What makes pastoral ministry so difficult that, although men feel called to pastoral ministry for a lifetime and spend years training in seminary, they often quit after a few years?

For the second year in a row, Home Repairs Ministries (HRM) will descend upon General Assembly with hammers, elbow grease, and a desire to bless the local community.

The number of churches that were dismissed from Presbyterian Church (USA) last year has increased by fivefold compared to 2011, says a recently released report. According to statistics released Thursday by the Office of the General Assembly for PC(USA), 110 congregations were granted dismissal in 2012 in order to join other denominations.

CEP in partnership with other committees and agencies as well as Metro Atlanta Presbytery, has begun exploring an initiative to provide training, mentoring, and gospel encouragement to teaching elders through an annual retreat.

The transition plan is expected to begin in September, with the search for replacements beginning Jan. 1, 2014.

Pastors win a round as the New York City Council approves resolution on houses of worship renting from public schools.

The Boy Scouts of America pass a resolution to allow openly homosexual boys to participate in Scouting, forcing opponents to seek alternative programs for boys

The Rev. Harry Reeder III, senior pastor of Briarwood Presbyterian Church, predicts a surge in scouting alternative programs after the May 23, 2013 vote by the Boy Scouts of America to welcome openly gay scouts.

Several dozen business owners have sued the federal government over a provision in the 2010 Affordable Care Act that requires many employers to include free coverage of contraceptive services in their employees’ health insurance plans. The business owners contend that, like religious institutions, they should not be forced to pay for services that conflict with their religiously based objections to birth control, sterilization or emergency contraception.On May 23, 2013, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver will hear oral arguments in Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. v. Sebelius,1 the first such case involving a sizable business to reach the appeals-court level.

The Church of Scotland has voted in favour of allowing openly gay men and women to become ministers, while affirming its “current doctrine and practice in relation to human sexuality”, which stops gay people becoming ministers.