In Gail Godwin’s book “The Finishing School,” which features an older woman and a 14-year-old girl, the woman tells the girl she can tell by looking whether a person has congealed. That person will have no more surprises, the woman tells her young friend, and to avoid the trap she must constantly be on guard against gelling too soon. It’s a valued vignette in one of the Rev. Dr. Lib Caldwell’s favorite books.
Like most organizations, PC(USA)-affiliated camp and retreat centers were blindsided by the recent COVID-19 pandemic that has swept through the country and world over the past several months. Stay-at-home and social distancing orders struck the very heart and infrastructure of summer camp and retreat resident ministries. But amidst it all, associate for Christian Formation Brian Frick — who has oversight of PC(USA)-affiliated camps and retreats — sees positive outcomes for 2020 that hopefully carry over into 2021.
In the latest edition of “Everyday God-Talk,” So Jung Kim, associate for Theology in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s Office of Theology & Worship, interviews Dr. Reggie Williams.
The border is not just a physical place. When you open your heart to it, it’s a place of encounter.
The Rev. Samuel Son, manager of diversity and reconciliation at the Presbyterian Mission Agency, recently held a roundtable discussion with three Presbyterian clergywomen to discuss the challenges and opportunities of leading a congregation during protests and pandemic.
About three years ago, Brian Odhiambo lived a life of “survival of the fittest” on the streets of Nairobi, Kenya. He was rescued from his street boy existence and taken to Eastleigh Community Center (ECC), a vocational skills training primary and secondary school of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) that promotes peacebuilding at every grade level.
In the coming days, Presbyterians have multiple ways to show their support for refugees in the United States and abroad, including attending a virtual town hall on Thursday.
Despite the challenges created by COVID-19, the Young Adult Volunteer (YAV) program is committed to responding to the call to serve in creative ways.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic has forced the 224th General Assembly (2020) into a virtual space, Baltimore remains the host city of record. This will be Baltimore’s eighth time hosting a General Assembly.
A sprawling metro area bridging South and North, land and tidewater, Baltimore was the stage for 19th century assemblies where regional schisms and attempts at reunification were hotly debated. The city’s 20th century assemblies showed a church progressively more willing to respond to movements for civil rights, advancing from a “spirit of weariness to controversy,” to a historic vote for black leadership, to a silent protest for equality for LGBTQIA+ Presbyterians.
Alice fue una de las primeras pacientes del hospital que visité durante la educación pastoral clínica. Conversamos sobre sus varios nietos. Sus ojos bailaban de alegría mientras hablaba de Jesús. Me corazón dolía por una fe tan hermosa y alegre. Acababa de terminar el seminario y mientras trabajaba en iglesias y enseñaba sobre la oración durante años, mi propia vida de oración se había convertido en un abismo de dudas y preguntas. El flujo de oración para calmar la sed que una vez había disfrutado se había secado y ahora estaba de pie junto a la cama de una mujer muriendo de cáncer, un desierto sin palabras y sin oración.