Jonathan Luxmoore Warsaw (ENI). A leader of Poland’s Lutheran church has rejected accusations from an international conference of theologians that the church’s refusal to ordain women as pastors amounts to “structural violence”. Jerzy Sojka, spokesperson for the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Poland, which has 80,000 members, told Ecumenical News International that the... Continue Reading

Reformed Church World Service is responding to this crisis with its partner, Church World Service. A powerful earthquake rocked Indonesia’s island of Sumatra on September 30, striking near the provincial capital, Padang, a city of 900,00 people. A day later, a second earthquake struck. The quakes measured 7.6 and 6.8 on the Richter scale. The... Continue Reading

by John Dart, Christian Century Amid their “slow but general retreat” this decade in terms of financial health and membership, the oldline Protestant churches are especially hampered by the aging of their memberships, a new study says. 22 percent of mainline churches surveyed reported that at least half of their members were over 65, whereas... Continue Reading

By Adelle Banks WASHINGTON (RNS) Does an offended observer who drives by a cross-shaped war memorial in the middle of the desert have a right to call for its removal? And can that 7-foot cross stand without violating the constitution’s prohibition of government establishment of religion? The Supreme Court will consider those questions in the... Continue Reading

The following article is from the Reformed Church in America. We are witnessing the birth of two huge movements–church planting centers in churches and multi-site congregations. I’d like to focus on church planting centers. Over the past decade, a number of churches have initiated the beginnings of what could become one of the most significant... Continue Reading

By Lillian Kwon Christian Post Reporter Sept 26, 2009 Hundreds of Reformed believers passionate about preaching the Scriptures and making Christ known convened in Minneapolis over the weekend of September 25, 2009, for three days of talks centered on the life and teachings of John Calvin. Lamenting that many churches today have lost confidence in... Continue Reading

Lisa Snyder’s home is right in front of the bus stop — one reason why she offered to watch neighborhood children during the minutes before the school bus arrived. That simple act prompted a warning from the state: Continue and she would be running an illegal day care, violating state law. On Tuesday, the governor... Continue Reading

By Parker T. Williamson, The Layman ACORN, identified by the Associated Press as “a scandal-tainted” community organizing group that has been denied federal funding by the U.S. Congress, has received multiple grants from agencies of the Presbyterian Church (USA). The ACORN acronym stands for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. A 2008 grants... Continue Reading

No meat rule is OK, required martial arts sparring and not appearing nude, not so much. New York Law Journal September 29, 2009 Exploring the parameters of a statute that protects the right of inmates to freely exercise their religion, a federal appeals court has ruled that a prisoner who founded a religion that requires... Continue Reading

Seven years ago, in 2002, as Sunnybrook Community Church in Sioux Center, Iowa, was searching for a new pastor, they reached a turning point. “They were a good church, but one without a heart for the lost, without a real desire to reach out,” says Jeff Moes, the church’s current senior pastor. “In that year... Continue Reading