For five weeks during the summer, nearly 50 youth in West Baltimore can be seen working on their reading and math skills, or they might be packing up for a day on a local farm or at an area museum. It’s all part of the Rosemont Community Interfaith Coalition, which is focused on ending the violence in the Maryland city by offering positive experiences and hope for youth.

In his opening remarks at the national evangelism conference at the Zephyr Point Presbyterian Conference Center, the Rev. Dr. Jason Santos shared a quote from The Sabbath, Abraham Joshua Heschel’s classic book on Jewish spirituality.

Celebrities, ministers, politicians, corporate executives. Hardly a week goes by that the headlines don’t name a prominent person who has been accused of being a sexual predator or charged with abuse. Reports have been on the rise for years as people find the strength to step forward with their stories.

The church has always been perceived as a safe place, where parents can feel their children are being cared for. But sometimes, despite the best efforts of churches, abuse does occur.

The Global Food Week of Action began Sunday, Oct. 14, and runs through Oct. 21. The week provides Christians around the world a chance to address food justice and sovereignty issues. Food Week of Action includes World Food Day (Oct. 16), International Day for Rural Women (Oct. 15), and International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (Oct. 17). This year, the Presbyterian Hunger Program (PHP) celebrates more than 100 congregations as Hunger Action Congregations (HAC) that advocate for food justice not just one week during the year, but year-round, as part of their ministry outreach.

The Global Food Week of Action began Sunday, Oct. 14, and runs through Oct. 21. The week provides Christians around the world a chance to address food justice and sovereignty issues. Food Week of Action includes World Food Day (Oct. 16), International Day for Rural Women (Oct. 15), and International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (Oct. 17). This year, the Presbyterian Hunger Program (PHP) celebrates more than 100 congregations as Hunger Action Congregations (HAC) that advocate for food justice not just one week during the year, but year-round, as part of their ministry outreach.

Dusk descended onto the little village, but the sleepy stillness that usually followed was nowhere to be found. It was Halloween in Salem — upstate New York, that is, not the one in Massachusetts known for its late 17th century witch trials. As a new pastor, I’d been informed by my congregation that this night was not to be missed.

For the early church, the infallible evidence of being a Christian was the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus, at work in a person's life. The ways the Spirit manifested varied from person to person (not everybody spoke in tongues for example), but the bottom line was this: if you were a true believer, you received the Holy Spirit. It is clear in Acts 19:1–7 that Paul had not been with the people in Ephesus very long before he began to realize that they were missing something. After a little gentle probing, he saw that what they were missing was the Holy Spirit. When Paul told them about Jesus, they believed in him and were baptized—in Jesus' name this time. Then when Paul laid hands on them, they received the Holy Spirit, Jesus' living Spirit, and showed evidence of it in their lives.

Para la iglesia primitiva, la evidencia infalible de ser una persona cristiana era el Espíritu Santo, el Espíritu de Jesús, trabajando en la vida de una persona. Las formas en que se manifestó el Espíritu variaron de persona a persona (por ejemplo, no todas hablaron en lenguas), pero la conclusión fue esta: si usted era un verdadero creyente, recibió el Espíritu Santo. Se muestra claramente en Hechos 19: 1–7 que Pablo no había estado con la gente en Éfeso mucho antes de que empezara a darse cuenta de que se estaban perdiendo algo. Después de un sondeo leve, vio que faltaba el Espíritu Santo. Cuando Pablo les habló de Jesús, ellos creyeron en él y en ese momento fueron bautizados en el nombre de Jesús. Luego, cuando Pablo les impuso las manos, recibieron el Espíritu Santo, el Espíritu viviente de Jesús, y mostraron evidencia de ello en sus vidas.

초대교회의 경우 그리스도인이 된다는 확실한 증거는 성령, 사람의 삶에서 일하는 예수님의 영이었습니다. 성령께서 나타내시는 방법은 (모든 사람이 방언으로 말하지는 않겠지만) 사람마다 다릅니다. 결론은 당신이 참된 신자라면 성령을 받았다는 것입니다. 사도행전 19장 1-7 절에서 바울은 에베소에 있는 사람들과 무언가 놓치고 있다는 것을 깨닫기 시작한 지 오래지 않았다고 분명히 말합니다. 조금 부드럽게 다가간 후, 그는 그들이 잃어버린 것이 성령이라는 것을 알았습니다. 바울이 그들에게 예수님에 대해 이야기 했을 때 그들은 그를 믿었으며 이번에는 예수님의 이름으로 세례를 받았습니다. 그런 다음 바울이 그들에게 손을 얹었을 때, 그들은 예수님의 살아 계신 성령을 받았으며 삶의 증거로 나타냈습니다.

Church congregations throughout Coastal Carolina Presbytery are struggling to repair their own buildings and meet the many needs in their congregations and communities following Hurricane Florence.