Looking out at the A Corporation’s board Thursday, the Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II told the 10 directors his prayer is they’re not seated behind an ordinary corporate table.
Make it a praying table, a hoping, dreaming, risk-taking table, the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly urged. Read more »
December 13, 2018
Pray, hope, dream — and take risks
Looking out at the A Corporation’s board Thursday, the Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II told the 10 directors his prayer is they’re not seated behind an ordinary corporate table.
Make it a praying table, a hoping, dreaming, risk-taking table, the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly urged. Read more »
In her 15th year of teaching Christian Education at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, Va., Karen-Marie Yust had never received an invitation to be part of a conversation like this.
She, along with faculty and staff representing seven of the 10 PC(USA) seminaries, gathered around a table last week to offer input on Christian formation — that is shifting its focus from age and stages ministry to intergenerational faith formation. 
There’s a reason Blue Christmas and Longest Night services have become popular in recent years. They recognize that amid all the shopping and get-togethers, the holidays need tidings of both comfort and joy. Comfort, because loneliness, grief and pain can be especially potent this time of year. Joy, because we need the hope of the gospel. 
“Today the playground is transformed, adorned with flowers and the presence of many dignitaries.”
Those were the words of the Honorable Rebecca Joshua, government minister of Roads and Bridges in South Sudan’s capital city, Juba, during Monday’s ceremony celebrating 15 graduates of Nile Theological College. Presbyterian mission co-worker the Rev. Bob Rice is an instructor there; his wife, Kristi, also a mission co-worker, is an economic and development adviser for the South Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church. This report is taken from a Wednesday post on their blog, “Embracing Hope.” 
As the board of directors for the A Corporation, the corporate arm of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), prepares to meet Thursday and Friday at the Presbyterian Center, a three-page letter of advice and encouragement awaits. 
Awareness of human trafficking is more than knowledge — it also serves as prevention.
According to a United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime 2016 Global Report, nearly 71 percent of human trafficking victims are women and girls, and one-third are children. 
The love story between Ralph and Mary Hamburger began at a Presbyterian church when Ralph introduced himself to Mary after hearing her play the piano. 
If you Google “Sandy Hook,” the search engine’s “People also search for …” menu offers these grim options: 2012 Aurora shooting, Stoneman Douglas High School, Columbine High School massacre, 2014 Isla Vista massacre, Orlando nightclub shooting.
And it could go on. 
Representing the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is a bit harder these days for the Rev. Jimmie Hawkins, director of the Presbyterian Mission Agency’s Office of Public Witness in Washington, D.C. 
With Native American women installed as synod executive in such places as the Synod of Lakes and Prairies, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is becoming a more diverse denomination — but there’s still work to be done, said the Rev. Danelle Crawford McKinney, a Presbyterian Women board member.