Open Hand Ministries, a collaborative effort of four PC(USA) churches in Pittsburgh working to empower Black families living in the Steel City’s East End to build multi-generational wealth, was the featured organization last week on “A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast.” Open Hand Ministries’ executive director, Wayne Younger, explained to hosts Simon Doong and the Rev. Lee Catoe how churches can help to empower the communities in which they’re situated.
One hundred years ago Knox Presbyterian Church accepted a gift — worth $250,000 in today’s dollars — for a church of the white race only. The congregation, led by the Rev. Adam Fronczek, confessed that tragic history in 2020. The church also made a commitment to a racial justice ministry, which it’s funding at $50,000 a year.
Less than a mile apart in Princeton, New Jersey, Nassau Presbyterian Church and Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church have a long history as PC(USA) congregations in this historic community.
The Rev. James Phillips Noble, a distinguished Presbyterian minister and civil rights activist who helped guide The Board of Pensions of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) through the Presbyterian reunion, died March 12, 2022, in Decatur, Georgia. He was 100 years old.
In a true celebration Black history, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s weekly worship service Wednesday reminded worshipers of the sorrows of the past and the joys of the future for African Americans. The service celebrated the gifts, skills and coping strategies of Black Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) as the theme for the month-long celebration “Resiliency to Recovery” was observed.
“With this faith we shall be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope” was the theme for Wednesday’s special online worship service commemorating and celebrating the life and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The theme was a quote from Dr. King’s iconic “I Have a Dream” speech delivered at the 1963 March on Washington.
More than a year after the death of George Floyd, the Rev. Anna Kendig Flores believes it’s still of utmost importance for churches to continue doing antiracism work.
