Presbytery of the James

‘It’s really about survival’

From an island in the Pacific Ocean, Frances Namoumou recently made a peacemaking pilgrimage to the Presbytery of the James in central Virginia.

Stewardship is a discipline and a covenant

What happens when we rethink our paradigms of stewardship? Do we give out of obedience, or out of abundance? Do we tithe out of obligation, or do we share out of gratitude? These were just a few of questions that Dr. Deborah Rexrode, associate for stewardship for the Presbytery of the James, posed to her workshop attendees in the session that she led entitled “Giving as a Spiritual Discipline” at the 2021 Stewardship Kaleidoscope conference Sept. 14.

‘Voices of Jubilee’ encourages, inspires incarcerated youth

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.

Presbyterians gather in Charlottesville to unite against hate groups

Opposition to white supremacist, KKK and neo-Nazi groups gathered in Charlottesville, Virginia for a “Unite the Right” rally over the weekend included several Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) clergy and members. The Rev. Ken Henry, of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Charlottesville, was one of the organizers of a Thursday prayer vigil that preceded the events of the weekend.

Life lessons for all ages at Camp Hanover

If camps are famous as places for roughing it, the tablecloths were an unexpected amenity. “Because you are here at camp, there are tablecloths,” said Doug Walters, Camp Hanover’s executive director, to a dining hall filled with delighted laughter. “There are no tablecloths here in summer.”