Congregational Vitality

Meeting people where they are on Ash Wednesday

If Union Presbyterian Church were to adopt a motto for the way it has chosen to observe Ash Wednesday since 2017, it might not be unlike that of the U.S. Postal Service.

PC(USA) podcast explores the difficulties of modern-day ministry

Ahead of the Jan. 16, 2024 publication of their Westminster John Knox Press book “Wounded Pastors: Navigating Burnout, Finding Healing and Discerning the Future of Your Minister,” authors the Rev. Carol Howard and the Rev. Dr. James Fenimore told the hosts of the podcast “A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast” earlier this month that one helpful step congregations can take to help ease the anxiety present in many congregations is to stop blaming their pastors for not doing enough.

PC(USA) introduces Advent resource webpage

As Christians across the globe prepare their hearts, homes and houses of worship to welcome and celebrate Jesus’ birth at Christmas, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has created a new online landing page that lists a wide variety of devotional and worship resources from across the agencies of the PC(USA) just in time for the Advent season, which begins on Sunday, Dec. 3.

This weekend, Westminster Presbyterian Church in Nashville celebrates 150 years of ministry

Westminster Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tennessee has been celebrating 150 years of ministry this year, a celebration that continues following worship on Sunday with a luncheon, music and a brief program. Worship will include a special sermon by the church’s senior pastor and head of staff, the Rev. Dr. Donovan Drake, and a new anthem composed for the occasion by Philip WJ Stopford based on Psalm 78:1-7.

Presbytery of Greater Atlanta shows its marks of vitality

In the midst of the Covid pandemic, when the efficacy of new vaccines was still unknown and many churches were not back to worshiping inside, the Rev. Aisha Brooks-Johnson, executive presbyter of the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta, issued an invitation for congregations to join the Vital Congregations Initiative (VCI). The Rev. Katie Day, having accepted her call to Pleasant Hill Presbyterian Church in Duluth, Georgia, during the pandemic, remembers that her congregation was still worshiping in a parking lot and conducting meetings on Zoom.