the confession of 1967

An online Matthew 25 gathering on eradicating systemic poverty draws a crowd of more than 150

Why are people poor in your area? How has poverty touched your life? Your community? Your faith community? More than 150 people joined a recent Matthew 25 webinar on eradicating systemic poverty, which organizers called “Where Does Jesus Stand? Exploring Five Spiritual Practices to End Poverty.” The webinar explored these and more questions and invited participants to mull them further in small groups near the end of their time together.

More than two centuries of giving back to the community

Next month, Hopewell Presbyterian Church in Dandridge, Tennessee, will celebrate its 236th year in ministry. While that’s a history to be proud of — Hopewell is one of the oldest churches in the Volunteer State — the church’s pastor, the Rev. Brad Napier, told Between Two Pulpits hosts Bryce Wiebe and Lauren Rogers on Monday that the congregation of 88 members also takes pride in its consistent history of giving, especially through the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s Special Offerings and even during the long pandemic, when the church actually saw increased giving and membership growth.

Even a pandemic can’t squelch one church’s creative impulse

In the midst of the pandemic last fall, Sheri Dittman, the commissioned pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Brownsville, Texas, gained some fame in Presbyterian circles as the mastermind of a photo scavenger hunt with a purpose — getting parishioners at the church she serves and at First Presbyterian Church in Mission, Texas, where she’s part-time coordinator for Congregational Development, more familiar with multiple options available through the Presbyterian Giving Catalog.