Members of the group Knitting for Mission at Sewickley Presbyterian Church outside Pittsburgh meet Thursday afternoons to transform leftover yarn into personal medicine bags and dolls, which a member personally delivers each summer to a medical mission in Honduras. Read more »
January 18, 2019
A close-knit group
Members of the group Knitting for Mission at Sewickley Presbyterian Church outside Pittsburgh meet Thursday afternoons to transform leftover yarn into personal medicine bags and dolls, which a member personally delivers each summer to a medical mission in Honduras. Read more »
Individuals and organizations whose written materials and photos can help tell the historical stories of LGBTQIA+ advocates in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) are invited to consider contributing those materials to the Pam Byers Memorial Collecting Initiative, sponsored by the Presbyterian Historical Society (PHS). In October the PHS announced the public phase of the initiative. Financial support for the project has been raised through the Pam Byers Memorial Fund. 
How do you preach stewardship to a congregation that’s about to leave the church? In a nutshell, that’s what the writer of Hebrews is trying to do. Hebrews is a long way from the initial excitement, enthusiasm, and the explosive birth and growth of the church recorded in the first chapters of Acts. 
Below are the 10 films worthy of being called the year’s “Top 10.” Because the list of readers of my on-line journal “Visual Parables” consists mostly of believers, my criteria are different from those of secular critics whose lists you might have already read.
Artistic excellence is important, but the films on this list do more than entertain us. Some of their makers seek to challenge viewers to uphold values of love and support (think “Lars and the Real Girl”), and some warn us of the dangers of an inhumane set of values (this year’s “The Hate U Give”). A few explore and expand our spirituality, occasionally enhancing our understanding or appreciation of God (“Come Sunday”).
As with my longer reviews in “Visual Parables,” I’ve included one or more relevant Scripture passages in many of the mini-reviews to foster dialogue between film and faith. The titles include a hyperlink so that you can go to the longer review of the film at readthespirit.com/visual-parables for more details. 
It was an amazing night.” “The food and the spirit of the people of people there.” “The renewed sense of a community persevering together.”
These were some of the reflections from those present at the annual Farm-to-Table Gala that benefits Stony Point, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) conference center about 45 minutes northwest of New York City. 
When Brett Foote decided to go to Princeton Theological Seminary in the fall of 2016, his wife, Laura Foote, was in a “really, really dark place.” She struggled with depression — and with church and how she fit in.
“I remember talking to my mom,” she said. “Like Brett’s got this dream and vision now. I was like, ‘Mom, I want that. Like, what am I doing?’ ” 
While sitting in a committee meeting in 2004, Tom Neal asked, “How do we help all our churches get involved in mission?” Since no formal system was in place within the Presbytery of Detroit at that time, he and others worked to create the Hands-On Mission Work Group (HOMWG). 
On Friday staff at the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area and others will hear about a Presbyterian Mission Agency initiative already underway informally and organically in a number of Presbyterian churches. 
The soup at Heritage Presbyterian Church in Glendale, Arizona, is a recipe for encouraging mission support.
A Sunday school class composed of elementary and middle-school students has generated mission interest through a soup-making venture aimed at helping Presbyterian Mission. They assembled the ingredients, put them in jars they had labeled, and sold the mixture to the congregation. The children used the proceeds to give a pair of goats, a family of chickens, a piglet and six refugee food baskets through the Presbyterian Giving Catalog. 
Ask nearly anyone who has served in the military about their chaplain, and you will almost always hear a positive story.
Since before the founding of our nation chaplains have served alongside those who have sought to defend our country and the values we represent. Chaplains are agents of peace, always present in the most trying of times — available to all, no matter the circumstance or the person.