Raquel Willis, a transgender woman who wrote “The Risk it Takes to Bloom: On Life and Liberation,” quoted for a crowd recently gathered online and in person for the Westminster Town Hall Forum this snippet from Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye”: “I even think now that the land of the entire country was hostile to marigolds that year. This soil is bad for certain kinds of flowers. Certain seeds it will not nurture, certain fruit it will not bear, and when the land kills of its own volition, we acquiesce and say the victim had no right to live.”
David French, a decorated military veteran and former litigator who’s now a New York Times columnist and the McClendon Scholar at New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C., borrows from the prophet Micah for his three commandments for Christians in politics.
A Brooklyn church has become a refuge and spiritual home for newcomers to New York City at a time when a massive influx of asylum seekers has challenged the city to its core.
As this new year begins, I invite you to take a moment to think about what you and the groups you belong to need. What clarity is needed? What do you need to take that next step? As you look ahead, consider a retreat. We all need time away from our daily rhythms to discover new patterns and get the rest and inspiration needed to sustain us.
“Home is tied to people, family, friends. It can be church, community, places where one belongs and feel welcome,” said the Rev. Mamisoa Rakotomalala in an episode of The New Way podcast called “Where We Call Home.”
The Rev. Edwin González-Castillo, director of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, spent most of his time on a recent Special Offerings podcast, “Between 2 Pulpits,” talking about pigs and partnerships in the Dominican Republic.
If home is where the heart is, then Sue Anne Fairman’s heart is blessed to call several places home.
For the Presbyterian ruling elder and deacon, for whom a call to mission has defined her entire life, New Wilmington, Pennsylvania, is home.
From Sarah Dianne Jones’ perspective, Christian education “is everything the church does.”
“The church teaches from the pulpit, at the table, at the font, through our actions and in our words,” Jones, program associate for the Center for Excellence in Christian Education at Union Presbyterian Seminary, told hosts the Rev. Lee Catoe and Simon Doong during an episode of “A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast.” “When the church is behaving as the church should, everything is teaching.”
Presbyterian hymn writer and pastor the Rev. Carolyn Winfrey Gillette has written “Now There Is War” to help Presbyterians as they sing, pray and act for peace.
On Feb. 3, 1943, four U.S. Army chaplains from different faith traditions selflessly gave up their life jackets to others on the USAT Dorchester as it sank from a strike by an enemy torpedo. Survivors recall seeing four chaplains, arms linked together, praying as the ship slipped beneath the waves. Since that date, Feb. 3 has become an observance called the Four Chaplains Day and serves to bring together people of diverse backgrounds to recognize our common humanity.
