The Gift of Being With What was the most perfect gift you ever received? A bike or doll when you were a kid? A video game, perhaps? Maybe it was the day you met your husband, your wife — or looked into the eyes of the newborn baby that someone laid in your arms. For… Read more »
December 19, 2019
Christmas Joy: God is with Us
The Gift of Being With What was the most perfect gift you ever received? A bike or doll when you were a kid? A video game, perhaps? Maybe it was the day you met your husband, your wife — or looked into the eyes of the newborn baby that someone laid in your arms. For… Read more » 
Not Another Statistic As a high school senior, Devon Kelly had no place to call home and little hope. Beginning at age 14, he slept wherever he could find a place to lay his head. He stayed with cousins, friends, his grandmother, and his aunt. Sometimes he spent the night outdoors on a park bench…. 
Facing Financial Hardship Grocery shopping had become an anxiety-filled experience for the Rev. Gloria Casasus-Urrutia. Ten years after her 2006 retirement as organist at her church, Porta Coeli in San German, Puerto Rico, she found herself thrust into severe financial hardship. “I had to write down the price of each item and add everything up… 
The Struggles of New Immigrants Tony and Lilia Acabal carried deep memories of the struggles they faced as new immigrants years ago. Tony’s family escaped violence-riddled Guatemala in 1987 when he was 15. A decades-long civil war, which claimed the lives of 200,000 people, posed danger at every turn. Lilia’s family came to the United… 
Car Accident Brings Woes After her car went flying off the road and rolled over in a stubbled cornfield, first responders believed the accident had taken the life of the Rev. Shelley Wiley. She had fallen unconscious while driving because of an epileptic seizure, a condition that had been diagnosed years earlier and, until her… 
Guest post written by Dr. Patsy Smith, member of the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board and Ruling Elder at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma It is Sunday morning. A reminder on my phone buzzes. Looking at the message I am alerted to “Proclaim Matthew 25!” I will take a moment to remind worshippers in… 
Engaging the children of your congregation with the four General Assembly mandated churchwide Special Offerings has never been easier or more important. There are numerous ways children can connect with the Christmas Joy Offering. We have a number of resources available online to help you as you engage your young people. This year’s curriculum was… 
Ogden Memorial Presbyterian Church in Chatham, New Jersey, typically supports a Mission of the Month – ranging from food pantries to animal shelters to housing for domestic violence survivors – that receives a great response from its members. So when Pastor Kathi Heath suggested spending their summer focused on beekeeping in the Presbyterian Giving Catalog,… 
In March 2018, the Presbyterian Women Circles of Beth Shiloh Presbyterian Church in York, South Carolina, came together with an idea – they wanted to donate a Farm Bundle through the Presbyterian Giving Catalog. However, they wondered how their small congregation was going to raise enough money for this $1,300 item. After putting their heads… 
“Now may the Lord of peace … give you peace at all times in all ways.” — 2 Thessalonians 3:16 Sunday is World Communion Sunday, which celebrates our oneness in Christ with our brothers and sisters around the world. It’s perhaps the most appropriate day of the year to receive the Peace & Global Witness…