Presbyterians move toward allowing gay ministers. The nation's largest Presbyterian denomination has cracked open the door to ordaining noncelibate gay clergy. Delegates at the Presbyterian Church (USA) general assembly voted 54 percent to 46 percent to remove a clause in their constitution that requires clergy to be either married and faithful or single and chaste. But the action still needs approval by a majority of the denomination's 173 regional presbyteries, and similar moves in recent years have twice failed to win ratification on the local level.
ACLU seeks end to noontime prayer at academy. The American Civil Liberties Union has asked the U.S. Naval Academy to halt its practice of expecting midshipmen to stand for a prayer at their noon meals, saying it makes some of them uncomfortable. ACLU officials tied their request to a 2003 federal appeals court ruling that organized prayers before mandatory meals at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Va., were unconstitutional. The academy, in a statement, said it is developing a response to the ACLU but seemed reluctant to change a tradition that's been a part of academy life since it was founded in 1845.
One congregation in 100 each year closes. An average of 1 percent of religious congregations shut their doors each year, a lower closure rate than other organizations, a new study reveals. Researchers from Duke University and the University of Arizona found disbanded congregations tended to have fewer adult participants than active congregations, with a median size of 50 compared to 269 in active ones. They also learned that congregations where conflict prompted some people to leave in the previous two years were much more likely to disband than active congregations. Religious congregations have a lower annual mortality rate than other organizations studied over the last two decades, such as volunteer social service groups (2.3 percent), California wineries (5 percent) and peace movement organizations (9 percent).
Seminary names ethicist as president. One of the nation's largest evangelical seminaries has tapped a prominent ethicist and administrator to become as its next president. Dennis Hollinger will take the helm Aug. 1 as president of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Hollinger currently serves as president and professor of Christian ethics at Evangelical Theological Seminary in Myerstown, Pa. Hollinger, a Brethren in Christ pastor, has been a local-church minister, as well as provost of Messiah College in Grantham, Pa.
Presbyterians elect San Francisco pastor as moderator. The Presbyterian Church (USA) elected a young pastor from San Francisco as moderator of its general assembly. Bruce Reyes-Chow, 39, who is active in the “emergent church” movement, will lead the Presbyterian Church (USA) and serve as a key denominational ambassador for a two-year term. Reyes-Chow, the grandson of Chinese and Filipino immigrants, is pastor of Mission Bay Community Church in San Francisco.
Compiled from Religion News Service