During 2020, Knox Presbyterian Church in Baltimore faced both the start of the pandemic in March and the loss of its pastor, the Rev. Michael Moore, who accepted a call from the denominational headquarters in September.
As many churches navigate the both/and world of hybrid ministry, where in-person and online worship coexist, there’s a word to keep in mind: “phygital.” I didn’t invent it. It was coined in 2013 to describe creating a seamless experience that is the best of both the digital and physical realms. And there lies the goal — and the challenge — for our churches, that of creating hybrid worship where two intrinsically different environments come together seamlessly.
If you ask a Presbyterian to define “peace,” you’ll get lots of answers, and they’re mostly all correct. Peace is tranquility and calm and quiet and respect and all those things that we ask of our children, at least for a few blessed moments every now and then. Peace is well-being, wholeness, health, safety, security, civility and all those things we expect from our communities. Peace is diplomatic treaties, international accords, global conventions, mutual aid, disaster relief and all those things that create understanding among nations. Peace finds its expression in many ways, takes on a variety of forms and is evident in both the most intimate and expansive parts of life. And as people of faith, we believe peace — in all its expressions and forms — is a gift from God.
In her introduction to a recent episode of the “New Way” podcast, the Rev. Sara Hayden quotes St. Thomas More, who once said, “Soul cannot thrive in a fast-paced life because being affected, taking things in and chewing on them requires time.”
Although the U.S. is slowly returning to some semblance of normalcy, the light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel is much more distant for other countries.
To vax or not to vax has become a life-and-death question for millions of Americans — especially people of color. A recent panel put on by Union Presbyterian Seminary’s Center for Social Justice and Reconciliation and the Katie Geneva Cannon Center for Womanist Leadership explored ways communities of color can use trusted voices to both drive up vaccination rates and boost access to health care proved both engaging and informative. Watch the hourlong discussion here or here.
What would it cost to buy it all back?
Early in the pandemic, my wife and I undertook an inventory with the help of a computer program. We entered our possessions, room by room, with photos and a few facts. The process proved arduous, but we made it to the end.
Matthew 25: Eradicate Systemic Poverty Sunday asks us to look at the structures in our society that all but guarantee that people living in poverty will stay that way.
