A few years ago, Martha Clark grew concerned when Sara Lisherness wanted the then-Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Heath Rada, to join her on a trip to one of the most dangerous cities on Earth: ISIS-held Mosul, Iraq.
“Y’all may be ninjas,” Clark told Lisherness, Compassion, Peace & Justice director, “but the moderator is not. You need to make sure he’s safe.” Read more »
December 11, 2018
Saying goodbye to a longtime lawyer
A few years ago, Martha Clark grew concerned when Sara Lisherness wanted the then-Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Heath Rada, to join her on a trip to one of the most dangerous cities on Earth: ISIS-held Mosul, Iraq.
“Y’all may be ninjas,” Clark told Lisherness, Compassion, Peace & Justice director, “but the moderator is not. You need to make sure he’s safe.” Read more »
I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see.
Christians often sing “Amazing Grace” without understanding what it is like to actually be blind — either legally blind with diminished vision or completely blind. More importantly, what is it like for those who are blind when they come into a church? How are they treated? How are they incorporated into the worship service? 
For Christians worldwide, a trip to the Holy Land has often been regarded as “the trip of a lifetime”— and it usually is. All too often, however, visitors and pilgrims end up running in the land where Jesus walked! 
Before Seyeom Kim went to the recent Just Worship conference at Columbia Theological Seminary, he had been feeling very much alone — unsure of where he belonged. 
The Rev. Dr. James Reese, now approaching the 70th anniversary of his ordination in the Presbyterian Church, believes learning about stewardship is a cross-cultural exercise. He asserts that approaches to charitable giving, especially in the context of the church, are formed by a community ethos — and he has the data to back it up. 
In 2011, the Rev. Dwayne Black was called to The Sanctuary Church in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with one mandate: Turn the church around with its aging and dwindling membership on its eight-acre waterfront property or close its doors.
“The church was either going to be the biggest albatross or the biggest blessing,” Black said. 
At 7:30 a.m. on Nov. 29, the phones at First United Presbyterian Church in Tarentum, Pennsylvania, were ringing. Callers wanted to know if the church had met the match for Giving Tuesday — and indeed, they had, and then some, said the Rev. Philip Beck, pastor of First United. 
Why would families leave Guatemala to work in a meat-packing plant in Ohio?
Members of First Presbyterian Church in Salem, Ohio, began asking that question as they met Guatemalan neighbors participating in games and other activities that the church sponsored on Wednesday evenings. The Rev. Meta Cramer was pleased that Guatemalan families, who make up about 8 percent of Salem’s population of 12,000, were attending FPC-Salem’s “Denise’s Big Backyard” summer program. The program is named for Denise Herron Weingart, a church elder who helped organize the event, which includes meals and Christian education. She died in 2014. 
The story of the feeding of the 5,000 in Mark 6 starts with the disciples coming to Jesus and asking him to send the people away to buy food for themselves. Jesus responds to this well-meaning advice by saying, “You give them something to eat” (Mark 6:37). The disciples look at the crowd and then look at what they have to offer, and their response to Jesus is basically, “It’s not enough!” 
Work on the Princeton Seminary and Slavery report began in the spring of 2016.
The Rev. Dr. M. Craig Barnes was in his third year as president — and wanted to make more progress in seminary conversations on race.