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It’s little wonder that Hussam Qumsieh dreams of peace.
In the words of Nat King Cole, “Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer.”
Some might say that the Rev. Clay Macaulay built his own “Field of Dreams.”
In the late 1980s, when I was serving as a youth group leader in my local congregation, my pastor invited me to attend a gathering that I recognize now as the early stages of a new movement for youth in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Even as I was being drawn headlong into the phenomenon that was — and still is — the Presbyterian Youth Triennium, I had no idea how the lens through which I viewed the PC(USA) was about to change.
Sharing food is one of my great joys. I know, I know … that isn’t altogether unique, and definitely not unique for Presbyterians I know. We gather around tables for myriad reasons, and in lots of different ways. But the act of sharing food can remind us of other things we share: namely a need for food — hunger — and the interdependence it takes to make a meal possible.
Early in my ministry, I started the practice of writing thank you notes to those church members who had fulfilled a leadership position or served in some special way. I’ll never forget the time I received a call from a member who expressed to me how surprised she was to receive a “thank you” from the church. To this day, I wish I had asked her more about why she was surprised.
For Magha Garcia, farming is how she honors her ancestors.
“Everything I learned about agriculture came through my great-grandparents, grandparents and parents,” she said. “These people worked so hard, and what they were paid for their crops was so little, it makes me really sad.”
Originating high atop Elk Mountain, the Gallinas River flows southeast through upper Gallinas Canyon past Montezuma’s hot springs straight through the heart of Las Vegas, New Mexico as it courses toward the Pecos River, luring expert fishers along its winding path.
Not to mention great pastors.
In preparing for this year’s wildly successful Piglet Challenge, sponsored by the Presbyterian Giving Catalog in celebration of National Pig Day on March 1, I really did my homework.
The secret to successful fundraising for nonprofits — including the Church — is that our work is never about funds development per se, but rather about people development. A church fundraiser’s goal is not just to generate funds, but also to help in the formation of generous disciples who give out of gratitude to God because they have first received.
