By way of introducing the “Just Creation” gathering’s final keynoter, Dr. Tink Tinker, Dr. Mark Douglas of Columbia Theological Seminary said Saturday that the best conferences “deepen what I know and disrupt what I know.” Tinker, an American Indian and citizen of Osage Nation and a professor emeritus at the Iliff School of Theology in Denver, told conference-goers he is “somebody who is working very hard to decolonize my own mind and to speak out of a worldview distinctly different from the Euro-Christian worldview.”

In a town known for timber, a Presbyterian congregation continually finds ways to grow in service and stewardship. First Presbyterian Church in Roseburg, Oregon, has its hands as well as its historic building in direct efforts to meet the community’s most basic needs. Through the Presbyterian Foundation’s coaching program for pastors, the Rev. Vicky Brown developed her knowledge and fluency in supporting this important work.

Politics are personal. As God’s people, we feel our politics. When we watch the news or read it on our iPad, we experience a potpourri of emotions. We get excited, angry, demoralized, indignant, frustrated and more. Some of us take a sabbath from Facebook, while others turn off Twitter.

Whether it’s threats like climate change or a pandemic — or whether we feel powerless after news of another shooting or natural disaster — we live in a state of fear and constant vigilance.

As we enter a season of dreaming and discerning what God has ahead for Presbyterians Today, we wanted to look back and celebrate the wonderful people, places and projects we’ve been blessed to share with our readers.

The third and final panel that spoke as part of Columbia Theological Seminary’s “Just Creation” conference Saturday addressed the air we breathe after previous panels had taken on the Earth and water.

After a panel assembled for the “Just Creation” conference put on by Columbia Theological Seminary and many partners took on the topic of the planet we inhabit on Friday, a second panel was asked later that day to speak about water.

A Friday plenary session during Columbia Theological Seminary’s Just Creation conference included panelists remembering a patch of Earth that’s special to them.

The Presbyterian Mission Agency is reaching out to its partners in southern Africa, where powerful Cyclone Freddy has struck twice, leaving hundreds of people dead.

Because Presbyterian Mission Agency staff will participate in an all-staff Vision Convocation during the week of March 20-24 at the Presbyterian Center in Louisville, Kentucky, Presbyterian News Service will, for the most part, refrain from publishing reports of news and events occurring during that week.