By Emily Enders Odom The first time I served as an adult advisor at the Presbyterian Youth Triennium — that storied gathering of nearly 5,000 exuberant and excited high-school youth from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the Cumberland Presbyterian Church — was in 1989. That summer, as I continued to live into my evolving call… Read more »
June 15, 2021
Why we can all celebrate “Father’s Day”
By Emily Enders Odom The first time I served as an adult advisor at the Presbyterian Youth Triennium — that storied gathering of nearly 5,000 exuberant and excited high-school youth from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the Cumberland Presbyterian Church — was in 1989. That summer, as I continued to live into my evolving call… Read more »
By Lemuel Garcia-Arroyo The Church is to be a community of faith, entrusting itself to God alone, even at the risk of losing its life [from “The Foundations of Presbyterian Polity,” Book of Order- F-1.03] Gospel Lesson: Matthew 19:16–30 The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is committed to being a Matthew 25 church that is actively engaged… 
By William McConnell How many times have we winced as an older, wiser sage reminds us to “look on the bright side,” to consider the “other side of the coin” or to “look for the silver lining”? Cringeworthy platitudes to be sure, but wisdom worth considering. After more than a year dealing with COVID-19 pandemic… 
The Psalmist says, “God from my youth, you have taught me…” Psalm 71:17, and that is true. But it could have also said, “God from the youth, you have taught me” and stated something almost as true. With a foundation in faith built in the early years, our youth can teach us something about leading… 
By Lynne Foreman In the late 1980s, when I was serving as a youth group leader in my local congregation, my pastor invited me to attend a gathering that I recognize now as the early stages of a new movement for youth in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Even as I was being drawn headlong into… 
As a student at Presbyterian-related Davidson College, Langley Hoyt knew her own mind. The lifelong Presbyterian ventured beyond the college’s bucolic campus into the streets of West Charlotte, N.C., where the world’s injustices were all too apparent. “For two summers during college, I worked and lived in a neighborhood in Charlotte where my neighbors were… 
Just when most young people were beginning to imagine what nontraditional instruction might look like during COVID-19, Sami Han took things a step farther — a big step farther. She moved to South Korea with her parents. When the 16-year-old’s parents, the Revs. Myung Sung “Martin” Han and Jieun Kim Han, accepted the call to… 
By Chris Roseland Recently, the Office of the General Assembly released the 2020 annual statistics report showing a decline in membership last year at just over 56,000, which is about the same loss rate as has been reported since 2016. For 2020, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) counts a total membership of about 1.24 million members,… 
Tracy Dace, a passionate advocate for at-risk youth had just relocated to Champaign, Illinois, to start a doctoral program in special education at the University of Illinois when he found his heart calling him back into the community and, eventually, through the doors of a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A) congregation. As Tracy was working in schools,… 
By Emily Enders Odom “Mama do.” For at least a year, if my memory can be trusted, that singular refrain punctuated our daughter’s every sentence. “Mama do.” Once, during a rare visit to our North Carolina home from my family in New York, the precocious toddler’s words even coaxed a laugh from my usually stern…