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… Read more »
May 7, 2021
Pentecost: A world away, yet connected through faith
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… Read more »
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… 
Who have been your most influential teachers? All types of teachers — at school, at church, at work and in families — help shape who we become. We are grateful for all our teachers. In Psalm 71, the author uses the image of a teacher for God by stating, “O God, from my youth you… 
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 the Rev. Rosemary C. Mitchell The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it; for God has founded it on the seas, and established it on the rivers. Psalm 24:1–2 Were the whole realm of nature mine, That were a present far too small…. 
Life during COVID has been challenging. That feels like an understatement, right? At times, we have all felt disconnected, confined. Missing family, missing friends. Lonely. Worried about the groceries holding out. Unsure of what the future may hold. Imagine feeling all of those things but living in a place or in a situation that was… 
When Manuel Nazario casts his net into the water these days, his catch is far less plentiful. In the remote area of Bolivia near the Paraguay-Argentina border, Manuel and the members of his indigenous community are finding that fishing, their traditional livelihood, is now in severe jeopardy. The Capirendita (pronounced CAP-IR-EN-DITA) community is grappling with…