So, you’re going to be a GA commissioner? Advice for those going to Portland
by Theresa Cho The 222nd General Assembly in Portland will soon be upon us. If you are a commissioner to this year’s..
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It’s Complicated: A Guide to Faithful Decision Making
by Jack Haberer Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville, Ky. 180 pages REVIEWED BY JODI CRAIGLOW When Jack Haberer stepped out of his..
Session’s authority as the PC(USA) trustee of church property
Guest commentary by Wilson Gunn Please grab your Book of Order. I’d love to be less BOOish – but this is, plain..
Searching for Happiness: How Generosity, Faith and Other Spiritual Habits Can Lead to a Full Life
by Martin Thielen Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville, Ky. 192 pages REVIEWED BY EMILY BERMAN D’ANDREA Perhaps you work closely with the..
Calendar Check – September 2016
SEPT. 13 GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. Universal Design for Worship featuring Barbara J. Newman. Calvin College. worship.calvin.edu SEPT. 22-25 HUNT, TEXAS Plein Air Painting..
Ask a … church historian
Did Presbyterians play a significant role in the civil rights movement of the 1960s? The short answer is “yes.” As in confronting..
Texas struggles to recover from constant flooding
(PNS) It has been a year of endless flooding for parts of Texas, keeping volunteers from making headway in clean up efforts...
The tree of life
Guest commentary by Kurt Esslinger I first started thinking about getting a tattoo in college. I knew I didn’t want to take..
Protected: A conversation with Heath Rada (webinar replay)
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Transformative unraveling: Why I got inked
by Kerra Becker English Far from love the Heavenly Father Leads the chosen child; Oftener through realm of briar Than the meadow..
About people (from the June 6, 2016 issue)
Anniversaries Shandon Presbyterian Church, Columbia, S.C. celebrating 100 years Valley Creek Presbyterian Church, Selma, Ala. celebrating 200 years Ordinations Kara Smith-Laubenstein, to..
The system works (50 years ago)
50 years ago — June 20, 1966 In the first business session, commissioners had been given a reminder of the importance of..
Behold, I’ve discovered a new beatitude: Blessed are those who dare to intrude
Guest commentary by Donald McCall It happened on a Sunday Morning. I was sitting in our usual pew in church next to..
The promise of presence: Job, mental illness and the church
by Danielle Estelle Ramsay Human beings are born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward. –Job 3:7 In the book of..
Reading Scripture with the Saints
by C. Clifton Black Cascade Books, Eugene, Ore. 292 pages REVIEWED BY BRANDON FRICK AND JON NELSON Clifton Black describes this book..
Study team releases report on “two-state” solution
Guest commentary by Christian Iosso After the 221st General Assembly in 2014, a state department official suggested that we not call..
Justice through nonviolence: We refuse to be enemies
Guest commentary by Emily Brewer As the afternoon slowly turned to evening in January 2014, the 28 of us on the Presbyterian..
Mental illness: Our story is the church’s story
by Sarah Griffith Lund The tears were ancient, welling up from generations of silence. As Jack, an octogenarian with a smart red..
My hope for General Assembly
Guest commentary by Clay Allard When I was growing up in Washington, D.C., in the early 1970s, I watched my father..
The Eternal Cycle of Life: An Illustrated Sermon Series
by Jonas Hayes (illustrated by Anna McDonald) Shook Foil Books, 123 pages REVIEWED BY CASEY FITZGERALD In a culture driven by images..
Stewarding God’s creation through alternatives to fossil fuel divestment
Guest commentary by Jim Allison The 222nd General Assembly will face the issue of climate change and our response. The agenda includes..
Loving creation by divesting from fossil fuels
Guest commentary by Abby Mohaupt and Dan Terpstra One of our core beliefs as Presbyterians is that we are called to love..
Mental illness and the church: Stopping the continuum climb
by Kenneth Phelps Parents of a 4-year-old with autism and intellectual impairment find themselves preoccupied with how their gregarious boy is behaving..
What’s right with your church? Cabwaylingo Presbyterian Chapel
Cabwaylingo Presbyterian Chapel Dunlow, West Virginia On a typical Sunday morning, 10 worshippers gather at the Cabwaylingo Presbyterian Chapel in rural, impoverished..
Matt Brogli
“I was in over my head. I thought being a pastor meant giving sermons, loving my congregation, doing marriages and funerals, and..