Beth Shiloh Presbyterian Church — York, South Carolina When the Presbyterian Women of Beth Shiloh Presbyterian Church were inspired to donate a Family Farm Bundle through the Presbyterian Giving Catalog, the $1,300 price tag seemed like a steep challenge for the small congregation. But the group quickly came up with a plan to put together and sell a cookbook. It would raise needed funds and honor cherished members and friends who had passed on by including their recipes. To supplement the cookbook proceeds, the PW also held yard sales, bake sales and a vendor fair and soon had enough for two farm bundles. The congregation plans to continue supporting the Presbyterian Gifts program and add local projects, according to member Deannie Carter, who says the effort dedicated to helping others was a great time in the life of the congregation. “We are so fortunate to have made a small difference, but we are not finished yet!” — Ann White, Providence Presbytery Share your 150-word … [Read more...]
Who is participating in the 224th GA? You may – or may not – be surprised
For the first time in General Assembly history, there are more white women than any other group serving as commissioners. The 224th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has 44%, in fact, with white men composing 35% of commissioners. The remaining thirty percent are Black women (5.6%) and Black men (3.8%), followed by Asian men (3.4%) and Latina men (1.6%) and Latina women (1.4%). The 478 commissioners fall into a wide age bracket: 21-82 years of age. The average age is 59. They are connecting across six time zones, from Alaska to the Atlantic. Most (55%) are connecting from the Eastern time zone. The time zone spread for attendees is 12 hours — ranging from Hawaii to Central Africa and Europe. Of the 251 teaching elder commissioners (or TECs), the majority are white women and men, followed by Asian men, Black men, Black women, and Latina men and women. The average age of TECs is 53 years old; the youngest is 28, and the oldest 75. They are live-streaming … [Read more...]
Lament and hope: Vilmarie Cintrón-Olivieri and Cindy Kohlmann lead worship at General Assembly
Before going about the business of the 224th General Assembly, on Friday, June 26, 2020 at 11:00 a.m. EDT, commissioners, advisory delegates and observers watching from home were called to a time of worship. Co-moderators of the 223rd General Assembly, Vilmarie Cintrón-Olivieri and Cindy Kohlmann, led the service as their final contribution to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in this official capacity. Using the assembly’s theme, “From Lament to Hope,” the service delved deeply into the suffering of so many in this particular time and place, while uplifting the power of the Holy Spirit to transform hurting lives and unjust systems. Particularly noting the grief and loss around both the coronavirus pandemic and systemic racism in the United States, the service was a time of recognizing collective brokenness while affirming God’s ability to restore and resurrect. (Click here for the bulletin.) Hymn. Written by Mark Miller and Adam Tice in response to the murder of … [Read more...]
PC(USA) Crystal Teardrop Awards recognize women of NASA
(OGA) Four prominent African American women who played a role in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) race to put humans in space are being recognized by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). The Reverend Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the PC(USA), is honoring Mary Jackson, Dorothy Johnson Vaughan, Dr. Christine Darden, and Katherine Johnson with the church’s Crystal Teardrop Awards. The four were featured in Margot Lee Shetterley’s "Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race," which was adapted into a biographical film in 2016. Dr. Christine Darden Darden devoted most of her 40-year career at NASA focusing on aerodynamics, researching supersonic flight and sonic booms. She was the first African American woman at NASA’s Langley Research Center to be promoted into the Senior Executive Service, the top rank in the federal civil … [Read more...]
GA prayer wall: Voices of lament and hope
In the online prayer room of the 224th General Assembly, there is a “prayer wall” – what some might liken to a virtual Wailing Wall – where prayers are written, folded and tucked into imaginary stones. What is written on the hearts of these authors is being transcribed into words for others to read, to hear and to pray together. Lament is expressed for what is lost and what is being revealed. There are deep-down cries of repentance for failure to walk humbly with God and with those of a different tribe, whether that tribe is one of color, sexual orientation, differing abilities or distant places. There is lament for unknowingly, or knowingly, being a part of systematic and institutional evil, a construct of current society. A plea for transformation is central to these prayers. A small group from the GA Bible study addressed the anatomy of lament in their prayer: “Re-form us, O God … move inside of us. Change us, from the inside out, through your Word and Spirit. … Help us not … [Read more...]
For whom the bell tolls
An undercurrent of fear runs below all of us these days. Images of exhausted health workers, projections of spread and the numerous unknowns keep us awake in the middle of the night and uneasy in the middle of the day. We are careful to keep our distance as we glance across grocery aisles for a mutual contact of cautious acknowledgment. We have become proximate strangers. Perhaps, we always were. Yet, now the mandated and anxiety-filled space between us is awakening our common desire for connection, our need to know that we are not alone. A recent thread of posts on my neighborhood app signaled a yearning for community. A suggestion was made that the local church ring its bells in the evening during the stay-at-home order. “The church bells will remind everyone in the neighborhood that they are not alone.” Another wrote, “It will encourage all of us to join our thoughts and prayers together as one.” Another replied, “I am not religious, but my fears would welcome church … [Read more...]
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