Dr. Brian K. Blount’s book Go Preach! Mark’s Kingdom Message and the Black Church Today sits on my desk. It’s one of the books that survived the move from my rental in Maryland to my Vermont home.
It has been described as one of the major highlights of the 223rd General Assembly (2018) in St. Louis. Hundreds of Presbyterians, including the Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II, General Assembly Stated Clerk; Co- Moderators Vilmarie Cintrón-Olivieri and the Reverend Cindy Kohlmann; and Presbyterian Mission Agency Executive Director the Rev. Diane Moffett walked to the City Justice Center. With more than $47,000 received at the assembly’s opening worship service, Nelson turned the money over to local organizations to begin bailing out individuals who had been prescreened for release because they could not afford their cash bail.
The country of Niger in West Africa is only 1 percent Christian, but “the faithful witness and long-term vision of these believers is great,” said Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) mission co-workers Michael and Rachel Ludwig, who have worked in mission and ministry alongside the Evangelical Church in the Republic of Niger (EERN) for more than four years. The EERN is the largest Protestant denomination in Niger, with about 12,000 members.
Growing up in South Africa, Bobby Musengwa couldn’t imagine coming to America to attend seminary. But it was his uncle’s friendship with Heath Rada, who later served as moderator of the 221st General Assembly (2014), that brought this possibility to light for him — and the mentoring community of professors, pastors, family and friends reinforced Musengwa’s call.
There was something that felt perfectly right about the celebration of life of the Rev. Dr. Katie Geneva Cannon at Bethpage United Presbyterian Church on Aug. 14 in Concord, North Carolina. First, there was the community that gathered. It was like a reunion of reunions for African-American Presbyterians and many others. We gathered, greeted each other, sang, praised God, read Scripture, remembered, celebrated and renewed our faith, even at a time of death of a beloved sister, aunt, friend and educator.
In armed conflicts around the world, the combatants include tens of thousands of children who were conscripted to serve against their will. They are snatched away from their childhood innocence and from the nurture and comfort of their families.
The vision for the SoulFood Greenhouse at NorthPark Presbyterian Church in Dallas grew from the roots of its predecessor, the SoulPatch organic vegetable garden, which was planted on the church grounds by the Visions Sunday School class in the spring of 2011.
When a psychological help “hotline” was started at Primera Iglesia Presbiteriana-Reformada de la Habana (First Presbyterian-Reformed Church of Havana) in 1995, there were virtually no telephones in Cuba, “so we had to adapt,” said Martha Rodriguez, one of two psychologists who run the unique counseling service.
Members of an Atlanta congregation are continuing to honor the legacy of a longtime member who played key roles in the church and society.
Charles F. Easley Sr., vice moderator of the 215th General Assembly (2003) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), died May 23. Services were held June 2 — just before the 223rd General Assembly — at Radcliffe Presbyterian Church, where he was a member for more than 50 years. He was 82.
Despite being part of the same church family, Hazel Pflugmacher and Jaquette Easterlin never met.
“I’ve heard a lot about her,” Easterlin said. “She was a big part of creating a place where I could go and be loved on.”
