Louisville (Press release) — As congregations and families struggle with the new realities that the global pandemic has created, the Presbyterian Publishing Corporation is responding with several initiatives to provide assistance.
Some of these resources will help congregations stay connected in this time of physical distance, others will help keep children entertained and educated, while others will assist preachers who still need to prepare a weekly sermon.
“Our mission, first and foremost, is to assist the congregations and members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) with resources for education, preaching, worship, and devotion,” said David Dobson, president and publisher. “Since our beginnings in 1843 we’ve served congregations in good times and bad, but none quite like this. We hope that the resources we are providing will help ease some of the burden of these challenging days.”
The April readings from the daily devotional magazine These Days are now available for free, so that churches can share them digitally with members of their congregations. In addition, the current volume in the lectionary preaching commentary series Connections, Year A, volume 2, is now available free as an eBook through Amazon’s Kindle platform.
PPC has also given churches blanket permission to copy or scan curriculum to share with their congregants, and has lifted copyright restrictions on all material owned by PPC and the PC(USA) from Glory to God, the Book of Common Worship, and the Presbyterian Hymnal.
For families, PPC has created free activities and studies that can be done at home, along with coloring pages based on some of their Flyaway Books children’s books. Alicia Samuels, Flyaway Books’ editorial director, notes that “Flyaway Books is committed to helping families as much as possible during this difficult time. In addition to all of the resources and activities located on our web site, our authors and editors are regularly hosting story readings on social media to engage with children and create a new avenue for using our children’s books.”
PPC is also assisting the other audiences they serve: the academic community and the independent bookselling community. For academic communities, they have lifted usage restrictions on textbooks through major digital providers and made eBooks of key Westminster John Knox Press textbooks available at prices as low as $1.99. And they have made a contribution to the Book Industry Charitable Foundation, an organization that provides assistance to independent booksellers who have lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
To find more resources and links to those mentioned above, visit www.pcusastore.com.
by Presbyterian Publishing Corporation
