garden

Come as you are

Three new worshiping communities in Arizona, Georgia and Louisiana have been named winners of the 2022 Sam & Helen R. Walton Awards. Each recipient, listed below, will receive $15,000 for their excellence in furthering Presbyterian mission in their communities and neighborhoods.

Landscaping fundraiser success

A garden show and flower sale helped a Michigan Presbyterian church raise needed funds for landscaping and other property improvements.

Native plants transform church property

A church planting project to protect Chesapeake Bay from stormwater runoff also turned the property into a sanctuary for birds and butterflies.

VBS takes Sermon on the Mount to the garden

Vacation Bible School at Second Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis will “bee” different, in a hybrid way, this year, according to organizers. Although “maybe 75” children were expected to take part, more than 150 children — ages 4 through fifth grade — have registered for in-person VBS, and more children will participate online, June 21–25.

Caring for creation

There are 12 simple ways that congregations of any size can take to practice better environmental stewardship.

Hagar’s Community Church launches reentry ministry

Though she’s the reentry pastor of Hagar’s Community Church, the Rev. Riley Pickett has never been inside the Washington Corrections Center for Women. That’s because Pickett’s ministry begins when residents of the largest women’s prison in the state of Washington are released.

Everyday epiphanies

The word “epiphany” (from the Greek epiphaneia or theophaneia) means “appearance” or “manifestation” of God, and has roots in the word for sunrise or dawn. In our lives of faith, some epiphanies are dramatic and send our lives down a different path. Others are subtler, even commonplace, and influence how we see ourselves and the world. Either way, whether God whispers to us or knocks us for a loop, we are in for a change.

Okra Abbey ‘cultivating community’ in New Orleans’ Pigeon Town neighborhood

Layne and Crawford Brubaker have taken church planting to the next level. Quite literally. With Okra Abbey, a new worshiping community (NWC) located in the Pigeon Town neighborhood of New Orleans, the Brubakers, together with ministry colleague, Vincent Grossi, are more than just blooming where they’re planted—they’re cultivating community by growing not only vegetables, but also by nurturing faith and trust among their diverse neighbors.