Presbyterian Mission Agency resurrection Archives

Resurrection is a movement

Posted April 16th, 2022

I never really liked Easter — the pastel holiday of springtime flowers, the tired imagery of an emptied tomb, the hollow cheers of “He is risen” — until I had friends buried away in prisons. It wasn’t until I spent time in a jail as a volunteer with people awaiting actual trials that Holy Week became troubling and electric for me.

What Presbyterians Believe about the Resurrection

Posted March 5th, 2021

The Scriptures focus more on the question of “who” the Resurrected One is for us, rather than the “how” this amazing event happened.

‘How do we want to live?’

Posted June 19th, 2019

Heritage Presbyterian Church in Muskego, Wisconsin, has a resurrection story to tell. At the beginning it might sound familiar to many Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) congregations. The membership was graying and in decline. Of the 100 members on the rolls, only 30 to 40 came to worship.

New life awaits dying churches

Posted April 15th, 2019

There are two constants in life: change and Jesus Christ, who is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. In Christ, we live and move and have our being. To be a follower of his is to be forever mindful of the cross, of death’s defeat — and of resurrection power. And, as Wendell Berry wrote in one of his well-known poems, “Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front,” we, the church, are to “practice resurrection.”

Minute for Mission: Easter/One Great Hour of Sharing

Posted March 22nd, 2019

May the joy of Christ’s Resurrection be yours this Easter Sunday. Today, we are reminded of the abundant hope we have in Christ. Resurrection hope points us to the promise of eternal life and calls us to celebrate all circumstances where hopelessness is overcome by God’s grace. A good example of this can be found among our brothers and sisters in Haiti who are thriving in new communities that have sprung up after the devastating 2010 earthquake.

The blossoming seeds of resurrection in a vital congregation

Posted September 18th, 2018

Despite being part of the same church family, Hazel Pflugmacher and Jaquette Easterlin never met. “I’ve heard a lot about her,” Easterlin said. “She was a big part of creating a place where I could go and be loved on.”

Practicing resurrection

Posted March 26th, 2018

The questions come in the darkness, usually around 3 a.m. “What will my children’s lives be like without me?” wonders Farm Church co-founder Ben Johnston-Krase.

Practicing resurrection

Posted March 6th, 2018

The questions come in the darkness, usually around 3 a.m. ‘What will my children’s lives be like without me?’ wonders Farm Church co-founder Ben Johnston-Krase. Four months ago he was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer.

Second day of NEXT Church gathering raises issues of loss and renewal

Posted February 27th, 2018

The second day of the NEXT Church 2018 gathering in Baltimore began with a worship service focusing on “testimonies of death and dying.” Over 675 participants have gathered for the annual conference of Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) members, pastors and those in affiliated ministries under the theme of “The Desert in Bloom: Living, Dying, and Rising in a Wilderness Church.”

Unglued Church: Resurrection or resuscitation?

Posted April 6th, 2017

If you go to a church that follows the Revised Common Lectionary, you may have heard (or preached) a sermon last Sunday based upon the story of Mary, Martha and their brother Lazarus (John 11:1-44). Jesus’ raising of Lazarus from the dead is the last of John’s seven narrated “signs” of Jesus, all of which point to his identity as Messiah and lead people to believe in him.