As a young adult, I moved to New York City. I wanted to know what it was like to ride in a crowded subway right underneath another person’s armpit. I wanted to know what it was like to walk down a crowded Manhattan street and have to engage with some people who were well and some who were not so well, all coexisting together. Read more »
February 24, 2022
Minute for Mission: Celebrate the Gifts of Women Sunday
As a young adult, I moved to New York City. I wanted to know what it was like to ride in a crowded subway right underneath another person’s armpit. I wanted to know what it was like to walk down a crowded Manhattan street and have to engage with some people who were well and some who were not so well, all coexisting together. Read more »
For Cameron Presbyterian Church and Calvary Presbyterian Church, both in Statesville, North Carolina, accepting the Matthew 25 invitation was not a difficult decision. When presented with information about the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s invitation by Salem Presbytery, the Rev. Timothy L. Bates, pastor of the two churches, says both congregations saw it as a great opportunity to join other Presbyterian churches in the endeavor. 
The Rev. Dr. Brandi Casto-Waters learned a lot in seminary, but, she admits, not everything.
For example, she didn’t have a full understanding of the effects of asbestos until she served at a church that had some that had to be removed. She said she didn’t know how problematic termite infestation could be until the church’s sanctuary was being tented and treated for it. 
First Presbyterian Church of Holland, Minnesota, will gather for worship on Ash Wednesday. But the service will be nontraditional, and the faithful there are asking Presbyterians across the country to devote some time at the beginning of Lent to do likewise, whether they’re worshiping in person or online. 
As he began to talk exclusively with unchurched people, Dr. Tom Bagley heard the same thing again and again from people who were spiritually curious about God and faith: They wanted nothing to do with the church because of its hypocrisy, judgmentalism and exclusivity. 
Far from “the peaceful easy feeling we experience when all is well and all is right,” God’s peace is “something really robust and active,” a peace “that is the most present in the presence of pain, in the hardest moments of my life, in situations that feel impossible.” 
Being able to see with the eyes of the heart can open our world to not only more love, but more beautiful God possibilities. 
The Rev. Carolyn Winfrey Gillette, a Presbyterian hymn-writer who has penned new lyrics to more than 400 hymns, has published her most recent hymn, “We Pray for Peace” to Finlandia, the tune for the hymn “Be Still, My Soul” and “This is My Song.” 
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) joined an ecumenical and interfaith vigil at noon Eastern Time Wednesday to pray for peace in Ukraine, where Russian aggression is bringing the nations to the brink of war. 
Presbyterians have been stepping up to help Afghan families feel welcome in the United States, from providing meals and housing to helping children get registered in school.