Introduction to PNNews.org

One stream of information flowing through every Presbyterian neighborhood.

Presbyterian Neighbor News debuted summer 2008. It is a network where existing news sources can merge to be even more useful and easier to navigate for Presbyterians everywhere.

Journalistic integrity and neighborly accessibility are our standards.

Presbyterian News Service content is important because that organization follows the same standards. Other primary news sources include your congregation sharing news with your presbytery which will share news with your synod's editor. We will also share announcements from the six "mission ministry areas" of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

Mission and communication take priority over announcements of anniversaries or localized celebrations.

PNNews.org exists only because of the mutual trust and financial support among synods. We hope that your experience here will lead you to recommend PNNews.org as a trusted destination to inform and inspire Presbyterians.

We're happy to have started this project saying,

"We've never done it this way before."

Thanks be to God,

Shane Whisler

editor @ pnnews.org

Learn more below or ask:
Where is the news from YOUR neighborhood?

PAQs — POSSIBLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1) What are you trying to do here?

We're making one website that helps inform and inspire Presbyterians across the PC(USA) starting with their own "neighborhood."

2) Is this another news agency?

No. In fact, part of our motivation to create PNNews.org was to make the existing news about the PC(USA) more accessible.

3) Isn't neighborhood a euphemism for synod?

Yes. It seemed natural and manageable to organize news according to the 16 regions called synods. We hope readers can claim their region of the country as their neighborhood to see news there and within their presbyteries.

4) Have you done it this way before?

Not even close. So bear with us as we develop the site for your neighborhood.

5) Who's behind this thing?

PNNews.org exists only because of the mutual trust and financial support among synods. It was inspired by the formation of the Presbyterian Communicators Network.

6) How can you be trusted?

We won't say, "trust us." We do say that we already trust each other (synods). Journalistic integrity and neighborly accessibility are our standards. The lead partner of PNNews.org, Synod of the Sun, is a member of the Associated Church Press which follows these standards.

7) How did it start?

It started with the collegiality of the Presbyterian Communicators Network. It gained form when we saw an article published on Lakewood-now.net, a neighborhood news site in Dallas, Texas. One of the PNNews.org leaders saw that its publishing system would be the perfect tool for sharing news across the synod.

8) And then what happened?

Shane Whisler, director of communications in Synod of the Sun, contacted the creator of the news publishing franchise, "black, white, read, LLC" and drafted a vision for Presbyterian Neighbor News. Synod of the Sun Executive Judy Fletcher shared the vision with other synod executive and the vision became a partnership.
NOTE: The monetary pledge which completed the initial cost of this project came from Pines Presbytery (Southern Arkansas-Northern Louisiana).

9) What's next?

We will gradually train editors for each neighborhood edition. This will take some time. The Sun Edition launched in the spring 2008. We introduced three other editors a few months later and named the official launch date, June 21, 2008 at the General Assembly in San Jose, Calif. As of then, 12 of the 16 synods in the PC(USA) are participating. Some are awaiting their turn to start their site and others are in the process of naming an editor. The home page of the network is where you can find who's online.