Nearly a year ago, Doylestown Presbyterian Church in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, accepted the invitation to become a Matthew 25 church. The predominately white congregation chose to concentrate its efforts on dismantling structural racism and its intersectionality with poverty. Members and friends knew they wanted to learn how to be allies with people of color who have been so adversely impacted by these issues, two of the three Matthew 25 foci (the other is building congregational vitality).
Forrest Palmer said a prayer as he received his initial dose of COVID-19 vaccine last month in the state of West Virginia. The prayer emanated from a place of gratitude, not of fear.
“How would you like an uplifting story?”
The question came in an email from the Rev. Catherine McMillan, a minister of the Reformed Church of Zürich in Switzerland.
The recently released book, “Fury and Grace: 40 Days of Paintings and Poetry from Prison,” edited by the Rev. Riley Pickett and the Revs. Layne and Crawford Brubaker, is now a podcast, too.
Economic partnerships open the door for cooperation between Christians and Muslims through the House of Authentic Sense (HAS), Indonesia’s only fair trade co-op. Like many countries, Indonesia needs development projects that are designed to empower society, especially women, minorities and disabled communities.
The gift of $22,000, which after legal fees would be worth around $250,000 in today’s dollars, was given to Knox Presbyterian Church in Cincinnati exactly 100 years ago to aid the congregation in constructing a new church. But according to Knox’s pastor, the Rev. Adam Fronczek, there was “some lore” in the congregation about the gift, which came from a woman who wanted to be buried inside the walls of the church.
In the Republic of Niger, there is roughly one nurse or nurse midwife for every 10,000 people, and the country is not alone in its need. By 2030, the World Health Organization estimates there will be a projected shortfall of 18 million health workers worldwide, mostly in low- and lower-middle income countries.
For three social justice-focused Presbyterian churches in Orange County, California, Ash Wednesday will look different this year. But its meaning may be even more profound and deeply felt than in pre-pandemic times.
