Built into the old city walls of Geneva, Switzerland, is a monument where the key players of a movement that challenged and changed the religious landscape of the 16th century — and centuries to come — stand larger than life.
I’m too old to write to Santa. If I could, though, I’d ask the jolly elf for Barbie’s Dream Church. What? You’ve never heard of Barbie’s Dream Church? It’s a place where money flows as freely as volunteers, and the coffee actually tastes like coffee — rich and robust.
From November 10-14, an ecumenical group of mainline denominational camp and retreat associations held the Outdoor Ministries Connection Great Gathering at Lake Junaluska, located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. The gathering was the first of its kind.
News outlets around the world recently reported the discovery of the first new subtype of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in 20 years. But what you may not have noticed is the Presbyterian Mission Agency was credited in the study published in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes (Jaids).
I sat next to Rachel Obal outside of her home in rural South Sudan, listening to the story of her uncle who, as a boy, was taken from his home by Arabs to be sold as a slave near Khartoum, Sudan. Obal’s words painted a vivid picture as she spoke of how her father followed his brother to rescue him and had to witness the small boy, with hands tied behind his back, paraded in front of crowds to be sold. I could see the boy with his hands tied, his knees pressed into the dusty market ground. I could even picture his thin, brown body, still bound at the wrists, placed on a boat. In my mind’s vision, no one else was on the boat; he was a child all alone, floating toward slavery. My heart ached as I listened.
When I go to the gym and get on a treadmill, I sneak a look at the people around me. Who are they? How fast are they going? How steep an incline is their machine set at? Then I compare myself to one of them. Am I going faster? Is my incline steeper? Lately, it often seems that I’m much slower than my gym neighbors. They have better numbers showing on their machines.
The story is a familiar one in the Bible. The Gospel of Luke tells of two men on the road to Emmaus following the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. As they discuss the events that occurred, Jesus joins them for the walk, but they did not recognize him.
The Reverend Cindy Kohlmann, Co-Moderator of the 223rd General Assembly (2018) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) preached from Luke during the closing worship of the Moderators’ Conference in Louisville last weekend. She told how Jesus interacted with them about the crucifixion and how Jesus later revealed himself before vanishing from sight.
The 120 or so moderators and moderators-elect who gathered last week for training, support and networking at the Moderators’ Conference heard worship ideas and rationales Saturday from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s associate for worship in the Office of Theology and Worship, the Rev. Dr. David Gambrell.
The Committee on Mission Responsibility through Investment of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has submitted comments to the Environmental Protection Agency, opposing a plan by the Trump administration to roll back methane gas restrictions on the oil and natural gas industry.
This Thanksgiving, the Rev. Dr. Ray Jones III is grateful, especially for his colleagues in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s Theology, Formation & Evangelism (TFE) ministry area.