Catey Gans, a junior studying public health at Furman University in Greenville, S.C., said the 2019 College Conference at Montreat “was all about compassion” and helped students “focus on their blind spots.” Read more »
January 7, 2019
Working on our blind spots
Catey Gans, a junior studying public health at Furman University in Greenville, S.C., said the 2019 College Conference at Montreat “was all about compassion” and helped students “focus on their blind spots.” Read more »
Dr. Jim Smylie, a beloved professor at Union Presbyterian Seminary, died peacefully Jan. 5, 2019, at the age of 93, a seminary release stated. 
By simply sharing their heartrending personal stories Friday night, two inmates at the nearby Swannanoa Correctional Center for Women hit just the right note near the close of the 2019 College Conference at Montreat. 
Global challenges can only be faced together, grounded in faith and prayer. That’s just one of the conclusions from the second World Mission global partner consultation in Berlin. 
Touching once again on the theme of a God who draws the circle wider than we might expect or be comfortable with, the Rev. Aisha Brooks-Lytle on Thursday took worshipers attending the 2019 College Conference at Montreat through the 1 Kings 17 account of Elijah, the widow of Zarephath (Queen Jezebel’s hometown) — and the widow’s son, whom God through the prophet restores to life. 
It sounded like a good idea, at the time.
Raj Nadella, Assistant Professor of New Testament and Director of the Master of Arts (Theological Studies) Program at Columbia Theological Seminary, was presenting at a May 2017 conference in Bangkok, and immigration was a huge topic.
That got him thinking: “There had been conversations on the topic of immigration at the time, but a lot of them have been taking place in a piecemeal fashion,” Nadella says.
“There hasn’t been a real comprehensive, multidisciplinary conference that explores the issue of immigration not only from a theological perspective, but from a legal and historical perspective.” 
Did you ever put out cookies and milk for Santa on Christmas Eve? How about oats for the reindeer? Growing up in Cuba, I learned about these traditions from books and movies. My Christmas celebration, though, did not include any visitors from the North Pole. 
“The creation of God is not an historic fact but a continuous and permanent action,” the Rev. Jose Luis Casal, Director of Presbyterian World Mission (PWM), told representatives of the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s global partners in Africa at a two-day conference in Nairobi at the end of November. “God never tires of creating something new!” 
Eboo Patel, an interfaith leader in his own right, told the 1,000 or so Presbyterian students attending the 2019 College Conference at Montreat Thursday stories of how his friends, colleagues and mentors are using innovation and chutzpah to bridge religious divides and even save lives when government can’t. 
Central American migrants start as early as 4 a.m. on their trek northward. Many begin with prayer, asking God to keep them safe and provide them peace and comfort in this frightening journey. Mothers and fathers carry sleeping children on their backs or in strollers, hoping to cover as much distance as they can in a day. If they are lucky, they may catch a ride in a passing truck or receive something to eat from good Samaritans in a local village.