The Presbyterian Historical Society has processed the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. (UPCUSA) Commission on Ecumenical Mission and Relations (COEMAR) Records. The guide for the records is now available to researchers. Read more »
August 21, 2024
Now Processed: Commission on Ecumenical Mission and Relations records
The Presbyterian Historical Society has processed the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. (UPCUSA) Commission on Ecumenical Mission and Relations (COEMAR) Records. The guide for the records is now available to researchers. Read more »
“Kairos is an ancient Greek word, describing a time of great change when the old ways of the world are dying and new ones are struggling to be born,” said Pauline Pisano, organizer for the Kairos Center for Religions, Rights and Social Justice. “It’s clear we are living through exactly such a time today.” Pisano called this time “full of grave danger and rare opportunity” and described the work of the center in lifting up leaders and activists to take bold, prophetic and imaginative action to break free from the “intolerable conditions of poverty, systemic racism, militarism, ecological devastation and more.” 
On the eve of the 79th anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japan (August 15, 1945), the Presbyterian Peace Network for Korea (PPNK), a mission network of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), kicked off its two-day annual gathering recently. 
One of this year’s Synod School preachers, the Rev. Katie Styrt, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Milan, Illinois, called John’s account of the wedding at Cana “the kind of miracle that doesn’t line up with good stewardship policies. I don’t know of any church recently that has given away 180 gallons of wine. That’s about 908 bottles. That’s not in anybody’s budget.” 
Family and friends remembered the Rev. Dr. Otis Turner on Monday as a justice-seeker and a strategic, compassionate soldier for racial justice in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and in the larger society. 
The common good is rarely a “trending” topic. Across various platforms, the latest guffaw by a politician or celebrity inevitably outperforms reflections on this concept, as do spectacles of spending and images photoshopped to perfection. Perhaps the challenge to locate threads dedicated to, let alone acting from, the common good has to do with the complexity of its component parts. In a society marked by polarities, how do we even begin to determine what is “common” or what is “good”? 
Each year from Sept. 1 to Oct. 4, the Christian family unites for the Season of Creation, a worldwide celebration of prayer and action to protect our common home. It is a special season where we celebrate God as Creator and acknowledge Creation as the divine continuing act that summons us as collaborators to love and care for the gift of all that is created. As followers of Christ from around the globe, we share a common call to care for Creation. We are co-creatures and part of all that God has made. 
The Rev. Tony Larson, who serves Trinity Presbyterian Church of Southside Beach, South Carolina, and is co-moderator of the 226th General Assembly, opened last month’s webinar hosted by Presbyterians for Earth Care on how the Inflation Reduction Act can benefit churches and other nonprofits with a prayer. 
On Aug. 13, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) held a White House Faith Leaders Convening on Climate, Clean Energy and Environmental Justice. 
With the start of the new school year, churches often reimagine how to focus on Christian formation. For some churches with dedicated times for classes and small groups, this may mean a big celebration; for others, it may mean an intentional space in worship and special decorations during fellowship time. No matter what the size of the program or the celebration may be, there is a shared sense of the renewal made possible through the Christian life.