Today marks the 30th anniversary of World AIDS Day, and Presbyterians are encouraged to participate as part of Presbyterian HIV/AIDS Awareness. This year’s theme is “Know your status.”
The Rev. Gordon Gartrell, a Presbyterian World Mission co-worker, recently received a prestigious award from the town council of Governador Mangabeira, Bahi, in northwestern Brazil, where he serves with his wife, Dorothy. Gartrell was nominated for the honor by Cronor da Costa Silva, president of the city council and a noted Roman Catholic lay leader.
Referenced in sermons from pulpits across the world, printed in fine script within Christmas cards mailed to friends and family, and exclaimed at key moments in holiday movies, the word “miracle” is heard frequently this time of year.
During Advent, I often meditate on the holy family. There’s Joseph, the adoptive father whose acceptance of Mary and Jesus is later mirrored in the adoption of the Gentiles into God’s original chosen family. I give thanks for Joseph’s love, grace and obedience when it came to putting together an unconventional family.
The Rev. Eugene Peterson, a pastor, author and scholar, died Oct. 22 at his home in Montana. He was 85.
He had been hospitalized since early October because of a serious infection, according to his son, Eric Peterson.
After four weeks of travel, the 2018 International Peacemakers gathered together one final time at Laws Lodge on the Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary campus. Seven of the 10 peacemakers met for two days of conversation and a debrief session to talk about their experiences with congregations, students and other organizations before heading back to their respective homes.
In the lead-up to Christmas, many of us spend time in search of the perfect gift — the gift that communicates to friends and family how much we know and love them. We search our memories for indications of what gift might cause the faces of our loved ones to light up on Christmas morning. We scour the stores and shops, hoping to come across the thing that will communicate a depth that our words cannot.
Rev. Amir Ishak speaks at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church in Billings, Montana December 6, 2018 As he and his small church help some of the thousands of Syrian refugees… Read more »
The first church conflict I remember as a kid was over “bi-part” offering envelopes — a single envelope with two separate and distinct pockets, one labeled “current expenses” and the other “benevolences.”
My father railed against them, arguing that they presented church members with a false choice. He called it “robbing Peter to pay Paul.”
Rural living has been romanticized for far too long with images of freshly baked pies cooling on windowsills and families pulling up to food-laden dinner tables, Norman Rockwell-style. But the reality is that those living in rural America are not necessarily well-fed.
