Dr. Matthew D. Taylor, a senior scholar at the Institute for Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies in Baltimore and the author of “The Violent Take It by Force: The Christian Movement That is Threatening Our Democracy,” was the guest last week on “A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast,” the weekly broadcast hosted by the Rev. Lee Catoe and Simon Doong. Listen to their 50-minute conversation here. Read more »
September 4, 2024
Learning about and from the people who led the Jan. 6 Capitol riot
Dr. Matthew D. Taylor, a senior scholar at the Institute for Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies in Baltimore and the author of “The Violent Take It by Force: The Christian Movement That is Threatening Our Democracy,” was the guest last week on “A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast,” the weekly broadcast hosted by the Rev. Lee Catoe and Simon Doong. Listen to their 50-minute conversation here. Read more »
In January 2024, Presbyterian Historical Society received a planning grant from Lilly Endowment Inc., which funded the design and fabrication of an exhibit prototype, “Faith & Justice in the 1960s: Religious News Service Covers Civil Rights.” 
It was a Minute for Mission that sparked the idea for Mary Caroline Mitchell. 
Ahead of Sunday’s gospel lectionary passage found in Mark 7:24-37, Presbyterians for Disability Concerns hosted an informative webinar on having a disability theology perspective headed into Disability Inclusion Sunday, which is celebrated on Sept. 8. 
The Republic of Rwanda, a small country in central Africa the size of Maryland and with about double its population, is commemorating the 30th year since the Rwandan genocide tore its country apart. 
Pittsburgh Theological Seminary through its World Mission Initiative is proud to announce the launch of its new Certificate in Migrant Ministries program, a six-month online non-credit course designed to equip church leaders with the knowledge and tools needed to support and advocate for migrants in their communities. 
Apache Stronghold is making a cross-country trek to preserve sacred land in Arizona and is garnering continued support from Presbyterians and other allies along the way to the nation’s capital.
The Native American-led community organization, based in San Carlos, Arizona, is making a prayer journey to the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington D.C., in an attempt to preserve Oak Flat, a site in Tonto National Forest known to the Apache as Chi’chil Bildagoteel, from corporate destruction.
If they listen to Linda K. Smith and others in the know, Presbyterians can be much more than God’s frozen chosen — they can become downright cool. 
“Here is the church, here is the steeple; open the doors, and … wait a second — the people have been priced out of the neighborhood,” the Rev. Sara Hayden said in her introduction to a recent episode of the “New Way” podcast. “Affordable housing is just one of the vexing challenges facing communities today,” Hayden, an associate in the 1001 New Worshiping Communities Movement, said before introducing two pastors in the Los Angeles area who are examining the complexities around affordable housing and finding local solutions. In the two-part series produced by the Rev. Marthame Sanders, Hayden sat down with the Rev. Carlton Rhoden, a longtime community organizer and pastor of Westminster Presbyterian Church, and the Rev. Victor Cyrus-Franklin, is the supervising pastor for affordable housing development of Inglewood First United Methodist church and is the newly appointed senior pastor of Holman United Methodist Church. 
Culture has many forms and resonances. Even the word carries multiple definitions. In anthropology, it refers to customs, social norms and material traits of certain groups. In science, it means to maintain conditions suitable for growth. In sociology, it simply reflects the characteristics of ordinary relationships between people who share a particular time and place. Culture, like faith, is how people grow. It informs how people care for others and share their daily lives together. It shapes an understanding of the world and how people envision a future beyond themselves.