research Services
December 2012
How pastors spend their timeBeing a pastor takes a lot of time: a median of 50 hours per week, according to these survey results. While large parts of the week are typically spent in preaching and worship leadership and in administration (a combined median of 22 hours per week), pastors spend a few hours each on a variety of other tasks.
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Managing Presbytery Stress and Conflict
From Office of the General Assembly—Moderators' Conference 2012
This was the handout distributed in "Managing Presbytery Stress and Conflict," lead by Rev. Jill Hudson, Coordinator of Mid Council Relations.
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Excerpt from Strategic Leadership for a Change by Ken McFayden
From Office of the General Assembly—Moderators' Conference 2012
The following file is an excerpt from "Strategic Leadership for a Change: Facing Our Losses, Finding Our Future ," by Kenneth J. McFayden. It was featured in the workshop, "Feasting and Sending: Worship, Mission, and the Church's Identity", lead by The Rev. Dr. Neal Presa, Moderator of the 220th General Assembly and the Rev. Dr. Tom Trinidad, Vice Moderator of the 220th General Assembly.
The book is available for purchase directly from Alban or Amazon.
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The Substitute Motion
From Office of the General Assembly—Moderators' Conference 2012
The substitute motion is a form of amendment applied when the desire is to amend a motion in several different, nonconsecutive places. It also is used when the text to be amended is longer than a paragraph.
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Parliamentary Motion Basics Cheat Sheet
From Office of the General Assembly—Moderators' Conference 2012
This document includes Steps of the Motion and Seven Useful Motions.
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For Human Rights and Civic Freedom: Movements for Democratic Change in the Arab World
From Office of the General Assembly—Department of the Stated Clerk
This is a U.S. Christian response to the outpouring of hope that has challenged dictatorships in the Middle East, Africa, and several Asian countries. Along with hope, there has also been rage at injustice, sometimes misdirected, and desire for better material life. Each country has its own particularities, and our partners within these countries differ by age and institutional perspective, with younger Arab Christians often expressing more optimism. Overall this movement has changed assumptions about Arab and Muslim religion and politics, and called into question foreign policies that have too often enabled authoritarian leaders or accommodated oligarchies. The church ...
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Salt and Light, November 2012
From Presbyterian Mission Agency—Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy
This issue includes a summary of what the General Assembly has said particularly in the area of economics, which is what is most on the table, despite major unspoken concerns for the Supreme Court and climate change (as in hurricane Sandy). We also provide an update on some issues of Unbound. If you haven’t visited that site—or sent in word of your church’s own justice efforts—please do so!