One in 10 American adults owes significant medical debt, and that debt causes two-thirds of all bankruptcies. To the Rev. Stacy Cavanaugh of Union Presbyterian Church in Monroe, Wisconsin, that wasn’t acceptable.

With a nod to the rain that’s pounded Montreat Conference Center since the start of the Presbyterian Association of Musicians’ Music & Worship Conference, those gathered to worship Wednesday opened the service by singing “There Shall be Showers of Blessing” and “Rain Down.”

Moving on from Creation to the Torah, Dr. William Brown made the case Wednesday that the current struggle to determine what’s concrete in, say, the interpretation of laws under the U.S. Constitution was vexing for folks in Old Testament times as well.

People from a diverse milieu of religious traditions observed World Refugee Day by gathering for an online vigil this week to advocate for the safety and well-being of refugees and to ask for forgiveness for not doing more to fight injustices against them.

Hundreds of migrants traveling by fishing boat across the Mediterranean Sea are feared dead after a boat sank off the coast of Kalamata in southwest Greece. As of Tuesday afternoon, a total of 81 bodies had been found while 104 people have been rescued. The boat was on its way from Libya to Italy when it sunk. There are estimates that more than 700 people were on board at the time. Authorities are still searching the area for potential survivors as well as the bodies of those who died.

There’s something about holding a pilsner glass full of one’s favorite beer and singing praises to God with more than 100 fellow conference-goers singing right along.

Children; brass, rhythm and string instruments; and communion all found their way into worship Tuesday at the Presbyterian Association of Musicians’ Worship & Music Conference.

In the beginning, Dr. William Brown said on Tuesday, God created a dialogue.

“One of the ancient definitions of the theologian is that the theologian is the one who prays,” said the Rev. Dr. Robert Cathey, professor emeritus of theology from McCormick Theological Seminary, during the fifth and final episode of this season of “Everyday God-talk,” a web video series from the Office of Theology and Worship.

It takes a special and secure hymn writer to stand in front of a packed classroom and ask those gathered to tell you why a hymn for which you penned the lyrics doesn’t work.