When Dr. Tamar Wasoian was a little girl, she’d pray, “I want to serve you, God; please show me how to do it.”

This childhood prayer has turned into a life of service that has taken Wasoian from her birthplace in Aleppo, Syria, to her current home in Houston, on a journey she could never have imagined.

Discussing environmental justice and the church prompted Sara Lisherness to reflect on her daughter’s childhood.

The first day of Compassion, Peace and Justice Training Days planted seeds of thought about the evils of colonization, capitalism and individualism and their effects on the planet.

Racism in South Africa was legally instituted and theologically justified by some churches. It has remained embedded in the fabric of society to this day, manifesting itself in many subtle ways that cause racial discrimination, inequality, violence and ridicule of the “other.”

The Rev. Dr. Gregory Ellison II has discovered heaven on Earth. For him it involves spending time at the Haley Farm in Clinton, Tennessee, with others who admire, as he does, the late Rev. Dr. Howard Thurman, one of Christianity’s most celebrated authors, preachers, scholars and mystics — and then being asked to edit a book on Thurman.

In a recent letter, the Rev. Nancy Smith-Mather, a mission co-worker, said one of the most difficult things about living in another country is the distance from family.

On the eve of its one-year anniversary, “Just Talk Live” took on the topic of AAPI hate, with a trio of guests who affirmed that racism against Asians, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders is nothing new and that the church has a role to play in stopping it.

Pray for what you need, but don’t be surprised when the answer comes. These are words of advice from the Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Nelson recently shared his advice for seminarians preparing for a life in ministry. 

The Rev. Colin Kerr of Parkside Church in Charleston, South Carolina is in awe of what happened at the church plant he serves. When this new church development began, it began growing steadily. But just six months into that growth, the pandemic hit.

When telling the church’s story, it helps to know one’s own faith story well enough to tell it succinctly and powerfully.