Presbyterian Mission Agency First Presbyterian Church of Salisbury Archives

First Presbyterian Church of Salisbury

Book discussion groups promote understanding

Posted February 26th, 2024

Since early 2021, I’ve been participating in weekly book discussions via Zoom, designed to bring together all kinds of people for meaningful conversations, particularly about race, but also any other lines that too often keep us separated from each other. These book groups and other activities have been hosted by the First Presbyterian (of Salisbury, North Carolina) Race Task Force, which formed in 2019, brainstorming how they might promote such connections within and outside our congregation. In the book groups alone, co-leader Barrie Kirby estimates that 60–70 participants have been involved in at least one of the 15–20 book and video studies, some in all of them.

Soup suppers, flowering crosses and feeding fish

Posted March 20th, 2020

On Easter Sunday, 1949, four years after the end of World War II, the One Great Hour of Sharing offering brought relief to neighbors in need within the United States for the first time. In the 1960s, it expanded to include international needs.