When Kathryn Threadgill introduced the Vital Congregations Revitalization Initiative to Newark and Trinity presbyteries earlier this year, she felt both fear and exhilaration.
Hearing Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) leaders say things like “We cannot fail at this initiative” or “This initiative might be a small part of the next Great Awakening we feel like we’re in” will do that to a person, she says. Read more »
March 15, 2018
Vital Congregations Revitalization Initiative gets underway
When Kathryn Threadgill introduced the Vital Congregations Revitalization Initiative to Newark and Trinity presbyteries earlier this year, she felt both fear and exhilaration.
Hearing Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) leaders say things like “We cannot fail at this initiative” or “This initiative might be a small part of the next Great Awakening we feel like we’re in” will do that to a person, she says. Read more »
May the joy of the risen Christ be yours on this Easter Sunday! As we celebrate Christ’s victory over death, we can take delight in the hope it gives and in the new humanity that has been created. We are blessed to participate in this new way of living and bear witness to its life-changing reality. 
There is a farm in New York state with a goal to feed people living in “Food Apartheid” neighborhoods, a term they use to describe areas with little or no access to fresh, healthy food. Soul Fire Farm was started in 2011 thanks to a group of committed individuals who believe everyone, regardless of race or background, should eat healthily. 
Leaders at First Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennesee, had a difficult decision to make. The congregation had existed on a downtown block for more than 200 years. It has had three sanctuaries on the site and the graveyard has tombs for signers of the United States Constitution. Numerically, the historic congregation was holding steady, but its most recent building was old and in decline. Should members invest in costly renovations so that the building could be used for 21st-century ministry? Or should the congregation move to a more modern space closer to where the members live? 
The participants at the 62nd Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) at the United Nations come from all over the world and their interests are as varied as their geography. Bulletin boards boast a wide variety of event invitations. From advocating for LGBTQI rights to exploring feminism and Korean TV to genital mutilation in Africa, chances are if the issue affects women, it’s being addressed by a UN agency or by one of the many Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) that sponsor lectures and discussions. 
While Lent is widely viewed as a journey of introspection, some Ohio Presbyterians, inspired by their support for One Great Hour of Sharing, also see it as an opportunity for mission activities. 
The Conference on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME) — held in Arusha, Tanzania March 8-13 — officially closed with a “sending service” during which participants reflected on their call to discipleship and the significance of such a call in transforming mission in a world of pain, dislocation and turmoil. 
Marvella Lambright didn’t realize that some women use dried cow dung to absorb their monthly flow of blood until she attended her first Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) session at the United Nations several years ago. There she learned that women in some countries don’t have access to the sanitary products that are available in the United States and other parts of the world. This surprised her and helped her realize that the best way to find out what is really happening in the world is to talk with people from other countries. 
China is investing billions of dollars to build infrastructure all over Asia — Malaysia, the Philippines, and most recently, Sri Lanka. China says it is building a modern-day “silk road” (a nod to its ancient trade route), but some believe there are staggering consequences to signing away too much control to the Chinese, including irreparable environmental harm and debt so large it can never be repaid. 
I once considered becoming an Episcopal priest. I would sometimes attend an Episcopal church with a friend, and I guess I was enchanted by the billowing clouds of incense coming from a metal ball the priest swung from a chain.