Several years ago, we faced a mystery in our home. When my older children were 3 and 4 years old, all of our children’s books were getting ruined. The pages were wrinkled, folded and ripping. The books could not fit on the shelves because the damaged pages made each book take up twice as much shelf space as it should have. We were forced to throw the kids’ favorite books in the garbage because they were unreadable. I saw it as a crisis of responsibility. How could our children be so careless with their possessions?
As Presbyterians reflect on the year 2017 and all the blessings it has held, many are remembering with gratitude the life of Marie “Breezy” Lusted.
Lusted, a Presbyterian mission co-worker and long-term volunteer, served as a nurse and Bible translator in Ethiopia for 56 years. She passed away in North Carolina on Oct. 29 at the age of 85.
Sarah Jane Moore grew up in a small Illinois farm town where few spoke of diversity. The town had no minority residents, and only a few people of color attended her college.
Church ties may be looser and students may be less religious than in past generations, but most Presbyterian colleges and universities still believe in the role of a campus chaplain.
For over 140 years, First Presbyterian Church was the centerpiece of historic Englewood, New Jersey. But that all changed on March 22, 2016, when a fire broke out, leaving significant damage to the sanctuary, destroying original stained-glass windows and causing the roof to collapse.
A short walk to dinner in the nation’s capital became a life-changing experience for 8-year-old Meghan DeLuca. The New Jersey native was walking with her family in Washington, D.C., and came across several homeless people, including a few who were sleeping in boxes. Instead of ignoring them or closing her eyes to their anguish, young Meghan made a compassionate choice to do something about it. A few years later, with the help of her congregation at First Presbyterian Church of Belmar, she’s raised nearly $8,000 to help homeless individuals and families get back on their feet.
A two-day faith-based forum on supporting LGBTQ refugees is being praised by those who participated in it. First Presbyterian Church in the City of New York hosted the recent symposium on the challenges facing LGBTQ refugees and asylum seekers. The church worked alongside several ministries within the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to present the event, titled “Love Welcome.”
Did you know that Presbyterians are more willing than Americans in general to pay higher prices for environmentally friendly products? Or that one-third of Presbyterians belong to a congregation that is trying to become more racially and ethnically diverse? These are just a few of the things learned from Presbyterian Panel surveys.
As Presbyterians commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation two prominent Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) theologians say it is an opportunity for the church to reconsider history — and how it tells the story of the past 500 years.
