Do not turn away from injustice
Guest commentary by Carolyn Click Rain is falling on this dismal spring morning. Like tears, I think. For a moment, I can’t..
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Good White Racist? Confronting Your Role in Racial Injustice
Kerry Connelly Westminster John Knox Press, 184 pages Reviewed by Katina Sharp I recently purchased a new sofa. It is buttery soft..
Christian formation — a “Quick” story
I remember the summer in 1986 when my identity as a storyteller began. After filling my 1968 Buick Wildcat, a classmate that..
German evangelicals broadcast significant message (80 years ago)
80 years ago — June 5, 1940 As the United States heard the devastating news of European country after country falling to..
We’ve all been there: Naming trauma
As pastors and church leaders, we travel in and out of airports, train stations, even the local bus depots going to meetings,..
Grief support ministries in an age of trauma
For two thousand years, the church has done a relatively good job of comforting bereaved people. Through ritual leadership, pastoral care, laments..
Seminary mobilizes care team during COVID-19 graduation
Guest commentary by Rachel Potts-Wells Imagine you wake up one morning to an email saying that everything you’ve been working for over..
Staycation Bible School: Energizers
Presbyterians LOVE energizers! Here are few theme-related energizers. Dance to this fun song, “The Goldfish (Let’s Go Swimming)” by The Laurie Berkner..
What’s right about First Presbyterian Church of Holley?
First Presbyterian Church of Holley — Holley, New York I think most of us are familiar with the idea that less is..
Witness now, before it is too late
Guest commentary by Brian K. Blount (reprinted with permission of Union Presbyterian Seminary) “And they conquered [evil] by the blood of the Lamb..
Protected: When grief moves in: Pastoral care for grief and COVID-19 through stories (replay)
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If you can’t breathe, neither can I
Guest commentary by Jimmie Hawkins The death of George Floyd puts each one of us in a place where we had hoped..
A prayer of lament and grief for Pentecost 2020
Come, Holy Spirit, bring your wind to give air to all those who cannot breathe, who have a knee on their neck..
The Last Pastor: Faithfully Steering a Closing Church
Gail Cafferata Westminster John Knox Press, 221 pages Reviewed by Melodie Long Using the analogy of sailing, Gail Cafferata navigates the waters..
What are we opening? What COVID-19 and the Great Ends are teaching the church
Guest commentary by Matthew J. Skolnik Whether your congregation is about to return to your church building with attentive safety measures or..
Plunged into the valley of the shadow: Ministering after trauma
A few years ago, in the midst of the war in Syria, some 50 pastors from across the Middle East made their..
Keeping Hope Alive: Sermons and Speeches of Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.
Edited by Grace Ji-Sun Kim Orbis Books, 256 pages Reviewed by Sterling Morse The offerings in “Keeping Hope Alive” remind me of..
God at work: Camps, conference centers and COVID-19
Guest commentary by Dick Young God is at work in our lives and in the world. Such a statement is broad enough..
What will youth ministry look like this summer?
Guest commentary by Rocky Supinger Flying from one mission trip directly to another this summer was going to be a challenge. The..
Barbara Gaddis
“I know you are doing whatever you can to keep this thing swinging. Oh my. It feels monumental, doesn’t it?” — Barbara..
Days of heaven upon earth (70 years ago)
70 years ago — May 22, 1950 In 1866, David Livingstone returned to Great Britain after years as a mission worker in..
Kaleidoscope: Broadening the Palette in the Art of Spiritual Direction
Edited by Ineda Pearl Adesanya Church Publishing, 256 pages Reviewed by Ethel Hornbeck Over the last several decades, there has been an..
Reflections on the current crisis
“Hell,” Sartre has written, “is other people.” If so, then the current shutdown over the COVID-19 virus must seem almost paradisiacal. For..
What do we have to do with each other? It depends upon where we put the emphasis
What do we have to do with each other? This question may not be as simple as it seems. What do..
What’s right about these sister churches in Georgia?
Grant Chapel Presbyterian Church & Darien First Presbyterian Church — Darien, Georgia In October, women from Grant Chapel Presbyterian Church and Darien..