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,… Read more »
April 30, 2021
Pentecost: Living the “DREAAM”
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,… Read more » 
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… 
By Jessica Maudlin Phelps The very first command addressed to humanity in the entire Bible is to “be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion” (Genesis 1:28). We see humankind displaying a type of dominion when it comes to pollution and extraction of the earth’s most precious resources with… 
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… 
By the Rev. Susan Krummel I am not usually a fan of a pastor or someone in my position using themselves as a good example. If pastors tell a story from their lives in a sermon, I think it should be a story about how they learned something about their faith because of a failing…