Presbyterian Mission Agency mirabai starr Archives

mirabai starr

Retreat renews souls through dark nights

Posted November 19th, 2024

The ground beneath us is off kilter. This is a scientific fact with spiritual resonances. This planet tilts on its axis. On the Earth, we are never perfectly upright, and so we experience uneven periods of light and darkness. As we approach the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, our days shorten. This is the reality for those Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) congregations in the United States and Puerto Rico during Advent. We are drawn further and longer into darker nights.

1001 New Worshiping Communities online retreat honors speaking from one’s heart language

Posted June 28th, 2023

“Praying with others, retreating with others is an unexpected blessing,” said one participant in a recent online retreat facilitated by 1001 New Worshiping Communities. The same sentiment sprang up like an epiphany during evening worship when the group closed communion with the Lord’s Prayer in their first language. Following an invitation to “pray with your heart language,” the participants, including speakers of English, Portuguese, Spanish, Korean and Yoruba, prayed together the words that Jesus taught. The Rev. Sue Yoder, pastor of Blank Slate Community in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, said, “In my imagination that’s what it sounded like on Pentecost.”

1001 New Worshiping Communities online retreat honors speaking from one’s heart language

Posted May 26th, 2023

“Praying with others, retreating with others is an unexpected blessing,” said one participant in last week’s online retreat facilitated by 1001 New Worshiping Communities. The same sentiment sprang up like an epiphany during evening worship when the group closed communion with the Lord’s Prayer in their first language. Following an invitation to “pray with your heart language,” the participants, including speakers of English, Portuguese, Spanish, Korean, and Yoruba, prayed together the words that Jesus taught. The Rev. Sue Yoder, pastor of Blank Slate Community in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, said, “In my imagination that’s what it sounded like on Pentecost.”