Presbyterian Mission Agency challenge Archives

Journaling your way to the Divine

Posted July 21st, 2022

Many of us probably kept a journal at some point growing up. I know I did. And when I look back at them, I read entries about what I did, what I ate and the time I went to bed on any given day. I’m not sure why I ever thought that last piece of information about my fascinating 10-year-old life would be important for any future reading. It seems, though, taking inventory of our days comes naturally to us.

$50 and a challenge

Posted April 26th, 2022

Since the coronavirus pandemic hit in the spring of 2020, many churches’ weekly offering figures are still not matching what they were two years ago. This shortfall has caused congregations to scale back many of their programs and, even worse, forced them to lay off staff. Westminster Presbyterian Church in Lincoln, Nebraska, though, is not one of those congregations. It has been experiencing sustained giving since the pandemic hit, so much so that it has been able to give back to its worshipers so that they can in turn also give back to the people and organizations in their community that need financial assistance.

What ‘laying down our lives’ looks like

Posted August 24th, 2021

I just don’t want to have to feel guilty being white. That’s what John said after my presentation at a family retreat I was facilitating for a church a few years ago. I was talking about the advantages that whites enjoy in American society that people of color do not always receive, referencing a classic article by Dr. Peggy McIntosh titled “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack.” In it, she points out that whites can typically agree with statements like, “If a traffic cop pulls me over, I can be pretty sure that I haven’t been singled out because of my race,” or “When I am told about our national heritage or ‘civilization,’ I am shown that people of my race made it what it is.”

Stuck in the muck?

Posted July 8th, 2021

Even in the midst of our worst challenges, disappointments and apparent failures, God is always with us and nourishes us with his redeeming grace.

The great bookcase reveal

Posted March 23rd, 2021

I couldn’t wait for the livestream of “Take Me to the World” to begin. The show was touted as a once- in-a-lifetime Broadway event, featuring a star-studded lineup of performers coming together to celebrate the 90th birthday of Stephen Sondheim, the prolific lyricist and composer of such musicals as “Into the Woods” and “West Side Story.”

Young Adult Volunteers in Miami encounter a city with promise and challenge

Posted November 16th, 2016

Beyond the white sand beaches, palm trees and luxury oceanfront properties lies another Miami—in the lives of marginalized people who have arrived in this city full of promise and culture. Three Young Adult Volunteers (YAVs) from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) are focusing their energies on residents of this other Miami, spending a year of service and learning in the community.