Fort Caroline Presbyterian Church, which I serve as interim pastor, is 60 years old and has long passed its “glory days.” It’s in the Arlington area in Jacksonville, Florida, a neighborhood in the midst of transition. When I arrived nearly four years ago as the part-time ecumenical pastor, we were worshiping alongside about 20 people. We have only two couples in their 50s; most worshipers are 70–98 years of age. Read more »
September 16, 2019
How much outreach can a small church do?
Fort Caroline Presbyterian Church, which I serve as interim pastor, is 60 years old and has long passed its “glory days.” It’s in the Arlington area in Jacksonville, Florida, a neighborhood in the midst of transition. When I arrived nearly four years ago as the part-time ecumenical pastor, we were worshiping alongside about 20 people. We have only two couples in their 50s; most worshipers are 70–98 years of age. Read more »
I graduated from seminary over 46 years ago and I have served in very large urban congregations, suburban large churches, campus ministry, hospital chaplaincy, congregations with schools and nursing homes — and in Miami, where about 70 percent of the folks are Latino. So, I have learned a great deal over my career that was never brought up in seminary. My thesis, therefore, is that all effective pastors need to be prepared to know and be aware of resources that the folks we minister to need to survive. 
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Two outstanding leaders in theological education will be honored at the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) 224th General Assembly in Baltimore in June 2020. 
Racial Equity & Women’s Intercultural Ministries last week announced the 2019 recipients of the Rev Dr. Katie Geneva Cannon Scholarship. 
Dr. Janet Loman may be the perfect person to chair the Presbyterian Association of Musicians’ 50th anniversary fundraising campaign.
The goal of the “Thankful Hearts and Voices Raise” campaign is to raise $1 million in time for next year’s 50th annual PAM worship and music conference. 
Dick Liberty wanted to teach voice at the college level. He was working on a master’s degree in vocal performance at Temple University, but he needed a job to pay tuition. An employment agency tested him, found that he had an aptitude for math, and sent him to accounts receivable at the Board of Pensions. 
During six years in El Salvador as a mission co-worker with the Joining Hands Network, Kristi Van Nostran worked to bring people to a common table and create a network to support ongoing efforts around justice and food sovereignty. Now she is working with two Southern California presbyteries to once again walk alongside her Central American brothers and sisters. 
If the handful of Presbyterian Mission Agency Board members who participated in a conference call Friday on the Stony Point Center Vision Plan have reservations about the plan’s recommendations, they didn’t voice them. 
When she agreed to be the graphic designer for Presbyterian Youth Triennium 2019, Ashley Rash didn’t know that 90 percent of the work would be in June. “It’s been crazy,” she says. “But, quite honestly, it’s also been a lot of fun.”