First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta wanted to reshape its ministries. Standing in the heart of the city since 1848, becoming the first Presbyterian church to lay roots in Atlanta, the congregation has had a long history of community involvement, from serving breakfasts to the homeless every Sunday to providing safe housing to women, to name a few. Still, it was time to think differently, go further and create ministries that would empower people, ministries that would “walk alongside the community,” says the Rev. Rebekah LeMon, executive pastor.
How long, O Lord? This anguished cry flows from the mouths of millions of beleaguered folks in this, the richest nation in the world. We hear reports of the wealth of our richest citizens and see on our streets those who have no place to sleep. We pass beggars at intersections with their cardboard signs asking for a pittance. Our star athletes are offered monumental amounts of money to play the sports we so avidly watch, and even those among them who grossly misbehave can afford fines in the millions of dollars.
As you travel on a patchwork section of Interstate 75 in Southwest Detroit and cross the River Rouge, this scene emerges before you: towers and tanks spreading out on both sides of the road, constituting a massive Marathon petroleum refinery.
When I think of multicultural churches, I do not necessarily think of my own — I picture congregations that reflect many different races and ethnicities. Like most Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) churches, Union Presbyterian Church of Saint Peter, Minnesota, is a predominantly white congregation. What does multicultural ministry mean for my rural Midwestern church community?
As a student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill decades before being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, David Price saw racial barriers begin to fall as a result of the civil rights movement.
From fighting against wage theft to pushing for more affordable housing, the Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance has made its mark by challenging injustice in their southern California enclave since 1992.
As the United States approaches the anniversary of the mass shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School, Presbyterian Peace Fellowship announced this week that its 2019 Peaceseeker Award honors Lincoln Park Presbyterian Church and First United Church of Oak Park, both in the Chicago metropolitan area, for exemplary ministries to prevent future gun violence.
A new downloadable resource from the Office of Theology & Worship provides analysis and theological reflection on the Reclaiming Jesus Statement. Signed in 2018 by leaders of several denominations and organizations, the statement and ensuing movement calls on Christians in the United States to “reclaim Jesus” by focusing on what followers of Jesus are required to do.
The first advocacy training weekend of the 2020s will focus on an issue many believe is the most important thing people can work on in the next decade.
