In response to the Presbyterian Church of Ghana setting up counseling centers to help gays become heterosexual, More Light Presbyterians have joined a protest against the church. The official response from Executive Director Michael Adee expresses disappointment in the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, calling its plan "not a Christian or medically helpful response to gay people" and a harmful action. [The Advocate]

The GAMC posted lists of the Presbyteries which gave the most (by average per member and by total) in various categories. National Capitol Presbytery topped the list of biggest donors with $1.2 million in total giving last year, while Hanmi Presbytery achieved the most giving per member at $54.22/member. [PCUSA]

The Office of Church Growth and Evangelism hosted the 2011 New Church Development conference this past week at St. Pete Beach, Florida. The conference included presentations on Hispanic and Korean churches, brand new and postmodern church development, and practical missional techniques. Dan Kimball, one of the event's main speakers, concentrated on the critical importance of evangelism in a culture where evangelism is associated with "creepy Christians." [Twitter]

Two important decisions (220-03 and 220-04) were reached yesterday by the General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission: the case of Scott Anderson and the case of Lisa Larges. In the case of Scott Anderson, the case was dismissed as moot because it cited G-6.0106b, which has now been removed from the Book of Order. In Lisa Larges' case, the onus lies now on the Synod to reexamine her based on the new 2.0104b. No new interpretations have been made on ordination standards as of yet. Predictably, there has been a positive response to this from That All May Freely Serve and the Covenant Network, and a negative response from The Layman. For a more detailed discussion of the polity behind these decisions, see this post. [PCUSA]

David Barnhart has begun a project that will allow Haitians affected by the earthquake to tell their stories. Equipped with Flip Cams, each reporter is given training in interviewing and storytelling. Projects will be shared on a GAMC website as they are completed. [PCUSA]

The Presbyterian Churches of Shreveport and Plain Dealing, Louisiana are holding a joint Vacation Bible School program at Broadmoor Presbyterian Church which ends today. Their "Under Construction" curriculum for elementary and middle schoolers works in partnership with the Fuller Housing Center of Northwest Louisiana to renovate a local history museum in Allendale and collect supplies to be donated to the Fuller Housing Center. [ArkLaTex]

Twitter exploded yesterday as Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, director of the PC(USA) Office of Public Witness, was arrested for civil disobedience in the Capitol yesterday. He was joined by the Executive Director for Faith and Public Life, Jennifer Butler, and the former president of the National Council of Churches, Michael Livingston. Nelson said: "Our denomination cannot stand idly by and watch while the mandate of the gospel to love our neighbors is violated in the halls of Congress." This comes after Nelson and Stated Clerk Gradye Parsons met with congressional leadership to plead the case of the poor and disadvantaged as the possibility of indiscriminate budget cuts looms. [PCUSA]

After much complaining and threatening to bootleg, church leadership has given in and is now offering the Book of Order as a free pdf download. Apparently a credit card is still required for the download, but that will likely soon change. [Twitter]

Rumor has it that Gradye Parsons will be announcing a plan to offer the Book of Order as a PDF for free again, a change in position from yesterday's news that it would cost $10. Discussion has been happening all over the internet revolving around how free and "open source" our church should be. [Landonville]

PC(USA) Research Services completed an August 2010 survey set on compassion, peace, and justice. Their findings include that most Presbyterians are actively engaged over the course of the year in ministries of these areas, including Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, Presbyterian Hunger Program, Self-Development of People, and many others. [PCUSA]

There has been much furor over on Twitter about the $10 cost for the electronic (pdf) edition of the new Book of Order. The GA Junkie has a great piece of investigation on this topic and the negative response it has received from many. [GA Junkie]

By 2013, medical dues for all those participating in the Board of Pensions medical plan will increase to 21%. This is a 1.5% hike at .75% per year, and "has nothing to do with domestic partner benefits but reflects healthcare costs and healthcare costs only." You can read more at the PC(USA) News website. [PCUSA]

