In an approach that presents any number of spoiler alert challenges, the Rev. Dr. Eric Barreto nonetheless recommends that preachers read Luke backward.
Barreto, the Frederick and Margaret L. Weyerhaeuser Associate Professor of New Testament at Princeton Theological Seminary, was the Rev. Dr. Chip Hardwick’s recent guest on the Synod of the Covenant’s monthly “Equipping Preachers” webinar.
Forty years ago, the Dutch Reformed Mission Church (DRMC) in South Africa adopted Belydenis van Belhar — the Confession of Belhar — in its first reading. Belhar was an outgrowth of the DRMC’s effort to grapple with the church’s participation in and defense of apartheid and touches prominently on themes of unity, reconciliation and justice. The DRMC adopted Belhar in its final form in 1986.
The Republic of Rwanda, a small country in central Africa the size of Maryland, is commemorating the 30th year since the genocide tore the nation apart. In a 100-day period between April 7 and July 19, 1994, up to 800,000 Tutsis were slaughtered by Hutu militias, and an estimated 500,000 Tutsi women were raped.
If they listen to Linda K. Smith and others in the know, Presbyterians can be much more than God’s frozen chosen — they can become downright cool.
Smith, a semi-retired sustainability consultant, recently gave a talk for Presbyterians for Earth Care she called “Cool Churches, Cool Presbyterians.”
As I sit here in the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations (PMUN) office across from U.N. headquarters, I can see the large U.N. flag fluttering in the wind. That flag is a beacon of hope for so many around the world. When the United Nations was created in 1945, after the devastation of World War II, it was determined “to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.” And yet, almost 80 years later, we are again facing multiple wars and crises posing existential threats.
Culture, like faith, is how people grow. It informs how people care for others and share their daily lives together. It shapes an understanding of the world and how people envision a future beyond themselves.
The growth benefits of understanding and sharing between cultures were in the hearts, minds and spirits of participants at the recent Inspire! Regional Gathering in the Presbytery of Cincinnati.
According to the Rev. Dr. Chip Hardwick, when you Google “Why are Presbyterians like that?” one of the top five questions asked is, “Why are Presbyterians called the ‘frozen chosen’?” Hardwick, executive for the Synod of the Covenant, recently preached at a regional gathering of immigrant new worshiping community and church leaders in Cincinnati. Hardwick brought greetings on behalf of the synod, which spans most of Ohio and all of Michigan and as of 2022 had 623 churches reporting 82,264 members, to a group that included the praise team from Korean Presbyterian Church of Cincinnati and other regional leaders as well as immigrant leaders from California and Georgia.
At the end of August, many young people, the new group of Young Adult Volunteers (YAVs), gathered from different worlds — some speaking English, others Spanish.
Conversation came slowly and hesitantly as we tried to connect, but the distance of language hung heavy between us. Then, one evening a few days into orientation, everything changed. With just three words, everyone gathered around, and suddenly we were all speaking the same language.
During my first year as a pastor, there were certain milestones I knew to look forward to. I looked forward to the first time I stood at the Communion table and invited my congregation to share in the feast, and the first time I marked an infant with water and proclaimed how much God loved her in baptism. I looked forward to my first Christmas and first sunrise Easter service. But there were other firsts that I didn’t know about that caught me off guard with their beauty.
Tim Pollock, commissioned ruling elders and commissioned pastors coordinator for the Synod of the Covenant, recently offered a webinar full of ideas on extending ministry networks to municipal and nonprofit agencies.
