As a member of Generation X and the person who runs an organization helping seminaries provide great theological education, the Rev. Dr. Frank Yamada said he sees himself as someone who’s present during both the first and last breaths of ministry — as both midwife and hospice chaplain. Read more »
December 3, 2020
Both midwife and hospice chaplain
As a member of Generation X and the person who runs an organization helping seminaries provide great theological education, the Rev. Dr. Frank Yamada said he sees himself as someone who’s present during both the first and last breaths of ministry — as both midwife and hospice chaplain. Read more »
Charles and Melissa Johnson served as ruling elders in their home congregation, Northwood Presbyterian Church in San Antonio, and now as mission co-workers in Zambia. In both places they found joy and strength in the strong sense of community that surrounded them. Now sheltering in place in Atlanta at Mission Haven, short-term housing for mission co-workers, they are busy staying connected to partners, supporting churches and finding that sense of community in new places. 
Compassion, Peace & Justice Training Day will be virtual again in 2021, and it will be plural. 
John Calvin and Martin Luther come to mind for many Presbyterians as heroes of the Reformation. But women also played significant roles, and thanks to a new six-part series from Theocademy, their stories have become more accessible. 
Now in its seventh, record-breaking year, the Presbyterian Giving Catalog — which offers a wide variety of gifts that provide real and positive impact around the world — has just debuted in Spanish and Korean. 
God’s mission clearly includes charity: a cup of cold water given in Jesus’ name; the Samaritan’s extraordinary care for the victim of highway robbery; the traditional “alms for the poor” that has characterized the institutional church through the millennia. Charity is clearly biblical and a hallmark of Christian faithfulness. After 35 years of working with Presbyterian congregations engaged in local and global mission, I have found that the overwhelming majority of congregations dedicate nearly 100% of their mission attention and budget to charity work. B 
As June turned to July, Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles needed a place to store food.
Its direct food service to people in need had skyrocketed from 120 households a week before the COVID-19 pandemic to more than 2,000 a week as the virus staged a resurgence in California that has resulted in it being the state with the most coronavirus infections in the country. Immanuel, in L.A.’s Mid-Wilshire/Koreatown area, was running out of space to keep food – at one point jerry-rigging cooling ducts in a hallway to create improvised, temporary cold storage. Then church leaders cast their eyes on its Westminster Chapel. 
The COVID-19 pandemic is growing rapidly in Indonesia, which has one of the highest number of coronavirus cases in Asia. But with fewer than 100,000, the total number of confirmed cases is still relatively small compared to those in the United States. 
It’s 2021, and women in the pulpit are not an unusual sight in many churches across the country. A 2018 study conducted by Eileen Campbell-Reed titled “State of Clergywomen in the U.S.: A Statistical Update” revealed some interesting facts about clergywomen in the U.S.; among them was that in most mainline denominations, the percentage of clergywomen has doubled or tripled since 1994. Still, while more women have the title “Rev.” in front of their names, obstacles while on the road to ordination, and even when serving in church, remain. Among those obstacles is the still pervasive problem of gender discrimination. 
These are the strangest of times. As of this reading, things will likely be different than they were a month ago.
How much so? I cannot guess. But as a retired minister now serving as a spiritual director, I can say the
anxiousness felt by the pastors I see will continue.