At baptisms especially, Presbyterians love to talk about water. Some of the more adventurous baptizers even splash some of the water out of the font to remind those gathered to celebrate of their own baptism.
As many churches navigate the both/and world of hybrid ministry, where in-person and online worship coexist, there’s a word to keep in mind: “phygital.” I didn’t invent it. It was coined in 2013 to describe creating a seamless experience that is the best of both the digital and physical realms. And there lies the goal — and the challenge — for our churches, that of creating hybrid worship where two intrinsically different environments come together seamlessly.
Nearly 19,000 unaccompanied minors entered U.S. border custody in March, an all-time monthly record. The onslaught of lone minors overwhelmed the U.S. government’s infrastructure and intake process. The largest Border Patrol facility for migrant children was at 1,640% capacity in late March, holding more than 3,200 unaccompanied minors in a facility designed for 250 people.
“Help me and show me how to tend to my flock.” This was a prayer shared by many a clergy member in March 2020. It seemed to go straight from Jim Burton’s mouth to God’s ears. As the interim pastor of Kingston Presbyterian Church in Conway, South Carolina, he recalled reading an article from another church that utilized writing prayers on ribbons. He reached out to Shandon Presbyterian Church in Columbia, South Carolina, and was given permission to use the idea any way he desired. Hence, in the quaint town along the Waccamaw River began the Prayer Ribbon Ministry. Pastor Burton reflects on Psalm 147:3: He heals the brokenhearted, and binds up their wounds.
In what is believed to be a first, “Call to Worship: Liturgy, Music, Preaching, and the Arts” a quarterly journal produced by the Office of Theology & Worship, has focused an entire issue on poverty.
In the fall of 2018, youth at Bon Air Juvenile Correctional Center (BAJCC) in Chesterfield County, Virginia, asked to start a gospel choir. The request reached the Rev. Lauren Ramseur and the Rev. Ashley Diaz Mejias who, along with friends, collaborated to support the initiative. Ramseur and Mejias soon discovered that they were “doing church” — gathering twice a month at the correctional center for a community of worship. The group named themselves the Voices of Jubilee.
