At the end of August, many young people, the new group of Young Adult Volunteers (YAVs), gathered from different worlds — some speaking English, others Spanish.
Conversation came slowly and hesitantly as we tried to connect, but the distance of language hung heavy between us. Then, one evening a few days into orientation, everything changed. With just three words, everyone gathered around, and suddenly we were all speaking the same language.
During my first year as a pastor, there were certain milestones I knew to look forward to. I looked forward to the first time I stood at the Communion table and invited my congregation to share in the feast, and the first time I marked an infant with water and proclaimed how much God loved her in baptism. I looked forward to my first Christmas and first sunrise Easter service. But there were other firsts that I didn’t know about that caught me off guard with their beauty.
Tim Pollock, commissioned ruling elders and commissioned pastors coordinator for the Synod of the Covenant, recently offered a webinar full of ideas on extending ministry networks to municipal and nonprofit agencies.
Driven to Reach Excellence & Academic Achievement for Males (DREAAM) is excited to report on a recent international experience that was aimed at enhancing excellence in achievement, engagement, and behavioral and mental health among boys and young men ages 3–24 years old.
Family and friends recently remembered the Rev. Dr. Otis Turner as a justice-seeker and a strategic, compassionate soldier for racial justice in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and in the larger society.
Turner, the first Black faculty member at Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina, who later worked for 25 years on the national staff of the Presbyterian Church, died Aug. 2 in Jacksonville, Florida. Sardis Missionary Baptist Church in Dawson, Georgia, hosted his service, which was livestreamed.
Oct. 16 is World Food Day. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization theme for 2024 is “Right to Foods for a Better Life and a Better Future”:
The world’s farmers produce enough food to feed more than the global population, yet hunger persists. Around 733 million people are facing hunger in the world due to repeated weather shocks, conflicts, economic downturns, inequality and the pandemic. This impacts the poor and vulnerable most severely, many of whom are agricultural households, reflecting widening inequalities across and within countries.
The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) recently held a White House Faith Leaders Convening on Climate, Clean Energy and Environmental Justice.
The event, attended by Jessica Maudlin, associate for Sustainability and Earth Care Concerns in the Presbyterian Hunger Program, along with other board members and staff of Creation Justice Ministries, gathered faith leaders and representatives of faith-based organizations from across the country, with the goal of discussing opportunities to benefit from and further engage their communities on President Biden’s climate, clean energy and environmental justice agenda.
The PC(USA)’s Office of Christian Formation has collected and updated resources for congregations of all sizes wishing to mark Christian Formation Week, which was designated Sept. 8–14 but can be celebrated anytime.
With Ephesians 2:10 as their scriptural basis, the co-moderators of the 226th General Assembly, the Rev. CeCe Armstrong and the Rev. Tony Larson, joined the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the Rev. Jihyun Oh, to lead a recent hybrid worship service in the Chapel at the Presbyterian Center in Louisville. One by one, the three recently elected denominational leaders spoke on “Created,” “Called” and “Commissioned.”
MaryB. Safrit, a communicator, creator, coach and the host of the Found Family podcast, did the hosts of “A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast” a favor in a recent broadcast, appearing as the guests of Simon Doong and the Rev. Lee Catoe on an episode of “A Matter of Faith” called “Knowing Ourselves (and Singleness).” Listen to their 67-minute conversation here.
