matthew 25

Light of Hope Presbyterian answers Matthew 25 call

The Rev. Edwin Gonzalez Gertz says Light of Hope Presbyterian Church in Marietta, Georgia, didn’t hesitate to become a Matthew 25 church. It provided them the language to articulate who they are.

The ‘beautiful you’ blessing

The postlude played. I stood at the sanctuary door, greeting congregants as they made their way to coffee hour. On this day, though, I wasn’t sharing pleasantries as I shook hands. I was anointing with oil a hand of each person exiting the sanctuary. As I made the sign of a cross on each palm, I gave a blessing: Be the beautiful you God sees you to be.

Matthew 25 and care of Creation go hand in hand

The Rev. Dr. Diane Moffett, president and executive director of the Presbyterian Mission Agency, believes that God has intricately woven our lives together at this time in history so we may be part of the healing work of God’s Creation. As stewards of God’s Creation amid myriad challenges — devastating fires, floods, droughts and storms — we are to continue to bring glory to God and be a blessing to God’s people, particularly people who are hungry, oppressed, imprisoned or poor, she said.

Faithraising, not fundraising

In the minds of many Presbyterians, the concept of stewardship is forever linked to the church’s fall fundraising campaign to support the budget. This multi-week drive culminates in “Stewardship Sunday,” during which pledge cards are brought forward and prayers are offered that the money represented there will be enough. This process makes some people so uncomfortable that they confess to skipping church, claiming, “I don’t want to listen to talk about money for an entire month.”

Matthew 25 and care of creation go hand in hand

The Rev. Dr. Diane Givens Moffett, president and executive director of the Presbyterian Mission Agency, believes God has intricately woven our lives together at this time in history so we may be part of the healing work of God’s creation.

Congolese Peacemaker follows her father’s lead standing up for women

People used to tell Monique Misenga Mukuna’s father that he did not have children because he had more girls than boys — 11 girls and three boys, to be precise. In many African cultures, including Mukuna’s native Democratic Republic of Congo, women and girls have second-class status, not enjoying many of the advantages of men and boys. Mukuna’s father wasn’t having that.