When one of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s most gifted preachers stands before an auditorium full of the denomination’s most talented musicians, you’d expect beautiful worship that uplifts and edifies.
In his book “The Spirit of Soul Food: Race, Faith and Food Justice,” the Rev. Dr. Christopher Carter states that those working to keep others fed — farmworkers, grocery cashiers, baggers, packers, even fast-food employees — “are supposed to be invisible for most of us who live in the United States.”
A new group of Young Adult Volunteers arrived in Tucson in August 2022, where they were met with more than the usual level of rejoicing: This program year marks the 20th anniversary of the Tucson Borderlands Young Adult Volunteer program! For two decades now, young adults have sought the voice of God in their lives and in the U.S./Mexico borderlands through a year of service.
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” Helen Keller observed that “faith is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light.” And John Calvin wrote faith is “the firm knowledge of God’s benevolence toward us.” While none of these definitions are fully complete, each gives us a glimpse of this Christian cornerstone, much like the beginning of Hebrews 11, which affirms that “faith is the assurance of things hoped for.”
More than three decades have passed since my trip to North Antrim — a rugged coastline battered by the sea on the far edge of Northern Ireland. While I still remember the beautiful views from the grassy hilltop above a sheer rock cliff, as well as the bone-chilling wind blowing in from the Atlantic, what remains with me is how intentionally coming together in community is a valued spiritual practice that can foster peace in this world.
The past is often something people like to forget, preferring to focus their energy on what the future holds. For the Indigenous living in Peru’s Andean Highlands, though, the past and future are viewed differently. It’s there that old shamans, speaking the language of the Aymara tribe, remind future-forward thinkers that “the past is in front of us, and the future is behind us.” The Aymara word for “past” is “nayra,” which also means eye, sight or front. The word for “future” is “q’ipa,” which translates as behind or the back.
This isn’t the editorial I had planned for you. As I was about to email what I had written to my copy editor, the ding of the computer alerted me to a new message. It was from a friend whom I have been trying to go on a hike with for what has seemed forever — thanks, Covid — so I quickly opened it. I read the first line with confusion and trepidation.
In his book “Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life,” Richard Rohr acknowledges that “many, if not most, people and institutions remain stymied in the preoccupations of the first half of life.” Given that the 2022 PC(USA) membership statistics show that a majority of those sitting in pews are 56 and older, churches have both the obligation — and opportunity — to address the needs of those in the second half of life.
When Expedia, an online travel site, released its 2022 travel trends report earlier this year, it discovered that not only was there a pent-up demand to pack one’s bags and take off on adventures unknown, but also the trips being planned were “GOATS” — “the greatest of all trips.”
World Food Day — celebrated on Oct. 16 every year — commemorates the founding in 1945 of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The FAO was created to respond to famines and the tragedy of hunger in a world of God’s abundance. Despite the abundance of land, water, nutrients and sunlight on this precious planet, even in the 21st century, hundreds of millions of people go hungry on Oct. 16 and every day of the year.
