Pastors from four churches invited congregants to listen in recently while the Rev. Dr. Richard Boyce, vice president and dean of Union Presbyterian Seminary’s Charlotte campus, led the online discussion “Where is God in a Pandemic? Understanding and Responding to Suffering.”
The Rev. Dr. José Irizarry has plenty of roles and titles, including Vice President of Education for the Board of Pensions. In recent weeks, he told the Rev. Dr. Lee Hinson-Hasty during a Facebook Live event, the pandemic has added a new important title to his portfolio: Minister of Household.
In what can be the steep learning curve of creating meaningful online worship services, what pastor or worship leader would look askance at tips on making sermon preparation and preaching less stressful?
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Rev. Dave Rohrer of Emmanuel Presbyterian Church in Bothell, Washington, hosted a Zoom conversation along with several other pastors of the Presbytery of the Northwest Coast.
The Rev. Kay Day, a mission co-worker in Rwanda, believes she has witnessed true integrity in the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Since 2013, Day has been a lecturer in English and practical theology, preparing students for pastoral ministry at the Protestant Institute of Arts and Sciences (PIASS). The school is supported by five Protestant denominations, including the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s mission partner, the Presbyterian Church of Rwanda. The school strives to produce graduates who will contribute to Rwanda’s spiritual, intellectual and socio-economic life.
It was early March, and the daily routine at Atlanta’s Mercy Community Church had been thrown for a loop.
Every Monday through Thursday, the church is a gathering place for around 50 people who are experiencing homelessness or are marginally housed to do everything from talking and sharing a couple of meals to working on getting help with legal and medical issues, as well as other needs. But suddenly, with the rapid spread of the coronavirus, gathering wasn’t a great idea.
The Rev. Dr. Neichelle Guidry’s alma mater is Clark Atlanta University, where the motto — attributed to the ancient general Hannibal, who was once asked about the wisdom of crossing a mountain pass on elephants — is, “I shall find a way or make one.”
In South Sudan, more than 1 million people have been displaced in recent months by flooding. Of those displaced, more than 29,000 are from Mayendit County in the southern part of Unity State. Before the flooding, the country was plagued by years of civil war that also contributed to massive displacement.
While staying connected to family, friends and church, Paula Howlett, a member of Westminster Presbyterian Church in DeKalb, Illinois, has followed all the rules for social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Author, entrepreneur, election reform advocate and candidate for Georgia governor Stacey Abrams can now add another title to her impressive résumé: Festival of Homiletics lecturer.
