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Accepting a first call to ministry and moving during a pandemic may not be ideal, but one thing is certain: the Rev. Katheryn McGinnis is following in the footsteps of a long line of Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) pastors, including her grandfather, great-grandfather, great-great grandfather and great-great-great grandfather.
During the COVID-19 crisis, Lonce Bailey, a university professor and member of Shepherdstown Presbyterian Church in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, discovered that the church building really does matter to many people.
When the Rev. Jeff Kane and his wife moved from Colorado to Tennessee in 2013 to be closer to their grandchildren, Kane reached out to Middle Tennessee Presbytery to find a church to serve. The only prospect was a congregation of 15 or so older members, which put them in the precarious category of a “dying church.” What Kane found, though, were 15 people who made the decision to trust God — completely. They were no longer going to protect the endowment, but rather spend it on a full-time pastor rather than part-time. “They made a decision to be faithful to the gospel and got to work,” said Kane.
In this classic prayer of confession, we remember both the sins of commission (what we do) and the sins of omission (what we do not do), and we acknowledge that sins are both personal and corporate. Of course, when worship rolls around to the prayer of confession, it’s not unusual for pastors to hear, “I don’t come to church to feel bad about myself. Can’t we just skip the prayer of confession?”
Decluttering is not likely the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about spiritual practices. It may even sound more like a chore as we think of sorting through closets or our dreaded junk drawers. The process can be overwhelming, particularly if it’s been a while since we last decluttered. However, the end result is worth the work as we admire the organized shelves and drawers.
Sounds like the same old same old, doesn’t it? God’s people, called the “chosen ones,” are somehow unable to live faithfully in gratitude to God in spite of God’s love, grace and care for them. The psalmist attempts to voice God’s bounty and God’s faithfulness as well as God’s frustration that they cannot seem to embrace the values of the One who gave them life and who has promised to sustain them. Over and over again they become a disappointment. They are tempted by the “gods” of the cultures in which they find themselves, forgetting the source of the true freedom they have been given as God’s own children.
Matthew 25 tells us to feed the hungry, provide water to the thirsty, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, care for the sick and welcome the stranger. These basic tenants of Christianity aren’t limited to adults, though. Start with the children.
When Riviera Presbyterian Church in Miami made the commitment to become a Matthew 25 church, it wasn’t a difficult decision.
At the Presbyterian Church of Latakia, Syria, the Rev. Salam Hanna ministers to people who have endured nine years of civil war and, recently, sanctions that have led to the worst economic crisis the nation has faced in a century.
In September 2019, the Synod of the Southwest and the Native American Ministries Coordinating Committee (NAMCC) held a successful gathering of the 29 Native American churches and chapels that are a part of the synod. A debriefing followed that gathering.
