Nearly a year ago, Doylestown Presbyterian Church in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, accepted the invitation to become a Matthew 25 church. The predominately white congregation chose to concentrate its efforts on dismantling structural racism and its intersectionality with poverty. Members and friends knew they wanted to learn how to be allies with people of color who have been so adversely impacted by these issues, two of the three Matthew 25 foci (the other is building congregational vitality).
In recognition of Black History Month, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) celebrated Wednesday with a soulful online worship service. View the service here.
Members and friends of First Presbyterian Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana, are putting their money where their mouth is with their Love Bomb initiative. And for the month of February, they are bombarding Black-owned businesses with their love in support of Black History Month.
A mixed-media art exhibit outside Oak Hill Presbyterian Church in St. Louis pays homage to Black leaders and historical figures while helping the church to remain connected to its members and the community during the pandemic.
“Black history is important for all people because Black history is American history,” says the Rev. Michael Moore, Associate for African American Intercultural Congregational Support in the Presbyterian Mission Agency’s Racial Equity & Women’s Intercultural Ministries (RE&WIM).
“Just Talk Live” kicked off Black History Month this week with an appearance by the Rev. Dr. Thomas H. Priest, Jr., president of the National Black Presbyterian Caucus.
Carlton Johnson, an associate for Vital Congregations and a worship leader for the Black History Month service at the Presbyterian Center Wednesday, opened the service with a soulful rendition of the hymn “A Charge to Keep I Have.” The hymn served to remind worshipers that during the time of slavery, those enslaved were killed for knowing how to read — and therefore much of the communication had to be done through song.
February marks the month when black excellence is celebrated across this country. Each year during Black History Month, Americans celebrate and commemorate the extraordinary contributions African Americans have made and continue to make to the United States of America.
The founding of Stillman College toward the end of the 19th century was an act of courage and faith. It was not, however, an action taken without consideration and debate. Stillman College is a historically black liberal arts college affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). During the month of February, residents of the U.S. and Canada celebrate Black History Month.
