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Making inroads against human trafficking
When Jill Bolander Cohen’s stepdaughter called her one afternoon, she didn’t expect her stepdaughter to be asking for her to help a high school victim of human trafficking. “This young woman’s mother sold her to a trafficker for $25,000,” Cohen says. “Her mother needed the money to open and operate her business, and the young woman’s trafficker was shipping her around the country as she worked to pay back her mother’s debts.”
Changes in organization and mission present challenges and opportunities
The Synod of Alaska-Northwest continues to live into a new and creative way of being a synod. After decades of being a large program body, it has recently moved to a reduced function as provided for by the Book of Order. Although mission in the form of programs no longer occurs, the ties between the member presbyteries are perhaps stronger than in the past. The synod does mission only in terms of how it supports its member presbyteries, taking seriously the mandate of the 211th General Assembly (1999): to “develop, encourage, equip, and resource congregations and their leaders, . . . enhance the effectiveness of congregations, and find simplified, flexible and more responsive ways to . . . work in a rapidly changing environment.”
Broad Street Ministry extends welcome in downtown Philadelphia
“YOU BELONG HERE NO MATTER WHAT,” reads the sign outside Broad Street Ministry in the heart of Philadelphia—a city where deep poverty and rapid gentrification exist side by side. The sign’s bright green lettering is one of the first things people notice when walking by the church’s arched façade.
New worshiping community breaks down cultural barriers
For Eric Hanna, what began as a dinner invitation became an integral part of a spiritual journey.
Last year a classmate at the University of Washington invited Hanna to a meal and Bible study at International Friendship House in Seattle. Friendship House is home to International Disciples, a new worshiping community that seeks to empower international and American college students in the Seattle area to be global Christian leaders.
Congregations answer the call to environmental stewardship
Although the 222nd General Assembly (2016) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) ended nearly six weeks ago, Presbyterian congregations near the host city of Portland, Oregon, make a key theme of the assembly—environmental stewardship—an ongoing ministry.
Biblical storyteller says key to future church is return to scriptural stories
In a world that is less and less biblically literate—and where even many churchgoers are unfamiliar with Scripture—the Rev. Casey FitzGerald loves to tell the Bible’s story.
New worshiping community provides a multifaceted sanctuary
From the outside it’s a nondescript place—a small building surrounded by buildings that are home to Amazon and Microsoft workers.
The first thing people notice when walking into Union, a new worshiping community in Seattle’s Westlake district, is a community coffeehouse with “this sanctuary-like space,” says Renee Notkin, who co-pastors Union, along with husband James.
Congregation’s literacy program helps students succeed in school
Literacy skills, character strengths and a community that believes in success. Those are the three fundamental components behind the Children’s Defense Fund Freedom Schools Program, a summer literacy initiative with a focus on children who need but cannot afford summer learning opportunities.
Hunger Action Advocate finds challenges and rewards in Oregon and beyond
For Don Shaw, there is no such thing as retirement. Although serving a congregation as a teaching elder, he has found work as a volunteer to be complex and different, but also rewarding and challenging.
Minute for Mission: Presbyterian Association of Musicians
My first experience with the Presbyterian Association of Musicians (PAM) came in the summer of 2000, when I traveled to the Montreat Conference Center to see my brother sing in a Friday evening concert at a PAM Worship and Music Conference. I haven’t missed a worship and music conference at Montreat since then. As I have grown as a musician and a person, the mission of PAM has supported me. My first position as a church musician came as a result of hanging out at Montreat while I was in high school with a group from another church.
