simon doong Archives

Shining the light of Christ on the streets of Indianapolis

Posted September 13th, 2022

Anthony was dealt a bad hand in life. Looking intently into the eyes of the Rev. Charles Harrison, pastor of Barnes United Methodist Church in Indianapolis and president of the board of the Indy TenPoint Coalition, the young man visiting from Chicago made his tearful confession.

You’re welcome

Posted September 7th, 2022

One of the best-loved people at Nassau Presbyterian Church in Princeton, New Jersey, is Danny Miller, who’s now in his mid-30s and has been attending the church with his mother, Nancy Wilson, since he was 5 — three years after being diagnosed with autism.

Putting our personal power to work collectively

Posted August 31st, 2022

During last week’s edition of “A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast,” which can be heard here, the Rev. Deborah Lee did a quick primer on our different kinds of power before delivering the clincher: we owe it to the God who put us here for a reason to use our personal and collective power to help change things for people living on the margins, beyond our borders and inside our prisons.

The Season of Peace is a time of reflection

Posted August 31st, 2022

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) ushers in the annual Season of Peace on Sunday, the start of a four-week time of reflection for congregations and others who want to deepen their pursuit of peace.

Sit-ins and other forms of protest go way back

Posted August 22nd, 2022

Sit-ins originated long before the civil rights movement. Protests among Africans go back nearly six centuries.

Open Hand Ministries offers tools and accompaniment to strengthen home ownership in the Steel City

Posted August 15th, 2022

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.

Reimagining Jesus as an Ivy League track and cross-country coach

Posted August 5th, 2022

If Jesus coached women’s track and cross country at an Ivy League university, what would that look like?

‘Two ideas trying to share space’

Posted August 1st, 2022

Conflict, the Rev. Dr. David Anderson Hooker likes to say, is just two ideas trying to share space.

Worshiping work

Posted July 22nd, 2022

Dr. Carolyn Chen, a sociologist at the University of California, Berkeley and co-director of the Berkeley Center for the Study of Religion, said during this week’s “A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast” that for many workers — her recent book “Work Pray Code: When Work Becomes Religion in Silicon Valley” focuses on the highly skilled ones toiling in the knowledge economy — workplaces are “the new faith communities in the new economy.”

Centering residents’ voices to bring about resident-led change

Posted July 19th, 2022

First things first. During her appearance last week as the guest on “A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast,” Margaret Mwale, Associate for Community Development and Constituent Relations for the Presbyterian Committee on the Self-Development of People, offered up an SDOP definition for podcast hosts the Rev. Lee Catoe and Simon Doong.