Safety pins and seminary: Two weeks in residency
Guest commentary by Amy Cerniglia “Does anybody have safety pins?” While driving to campus, a classmate noticed an unraveling thread on my..
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The Congregation in a Secular Age: Keeping Sacred Time against the Speed of Modern Life
Andrew Root Baker Press, 288 pages Reviewed by Anthony Robinson As a work of practical theology, this is unusual in its breadth..
When the Center Does Not Hold: Leading in an Age of Polarization
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Howard Thurman and the Disinherited: A Religious Biography
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Order of worship — September 5, 2021
You are welcome to use this liturgy in your online worship services and distribute it to your congregation. It is free for..
What right about First Presbyterian Church of Hokendauqua?
First Presbyterian Church of Hokendauqua — Whitehall, Pennsylvania The way this congregation has pulled together during the pandemic has truly been an..
Called to pray for Afghanistan
Guest commentary by Larry Toney If you’ve been watching the news from Afghanistan, you may have experienced the same anguish I have...
Books as doorways to other worlds
Books have always been an important part of my life. My innate obsession with books has blossomed into a deep appreciation for..
“Northern Lights” & “Better Than Brunch”
Northern Lights: Resurrecting Church in the North of England Jason Byassee Cascade Books, 184 pages Better Than Brunch: Missional Churches in Cascadia Jason Byassee..
Children and church in 2021
This is a picture of my daughter playing in August 2021. Some things are the same from a few years ago. She..
Finding Jesus in the Storm: The Spiritual Lives of Christians with Mental Health Challenges
John Swinton Eerdmans, 245 pages As a therapist, not a week goes by that I don’t see the burden of shame outlined..
An unexpectedly holy Communion: Jesus, is that you?
Guest commentary by William McConnell It was a normal weekend in the life of a denominational “road warrior” in the days before..
Update on Haiti’s situation brings Presbyterians the voices of Haitians and those who walk alongside them
(PNS) David Guervil, who’s been consulting for Presbyterian Disaster Assistance in Haiti throughout political unrest, Hurricane Matthew in 2016, Saturday’s 7.2-magnitude earthquake and..
A Burning in My Bones: The Authorized Biography of Eugene H. Peterson
Winn Collier Waterbrook, 368 pages Reviewed by Jo Forrest The mere mention of Eugene Peterson’s name arouses a sense of comfort from..
Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as An Exercise in Hope
Esau McCaulley InterVarsity Press, 208 pages Reviewed by Sterling Morse “Learning to drive, you must see the big picture.” This was told..
Better days
Though the pipe organ welcomes us into traditional Presbyterian churches, the Hammond B3 organ is a Black church staple. As our organist..
What are you reading this summer?
Guest blog by Russ Kerr I love summer reading! Winter reading is for curling up with a cozy blanket next to the..
Order of worship — August 22, 2021
You are welcome to use this liturgy in your online worship services and distribute it to your congregation. It is free..
And God Spoke with His People: Sermons from the 1980s by an East German Pastor
Werner Krusche, translated by James S. Currie Parson’s Porch Books, 192 pages Sermons, it is often said, are delivered to a particular..
Christian Community
(To my friends at Central Presbyterian Church) I was lost. I didn’t know it. I thought I had it all together. I..
Means of Grace: A Year of Weekly Devotions
Fleming Rutledge, edited by Laura Bardolph Hubers Eerdmans, 279 pages Reviewed by Emily Berman D’Andrea As a pastor, I am always looking..
The Post-Quarantine Church: Six Urgent Challenges and Opportunities That Will Determine the Future of Your Congregation
Thom S. Rainer Tyndale Momemtum, 128 pages One of my favorite TV shows is “Friends.” In one episode, the character Ross buys..
Labyrinth
Guest commentary by Matt Matthews “To be quiet, even wordless, in a good place is a better gift than poetry.” —Wendell..
Delivered Out of Empire: Pivotal Moments in the Book of Exodus, Part 1
Walter Brueggemann Westminster John Knox Press, 114 pages Reviewed by Mark Peake When you’re given the task of reviewing Walter Brueggemann, what..
Making way for a new creation: Adaptive leadership, Jesus and the Canaanite woman show us the way
Remember those Zoom meetings early in the pandemic when “you’re on mute” became our communal refrain? At the start of the COVID-19..