A little bit quieter week, but here are a few of the news items that caught my attention…
The commentary on the elections in Ghana continues from the Presbyterian Churches. From the Presbyterian Church of Ghana –
Don’t create political turmoil in 2012 elections- Rev Ampiaw
Spy Ghana, April 29
Comments from the Chairman of a Presbytery urging politicians to put the interest of the country above their own political interests.
And very similar comments from a Presbytery Moderator of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Ghana
Posterity will not forgive Politicians who create confusion-Priest
GhanaWeb, May 5, 2012
In the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) one of the current issues is the structure of the governing bodies, now referred to as councils, and Pittsburgh is looking at a restructuring to help it do routine work in smaller units
Pittsburgh Presbytery planning to reorganize
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, April 21, 2012 (yes, outside the range for this week but it only appeared in one of my news feeds this week)
Speaking of Pittsburgh…
One of the hot topics for the 220th General Assembly of the PC(USA) in Pittsburgh in two months will be a proposal to divest from companies that do business related to the Israel/Palestine conflict. Philadelphia Presbytery has gone on record against that divestment proposal and is sending an overture to the GA asking it to adopt a more even handed approach
Philly Presbyterians Reject Divestment
Jewish Exponent, May 2, 2012
And in parallel news, the Methodists in their General Conference last week rejected a very similar divestment proposal by a 2-to-1 margin
Methodists Vote Against Ending Investments Tied to Israel
New York Time, May 2, 2012
Finally, the feel good story of the week
Presbyterian Church, Sewickley Votes to Preserve ‘Pink House’
Sewickley Patch, 29 April 2012
In a long-running discussion about the fate of an historic house owned by the church, the Session agreed this week to preform necessary maintenance, if it can raise the funds, and to use the house for church programs.