Presbyterian Church (U.S.A) Blogs

Where Your Heart Is…

A Weekly Offerings Stewardship Blog

Seeking Reconciliation on the Road

While traveling across the American Southwest last spring, Kathy Mitchell was caught by surprise by the stories of her fellow travelers. “Everybody has a story,” said Kathy, a Native American ruling elder at  Trinity Presbyterian Church in Chinle, Arizona, in the heart of the Navajo Nation. “Everybody deserves to be heard.” Kathy’s desire to share peace… Read more »

Pennsylvania Church Offers Community a ‘Fresh Start’

The local laundromat was Linda’s chapel. It was where she first shared a prayer concern that had been weighing heavily on her mind — and on her family’s heart — to say nothing of their budget. At the time, Linda was dealing with stage 4 cancer. She confessed to the pastor and volunteers from the… Read more »

Ministering to Migrants on the Brink of Despair

The plight of the thousands of migrants in her native El Salvador keeps Carmen Elena Díaz awake at night. “Knowing their experiences, their stories, and in ministering to the migrant people, my life has been transformed,” said Carmen. “Their stories mark you, transform you, sensitize you. They make you realize what a hard and difficult subject… Read more »

Sowing the Seeds of Peace

“Sowing the Seeds of Peace” (Zechariah 8:12)   We’ve all witnessed it, haven’t we? Flowers miraculously blooming across a ravaged landscape. Children holding hands and smiling in the face of war. We’ve all seen it and wonder how it’s possible. Such scenarios seem unlikely when we’ve all but given up hope. And yet … The… Read more »

OGHS – Fideicomiso, Puerto Rico

  ‘We saw you’ In all her 66 years, Magda Cruz had never witnessed anything like Hurricane María’s power to destroy. The Category 4 hurricane ravaged the island of Puerto Rico. Many residents lost large parts of their roofs, so they had to either abandon their homes or sleep in unsafe conditions. Thankfully, Fideicomiso [fee-day-cō-mē-sō],… Read more »

OGHS – Self-Development of People

Embodying Kindness   For Shawn Duncan, it’s the little things — like getting a birthday card — that mean a lot. Perhaps it’s because Shawn, a military veteran living in Las Vegas, hadn’t had a mailbox in years. Or a home. A native of Michigan with no strong family ties, Shawn had been struggling for… Read more »

OGHS – Presbyterian Hunger Program

  Leading With a Purpose   Although the women of Malawi are accustomed to doing anything and everything to support their families — from farming to running small-scale businesses — Tropical Cyclone Freddy sorely tested Tinenenji [tee-nan-an-gee] Kalamba’s resilience. Tinenenji was already proving to be an exemplary leader in the Kasupe [kuh-soo-pay] Women’s Bakery and… Read more »

One Great Hour of Sharing

    Repairers of the Breach – Fixing What’s Broken “In a broken and fearful world the Spirit gives us courage to pray without ceasing, to witness among all peoples to Christ as Lord and Savior, to unmask idolatries in Church and culture, to hear the voices of peoples long silenced, and to work with… Read more »

OGHS – Presbyterian Disaster Assistance

    Living on the Brink of Disaster   Bernadette thought that she had seen the worst of it. For well over a decade, she and her family withstood Syria’s ever-worsening humanitarian and economic crisis, the country’s ongoing localized hostilities and its collapsing infrastructure. But following the devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Syria and Turkey… Read more »

‘There’s really no way you can fail’

Like the Magi from the East who followed the star to Bethlehem only to return home another way, the route of mother-daughter duo of Carla Louca and Susannah LeMay took some unexpected turns. Their respective roads surprisingly led them to study in the same place at the same time, at Presbyterian-related Stillman College in Tuscaloosa…. Read more »