The Rev. Roland Gordon, whose length of service as the pastor of Ingleside Presbyterian Church in San Francisco is exceeded only by the care and inspiration he has provided to the youth of the neighborhood in which the church does ministry, is one of five recipients of Jefferson Awards from the organization Multiplying Good, which seeks to cultivate greatness through service to others. Gordon recently accepted the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Award for Outstanding Public Service Benefitting Local Communities.
Leland Presbyterian Church in Mississippi recently welcomed four members of the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) National Response Team as part of a commissioning ceremony for the church’s recently established disaster recovery volunteer host site as well as for the site’s coordinator.
“People are looking for meaning in their lives,” said Nathan Heimer, who with his wife, Mindy, have found more success opening up deep conversations on a paddleboard, in a yoga class or in a coffee shop instead of a traditional church. That’s why the Heimers started a paddleboard ministry named A Stoked Life in Colorado rather than waiting for people who have grown up in secular households or who have been hurt by the church to walk through a sanctuary door looking for a good sermon. They see themselves as a bridge between nature-lovers and communities that seek to be God’s love in the world.
Pyoca Camp and Retreat Center, located in the Presbytery of Ohio Valley, recently announced that it had received a $451,505 grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to launch an innovative day camp program for local youth. The program is funded through the Strengthening Youth Programs in Indiana initiative, which is aimed at improving the academic, physical and social well-being of young people ages 5 through 18.
A recent Matthew 25 workshop on eradicating systemic poverty focused viewers’ attention on the importance of being willing to dig in “for the long haul” to help address deeply rooted problems in international communities.
The James Jay Dudley Luce Foundation, renowned for its dedication to empowering and acknowledging young global leaders, is delighted to announce a historic milestone in the Foundation’s history. The “24 Under 24 Award” and the “Global Leader Award” will be bestowed upon an exceptional daughter-father duo, Sydney Ireland and her father, Gary Ireland, both with deep roots in a PC(USA) congregation in New York City. This recognition is in honor of their tireless and transformative efforts in advocating for gender inclusivity within the Boy Scouts of America.
For the final time, the Rev. Dr. Tim Hart-Andersen recently took to the pulpit at Westminster Presbyterian Church in downtown Minneapolis, a church he has served as senior pastor and head of staff since 1999.
“It’s no secret that communities built from scratch have the upper hand when it comes to innovation,” the Rev. Sara Hayden announced to open a new series of the New Way podcast discussing innovation and technology in new worshiping communities.
Why is the Christmas carol “What Child Is This” so meaningful to us? Yes, it links a beautiful tune with inspiring words. But it is more than that. It is in the vision behind and beyond the tune and text where we find the deeper truths.
My presence at the birth was completely unexpected.
In the giddy yet seemingly endless days leading to the birth of our first grandchild on Nov. 9, our daughter, Elizabeth, and I talked about everything under the sun. Whether I had stretch marks after pregnancy. Who would drive her to the hospital when her labor pains began. Who would walk the dogs while she was in the hospital. How much paternity leave would her husband, Ryan, get. When could her father, John, and I share the news on Facebook.
