When a Korean-American church celebrates its 70th year anniversary by opening with a Native American (Elona Street-Stewart, the Co-Moderator of the 224th General Assembly) telling the story of her people in Turtle Island thousands of year before it became United States, the destruction that came with Christian mission in Turtle Island, and the impossible gospel-bloom from the dust (the storyteller is a Christian Native American!), at first it’s difficult for your brain to adjust. It all seems darker, but it’s not. Read more »
May 17, 2023
Presbyterian Mission Agency diversity manager urges storytellers to go way back
When a Korean-American church celebrates its 70th year anniversary by opening with a Native American (Elona Street-Stewart, the Co-Moderator of the 224th General Assembly) telling the story of her people in Turtle Island thousands of year before it became United States, the destruction that came with Christian mission in Turtle Island, and the impossible gospel-bloom from the dust (the storyteller is a Christian Native American!), at first it’s difficult for your brain to adjust. It all seems darker, but it’s not. Read more »
When Elizabeth Odom was just a baby, so was the Pentecost Offering.
Twenty-five years later, both are thriving.
Today, Elizabeth is a social worker and American Sign Language interpreter serving the Deaf community in Greensboro, North Carolina, and the Pentecost Offering helped her get there. 
Presbyterians and other people of faith are becoming more intentional about planting their church grounds with the thriving of God’s creatures in mind, and a webinar offered last week by Presbyterians for Earth Care explained how and where that’s happening. 
A panel of New Testament scholars convened by Union Presbyterian Seminary late last month took on the uncomfortable reality that “contrary to popular opinion, the Bible has not always been an ally in the struggle for antiracist work. Though replete with Scriptures that convey God’s vision for a world of equality and justice where every human being is created in the common image of God and viewed as equally valuable, the Bible has also been used for more nefarious ends,” including, as a webinar promotion put it, “theologically justified supremacist thought.” 
At SACReD, the Spiritual Alliance of Communities for Reproductive Dignity, which the Rev. Angela Tyler-Williams serves as co-director for movement building, religious leaders, organizers, academics and congregations work together to advance the cause of reproductive justice. 
Greg Rousos, New Covenant Trust Company’s longtime President & CEO, has announced his plans to retire at the end of 2023. 
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is inviting college students and seminarians who are interested in learning effective ways to stand up for causes they believe in to take part in its new Young Adult Advocacy Conference this fall in Louisville, Kentucky. 
When Jesus began reading from a scroll in the synagogue, Luke’s gospel records that his text came from the book of Isaiah. “He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives,” Jesus says, quoting Isaiah. 
The first in a three-part series of online workshops dedicated to the three main Matthew 25 foci kicks off this month with “Where Does Jesus Stand? Exploring Five Spiritual Practices to End Poverty.” The Zoom event begins at 2 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, May 23. Registration is required and participants can do so here. 
St. Andrew Presbyterian Church in Iowa City constructed its beautiful and versatile campus seven years ago. While the Pop-Up Ministry Room is not the most eye-catching of St. Andrew’s varied ministry spaces, it’s easily the most versatile, with plenty of storage and display space for clothing and food distribution as the need arises. Church leaders liken the large space to the Room of Requirement in the Harry Potter novels.