“Did you agree to be dirt?” the Rev. CeCe Armstrong asked commissioners of Charleston Atlantic Presbytery and members of a newly chartered church in Charleston, South Carolina. The members of Parkside Church in Charleston, in accordance with G-1.0201 in the Book of Order, signed a charter that read in response to the grace of God, “We promise and covenant to live together in unity and to work together in ministry as disciples of Jesus Christ, bound to him and to one another as a part of the body of Christ in this place according to the principles of faith, mission, and order of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).” As a result, the presbytery convened at St. Barnabas Lutheran Church, which is Parkside Church’s place of worship, for a chartering service on Jan. 29 to commission the church, ordain and install elders and fully install their organizing pastor, the Rev. Colin Kerr.
The Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II, the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), offered thanks to God and to those present during worship Sunday at Church of the Covenant in New York City “to be in the midst of a powerful gathering of women.” At the invitation of the church’s interim pastor, the Rev. Dr. Cornell Edmonds, Nelson preached Sunday as part of the 67th Commission on the Status of Women, an in-person and online gathering of about 8,000 people that runs from March 6-17.
The 67th session of the Commission on the Status of Women kicked off Friday for delegates from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and Presbyterian Women with an orientation session from the Church of the Covenant in New York City that set the stage for a nearly two-week gathering to empower women and girls.
Dr. William Yoo, whose book “What Kind of Christianity: A History of Slavery and Anti-Black Racism in the Presbyterian Church” was published last year by Westminster John Knox Press and received almost instant acclaim, including from members of the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board and from a local gathering, was the guest of the Rev. Dr. Lee Hinson-Hasty, senior director of theological education and funds development with the Committee on Theological Education and the Presbyterian Foundation Wednesday on the broadcast “Leading Theologically.”
“How many people are out of power?” was the opening question in a Tuesday night call between Christian formation leaders hosted by the Office of Christian Formation of the Presbyterian Mission Agency. Mission associate Miatta Wilson welcomed a group of a dozen church leaders, saying, “It’s great to have people who are from various different parts of the country and time zones.”
The 2023 Celebrate the Gifts of Women worship service took place on Wednesday and was streamed on the main PC(USA) Facebook page. A joint effort by Presbyterian Women and Racial Equity & Women's Intercultural Ministries, the service can be viewed here.
On Thursday, Lionel Derenoncourt and the Rev. Marissa Galván Valle of Beechmont Presbyterian Church (Iglesia Presbiteriana) in Louisville, Kentucky, used a monthly online town hall forum offered by the Presbyterian Association of Musicians to discuss a feature near and dear to the hearts of Beechmont and its neighbors: the Peace Garden the church constructed during the pandemic and dedicated last year.
On Wednesday, the Rev. Dr. Carolyn Helsel helped preachers in and around the Synod of the Covenant to think through preaching about racism in an era of critical race theory bans.
On Wednesday, the Rev. Dr. Carolyn Helsel helped preachers in and around the Synod of the Covenant to think through preaching about racism in an era of critical race theory bans.
Following environmental concerns brought about by last month’s train derailment in Ohio, Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia, is offering the national conference “Just Creation — Shalom for Our Common Home” March 16-18. The conference is available both in person and online.