On the heels of the commercial events of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, a third post-Thanksgiving tradition has emerged that redirects our priorities. Giving Tuesday, which is being observed today in more than 150 countries, exists for one purpose: to celebrate and encourage giving. Read more »
November 17, 2020
Giving Tuesday is an opportunity to celebrate the work of the Church
On the heels of the commercial events of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, a third post-Thanksgiving tradition has emerged that redirects our priorities. Giving Tuesday, which is being observed today in more than 150 countries, exists for one purpose: to celebrate and encourage giving. Read more »
The four-week “Civil Initiative and the Engaged Church” Matthew 25 course continued Monday with the advocacy work of the Rev. Stuart Taylor, who in 2014 founded Watershed Now in western North Carolina out of a deep love for waterways and for hiking, loves he’s nurtured since childhood. 
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s Office of Public Witness has joined the chorus of Americans calling on President Donald Trump to accept the results of this month’s election and begin the peaceful transfer of power to President-elect Joe Biden. 
Thanks in part to Union Presbyterian Seminary, Cooperative Baptists in Virginia will have new options for advanced theological study because of partnerships developed by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Virginia and CBF Global. 
In the early days of the pandemic, Joel Gill, the executive director of Ferncliff Camp and Conference Center in Little Rock, Arkansas, gathered staff together for a brainstorming session. 
Each year, site coordinators of the Young Adult Volunteer Program expect challenges. There are new participants, new personalities, new issues each year. But Maureen Anderson, site coordinator for New York City, faced some truly unique challenges this year serving at the U.S. epicenter of a global pandemic. 
The Rev. Jessica Tate, director of NEXT Church and a worship leader for the 2020 Presbyterian Association of Musicians Worship & Music Conference, told a telling story about life during COVID-19 with 2-year-old son, Huw, during opening worship on a recent Sunday. As PAM turned 50, it held its golden year celebration online, with live broadcasts originating from Montreat Conference Center. 
Gentrification was coming to Inglewood, California, and it was not pretty. Some people saw the change as a renaissance for a city that had been economically challenged. Some local congregations, however, saw the devastating change gentrification was having on the long-term fabric of residents in the neighborhood and knew it was time to do something — together. 
Mid-curve of the COVID-19 crisis, I received a call from a man who, in a distinctive and educated voice, asked about our dinner program. “Is it a hot meal?” Yes. “Can I take it out?” He hurried on, “I would feel very uncomfortable sitting down to eat next to people I don’t know.” He was almost rambling now. “I’ve never had to go to a soup kitchen before. I lost my job at the beginning of the coronavirus and I’ve run out…” 
There have been many prayers being lifted during the pandemic, among them prayers for wholeness, guidance, protection and peace. But perhaps the greatest request of all was that of healing — something that two Charlotte, North Carolina, congregations received quite unexpectedly. The COVID-19 virus opened the way for healing a post-Civil War wound between First United Presbyterian Church, a Black congregation established in 1866 that is located literally a stone’s throw away from tall-steepled First Presbyterian Church, which was established in 1821.