May 17, 2020
The first Earth Day is celebrated in New York City in 1970. (RNS photograph by John C. Goodwin)
Americans celebrated the first Earth Day 50 years ago this spring, on April 22, 1970. That same year the United Presbyterian Council on Church and Society undertook a study on threats facing human survival on an increasingly crowded and polluted planet. The study culminated in the 1971 United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. General Assembly adopting the council’s report, Christian Responsibility for Environmental Renewal.
A brand new Heritage Sunday church bulletin insert for 2020 connecting to the Christian responsibility for environmental renewal is available at https://www.history.pcusa.org/history-online/presbyterian-history/heritage-sunday.
Heritage Sunday is an annual day of celebration set aside by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Download past bulletin inserts and learn more about Presbyterian history at history.pcusa.org/hs.
Presbyterian Historical Society
Revised Common Lectionary Readings for Sunday, May 17, 2020, the Sixth Sunday of Easter (Year A)
First Reading Acts 17:22-31
Psalm 66:8-20
Second Reading 1 Peter 3:13-22
Gospel John 14:15-21
Today’s Focus: Presbyterian Heritage
Let us join in prayer for:
PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Jayne Culp, Office of the General Assembly
Norma Cunningham, Presbyterian Foundation
Let us pray:
Gracious God, grant us the humility and strength to follow your call wherever it may lead, whether close to home or on distant shores. Amen.
You may freely reuse and distribute this article in its entirety for non-commercial purposes in any medium. Please include author attribution, photography credits, and a link to the original article. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDeratives 4.0 International License.