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 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… 
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… 
Engaging the children of your congregation with the four churchwide Special Offerings has never been easier or more important, whether you are engaging them in-person or virtually. And the Pentecost Offering is especially important for young people to engage with as it supports them and their peers! First and foremost, the Pentecost Offering is a… 
By Bryce Wiebe Acts 4:32 “Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul and no one said that any of the things that belonged to [them] was [their] own, but they had everything in common.” Sharing food is one of my great joys. I know, I know … that… 
By Emily Enders Odom In preparing for this year’s wildly successful Piglet Challenge, sponsored by the Presbyterian Giving Catalog in celebration of National Pig Day, March 1, I really did my homework. While it’s true that pigs get little to no respect in the Bible, they are my new heroes when it comes both to… 
By Jessica Maudlin Phelps The Presbyterian Hunger Program strives to walk with people in moving toward sustainable personal life choices that restore and protect all of God’s children and Creation. We believe that “God’s Economy” is one of abundance for all, but in order to live within this kind of economy, our relationship to those… 
Engaging the children of your congregation with the four churchwide Special Offerings has never been easier or more important, whether you are engaging them in-person or virtually. There are numerous ways children can connect with One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS), including the engagement placemat and fish coin banks that often arrive in your standing… 
Celebrating the 2020 Christmas Joy Offering with Our Youth (during COVID-19) As we continue through this time of uncertainty and social distancing, engaging the children of your congregation with the four churchwide Special Offerings has never been more important. There are numerous ways children can connect with the Christmas Joy Offering, sharing the joy of… 
Guest blog post by Karen Keller But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, and don’t try to stop them! People who are like these children belong to God’s kingdom.” (Matthew 19:14 CEV) When I was a child growing up in the United Methodist Church, I remember that my parents once got a little…