Despite economic hardships, multiple Presbyterian churches are experiencing growth this summer. Covenant Presbyterian Church in Naples, Florida has just finished constructing a new $10 million worship space that they hope will enhance the church's mission. Many in the congregation credit faith and prayer vigils as primary reasons for the success of the campaign. In Reading, Pennsylvania, a much smaller church is also seeing revitalization in the face of difficulty. With an average attendance of about 75, the five-year-old Christ Presbyterian Church is making a commitment to reach into the city of Reading instead of moving away. The congregation is only 75% white and is growing at a rapid pace, adding members of all ages. [Naples News] [Reading Eagle]

Salon recently published a post by Brett Webb-Mitchell, a gay PC(USA) pastor who had been called as a interim pastor to First Presbyterian Church in Henderson, North Carolina. His blog post details the responses he experienced from the people of the town and his reactions to what he heard and read. His welcome was not particularly warm, giving him many difficulties during his time at the church, despite his belief that the people of the town are strong and good-hearted. [Salon]

Neema has recently become chartered as the first Swahili speaking congregation of the PC(USA). Founded by the Rev. Dr. David Nzioka, who came to Kansas City for further education, Neema is open to all Swahili-speaking immigrants to Kansas City. It began in Village Presbyterian Church, which nurtured Rev. Nzioka's house church ministry until it received national funding and eventually the official blessing of Heartland Presbytery. [Deep and Wide]

In some unsurprising statistics, the PC(USA) has continued to decline in both membership and numbers of congregations. Stated Clerk Gradye Parsons noted that the most troubling losses occur in the "other" category for those who do not die or transfer but are no longer counted as members. Of course, there is some good news too. [Courier Journal]

After an extensively reported sex abuse scandal, more facts are coming to light about how the Student Ministries Director managed to commit acts of sexual abuse with youth in the church. The investigation has caused the resignation of the church's Executive Director and has caused the church to take a deep look at its own practices that allowed the abuse to happen. In a report received by the church last Wednesday, it was noted that the church was not prepared to deal with sexual misconduct. Notably, it said:

It said:

• The Church had no educational plan in place to deal with sexual abuse; "It is unfair to assume that untrained individuals should have been able to identify the abuse," Carter said.
• Poor decision-making occurred, such as allowing De Vries to address the youth upon his resignation. "The congregational awareness of De Vries’ evil was minimized by vague official statements which contributed to uninformed, harmful speculation within the adult congregation, staff and youth," the report said.
• VPC’s safety and security plan had not been implemented and purchased security technology was not in use.

As Vienna Presbyterian Church learns these important lessons, let's hope that more churches take note so that these mistakes don't have to happen again. [Vienna Patch]

As with all buildings, fires take their toll on Presbyterian Churches. First Presbyterian Church of Strasburg, Virginia experienced significant damage in a fire last Saturday with an undisclosed cause. First Presbyterian Church in Boone, NC experienced a fire as well - in their new building set to open for worship this Sunday. The fire was caused by an electrical short circuit in the new construction. There is Good News, however: churches rebuild. After a fire on July 10th, 2010, Westminster Presbyterian Church in Joliet, IL is officially reopening their sanctuary that was almost completely destroyed in that fire.

The Big Tent Conference of 2011 is underway in Indianapolis, Indiana. The event began yesterday and continues through tomorrow. If you aren't able to participate in the conference personally, tweets are coming in by the second over on Twitter. Today's big events include an address by Serene Jones, the appearance of a new hymnal sampler, workshops after workshops after workshops, and new ways to do ministry springing up all over the place. The official attendance count is 1,715. [Big Tent]

Among the myriad of things happening at Big Tent, the PC(USA) Diversity Leadership Network is registering job seekers to boost diversity in the PC(USA). Racial/Ethnic applicants are being encouraged to register at www.pcusa.org/diversity. [PCUSA]