Apache Stronghold is making a cross-country trek to preserve sacred land in Arizona and is garnering continued support from Presbyterians and other allies along the way to the nation’s capital. The Native American-led community organization, based in San Carlos, Arizona, is making a prayer journey to the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington D.C., in an attempt to preserve Oak Flat, a site in Tonto National Forest known to the Apache as Chi'chil Bildagoteel, from corporate destruction.
If they listen to Linda K. Smith and others in the know, Presbyterians can be much more than God’s frozen chosen — they can become downright cool.
“Here is the church, here is the steeple; open the doors, and … wait a second — the people have been priced out of the neighborhood,” the Rev. Sara Hayden said in her introduction to a recent episode of the “New Way” podcast. “Affordable housing is just one of the vexing challenges facing communities today,” Hayden, an associate in the 1001 New Worshiping Communities Movement, said before introducing two pastors in the Los Angeles area who are examining the complexities around affordable housing and finding local solutions. In the two-part series produced by the Rev. Marthame Sanders, Hayden sat down with the Rev. Carlton Rhoden, a longtime community organizer and pastor of Westminster Presbyterian Church, and the Rev. Victor Cyrus-Franklin, is the supervising pastor for affordable housing development of Inglewood First United Methodist church and is the newly appointed senior pastor of Holman United Methodist Church.
Culture has many forms and resonances. Even the word carries multiple definitions. In anthropology, it refers to customs, social norms and material traits of certain groups. In science, it means to maintain conditions suitable for growth. In sociology, it simply reflects the characteristics of ordinary relationships between people who share a particular time and place. Culture, like faith, is how people grow. It informs how people care for others and share their daily lives together. It shapes an understanding of the world and how people envision a future beyond themselves.
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance led a worship service this week in honor of people all over the world who have been affected by natural disasters or other tragedies, from tornadoes to gun violence.
Dr. Thelma Cornelia Davidson Adair, the first African American woman to be elected Moderator of the General Assembly of the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, died Aug. 21 at the age of 103. A private service was scheduled.
According to the Rev. Dr. Chip Hardwick, when you Google “Why are Presbyterians like that?” one of the top five questions asked is, “Why are Presbyterians called the ‘frozen chosen’?” Hardwick, executive for the Synod of the Covenant, preached at a regional gathering of immigrant new worshiping community and church leaders in Cincinnati over the weekend. Hardwick brought greetings on behalf of the synod, which spans most of Ohio and all of Michigan with 650 churches and 85,000 Presbyterians, to a group that included the praise team from Korean Presbyterian Church of Cincinnati and other regional leaders as well as immigrant leaders from California and Georgia.
“The ministry you are called to serve may not even exist yet,” the Rev. Michael Gehrling said to a group of 18 seminary students and recent seminary graduates at a Discerning Entrepreneurial Ministry event held at Columbia Theological Seminary from Aug. 16–18.
The Rev. Tony Larson, co-moderator of the 226th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), is the latest addition to the roster of special guests who’ll be taking part in the denomination’s annual Young Adult Advocacy Conference this fall.
Last week, Tim Pollock, commissioned ruling elders and commissioned pastors coordinator for the Synod of the Covenant, offered a webinar full of ideas on extending ministry networks to municipal and nonprofit agencies. Watch the hour-long broadcast here.