We tell our stories slant. And this story is personal. My grandpa Del was a magical storyteller. A journalist for the Associated..
My spouse owns a T-shirt that sparks jealousy. Procured from the New York Public Library, it asks in bold, block letters: “What..
I have six suggestions for summer reading. First, it should include what The New York Times calls “beach reading.” That is, in..
In response to the divisiveness surrounding the 2016 elections, poet and author David Whyte posted on his blog that it was time..
The most fraught time in a congregation’s life is transition. A new pastor arrives, a new cohort of leaders emerges, the world..
Our coffee table at home was always covered with publications like The Presbyterian Outlook and newsletters from organizations that fought racism and..
When I trained to be an emergency medical technician, this was a paramount lesson: Identify the life threats. Your patient might be complaining..
Historically, the Presbyterian Church has taken deep interest in the welfare of immigrants and refugees. John Calvin insisted that Geneva become a..
Here is the sad fact: Every time I step into a church, I never expect to be fully welcomed. As a nonbinary..
I’m amazed by the gratitude I receive from families after a funeral. They always seem to be so thankful for the gift..
Grover Cleveland, William Harrison, Theodore Roosevelt. John Muir, Rachel Carson, David Brower. At first glance, we might say that what connects these..
When I was born, the doctors bound me to a word: “girl.” Perhaps because this word never fit, I became obsessed with..
Given the disheartening drumbeat about membership shrinkage in mainline denominations, it’s easy to miss stories about what some of our congregations are..
What does a vital music ministry look like in a healthy church? It is my belief that a vital music ministry has..
The Christian tradition has always been home to human evils that divide and destroy. The Crusades of the Middle Ages, chattel slavery..
They almost seem to come around together: Election Day and Advent. A secular moment and a sacred moment, moving in tandem, as..
I remember a summer evening gathering of the history department where I was a Ph.D. candidate. Faculty and other doctoral students began..
The revised “Book of Common Worship” offers this explanation of the prayers of intercession in the Service for the Lord’s Day: “Prayers..
No one stands alone, we’ll stand side by side. Draw the circle, draw the circle wide. Singing Mark Miller’s setting of these..
Church musicians have been supplementing their income with other jobs for many years. I observed my musical mentors and those observations shaped..
Do you remember the proverbial “pastor’s wife”? My mother and grandmother, like countless women through the years, studied alongside their husbands at..
Some of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s bright minds and missional hearts joined the Great Cloud of Witnesses this year, including Hedy Lodwick,..
At its heart, the meeting of our General Assembly is an opportunity to practice stewardship. Commissioners and leaders of the assembly consider..
One thing I am certain of is this: in the creation epic, God worked. Perhaps not literally in the dirty hands, aching back..
Who remembers Benjamin Harrison? The 23rd U.S. president, Republican Benjamin Harrison served one term (1888-1893), wedged between Grover Cleveland’s two terms. The..
© Copyright 2025 The Presbyterian Outlook. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Statement. Website by Web Publisher PRO