Matthew 25 Archives

Giving a gift that makes a difference

Posted September 1st, 2022

When it comes to people’s proclivity to pile up possessions, Jane MacDonald couldn’t agree more strongly with Jesus. “We all have enough stuff!” she said emphatically.

‘Love makes room’

Posted August 23rd, 2022

For the Rev. Jennifer Burns Lewis, “love makes room” is the umbrella of her theology. Along with Micah 6:8 — to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with our God — it is the shaping framework of her work as the vision and connecting leader of the Presbytery of Wabash Valley.

Back to school means back to missions

Posted August 19th, 2022

It’s back to school time, and for parents that means helping children sharpen their pencils and charge their laptops in preparation for the first day. For children it means adapting to new morning routines and getting back to a studying and test-taking rhythm. And for pastors, it’s that wonderful time of year to bless school backpacks. While blessing backpacks is popular in big and small churches, it is only the start to what congregations can — and should — be doing to engage more deeply with local schools. According to Dr. Irvin Scott, a faculty member of Harvard Graduate School of Education, backpack blessings have grown over the years because they provide a relatively hassle-free, easy-to-execute outreach to families. “It’s a good first step,” said Scott, with emphasis on “first.”

This PC(USA) church in Stillwater runs deep

Posted August 19th, 2022

Youth and young people are not the future of the church. They are the church, as viewers of the August edition of “Being Matthew 25” learned Thursday.

A look at how faith communities and mid councils are making Triennium their own

Posted August 12th, 2022

Now that Presbyterian Youth Triennium Beyond events are being scheduled, Presbyterian News Service visited with PYT director Gina Yeager-Buckley to learn how new free online resources help young people go deeper into the theme of PYT2022, which was cancelled because of Covid.

Presbyterians asked to solidify congressional support for the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022

Posted August 2nd, 2022

Monday’s Action Alert from the Office of Public Witness asks Presbyterians to contact their U.S. senator to urge support for the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 ahead of the Senate recess scheduled to begin Aug. 8.

‘That’s who most needs to be here’

Posted August 2nd, 2022

The three presbyteries in Oklahoma — Indian Nations, Cimarron and Eastern Oklahoma — are partnering with Covenant Network of Presbyterians to hold a Covenant Conversation on Aug. 27 at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Oklahoma City. That event, set for 10 a.m. through 4 p.m. Central Time, will be held both in person and online and features a plenary by the Rev. Dr. Cynthia Rigby, the W.C. Brown Professor of Theology at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary.

‘Two ideas trying to share space’

Posted August 1st, 2022

Conflict, the Rev. Dr. David Anderson Hooker likes to say, is just two ideas trying to share space.

The nitty gritty on the city

Posted July 29th, 2022

“The world is hungry for healing and hope,” the Rev. Dr. Diane Moffett, president and executive director of the Presbyterian Mission Agency, told the Urban Presbyteries Network conference on Thursday following opening worship. “I want to remind us today to keep the main thing the main thing: the church’s call to make disciples of Jesus Christ.”

What do we do about guns and violence in America?

Posted July 27th, 2022

Malcolm Graham, who represents District 2 on the Charlotte City Council, is as qualified as anyone to speak on a panel discussing gun violence, as Union Presbyterian Seminary’s Center for Social Justice and Reconciliation offered Tuesday.