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Mission Yearbook
I was about to launch into my public service announcement about the need to stay home, especially as the COVID-19 virus began making itself known to our rural community, but I was interrupted.
Many of a certain age can fondly harken back to loading into the family station wagon and visiting the local drive-in movie theater. Finding just the right spot to get a great view of the screen, attaching the scratchy metal speaker to the partially rolled-down window, and sitting in the back seat with blankets, pillows, a big tub of popcorn and a drink were integral parts of the outdoor movie experience.
It was a week of mission at Manokin Presbyterian Church in Princess Anne, Maryland, along the state’s Eastern Shore. That’s because the 30-some members of this congregation, first organized in 1672, continue to stay in touch with each other, even though they have not gathered for worship since March 8 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
For nearly a dozen years, Laura VanDale has crisscrossed northeastern Ohio, encouraging congregations in the Presbytery of the Western Reserve to tackle the root causes of hunger.
Known for their creativity and their ability to improvise, pastors and church educators are passing along what they’re learning about how to reach and minister to the most senior members of PC(USA) congregations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Technology appears to be the greatest benefit and the greatest challenge of doing church differently during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, according to a survey by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s Research Services.
Where there’s a will, there’s a driveway.
And although this year’s Palm Sunday festival procession into an “upper parking lot” more closely resembled a line at a car wash than a celebration of worship, exigent circumstances call for extreme creativity, imagination and grace.
And honks over Hosannas.
Has there ever been a more challenging Fourth of July? With a worldwide pandemic, COVID-19 deaths well above 100,000, and a new realization that our nation remains a flawed and racist society, one can understand why we may not want to celebrate the red, white and blue this year.
In a world beset by disaster, hunger and oppression, One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS) is dedicated to aiding the millions of people who lack access to sustainable food sources, clean water, sanitation, education and opportunity. Never has this been more prescient than in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
While Luke Rembold isn’t grateful for the circumstances of the current COVID-19 crisis and the pain and fear it is causing, he is grateful for the way he sees his Young Adult Volunteers (YAVs) responding.
