In its final series, the “A Year with Matthew 25 podcast” asks leaders to invite worshipers into reflection about how their congregation will focus the resources of its time, treasure and service.
Having read Matthew Desmond’s book “Poverty, by America” together, members of the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board meeting online Thursday discussed what they might do to help eradicate systemic poverty, as called for by the PC(USA)’s Matthew 25 invitation.
The Jesus call, “I was in prison, and you did not visit me,” is heard even in Pakistan, a Muslim country one-third the way around the world, where the sun rises nine hours earlier than it does in the Eastern Time Zone in the United States.
When God promised to be present through life’s floods and fires, the assurance was of little comfort to Trell, whose house burned to the ground in March.
Liberty Community Church is the only African American-led PC(USA) church in the state of Minnesota. Located in North Minneapolis in one of the city’s poorest ZIP codes and situated between major interstates which make the area a prime spot for sex trafficking and illegal drug trading, this Matthew 25 congregation revitalized the spaces of two Presbyterian churches that closed in the last 30 years and transformed them into healing spaces for the neighborhood.
Three dynamic guests, including some of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A)’s leading voices, will headline the next Matthew 25 workshop on effective methods for eradicating systemic poverty.
At the outset of Tuesday’s webinar on vital congregations, organizers the Rev. Veronica Cannon, the Rev. Tony Oltmann and Marla Edwards had the nearly 70 participants play a game: name an outdated mode of technology beginning with “V,” “C,” “I” or “M” that your faith community might still be using.
At 2 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, August 15, the Presbyterian Mission Agency will host a webinar on Congregational Vitality, the first focus of its Matthew 25 movement. “We will delve into the PC(USA)’s Matthew 25 vision and the significance of vital congregations within our denominations,” says the Rev. Tony Oltmann, associate for the Office of Vital Congregations.
