Guest commentary by Jody Mask As I write this, people all over America are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first steps taken on the moon. Neil Armstrong is immortalized for having taken those steps, and for marking it with one of the most well-known statements of the current age: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” In the week leading up to this celebration, over 4,000 Presbyterian youth, adult advisors, small group leaders, work crews, invited preachers and other musical and worship leaders landed on the campus of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, for the Presbyterian Youth Triennium 2019. I arrived as an adult advisor for Central Florida Presbytery for my second consecutive Triennium. Though most of us came from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), we met with a small-but-mighty contingent from our siblings in the Cumberland Presbyterian churches. Our theme this year, “Here’s My Heart,” comes from the beloved hymn “Come Thou Fount of … [Read more...]
Aladdin: For such a time as this
Guest commentary by Liz Rasley The new live-action movie “Aladdin” isn’t a new story at all. It’s an old story (even older than the 1990s, if one can imagine back that far) and is based on the tale“The Arabian Nights”from the 18th century. The 2019 “Aladdin” is re-told again by Disney and fitted for the times, including an updated storyline and the addition of several compelling characters. Disney and director Guy Ritchie also revamped a bit of story to add in several scenes and characters that complete “Aladdin” with a fresh spin for modern audiences. While bits and parts are updated, much of the story remains the same. Lovable street urchin Aladdin (Mena Massoud), is a sort of Peter Pan in the Arabian world and steals so he and his monkey (and other poor he meets along the way) can eat. In the midst of trying to secure food for himself, Aladdin runs into Princess Jasmine (Naomi Scott), who is undercover as a commoner from the royal court. Princess Jasmine sneaks out of the … [Read more...]
Friendship between Virginia and Palestine churches leads to support for the wider community
Guest commentary by Heidi Shott The deep, enduring friendship between the people of Grace Presbyterian Church in Springfield, Virginia, and St. Philip’s Episcopal Church in Nablus, Palestine, has its roots – as so many important things do – in a Sunday school lesson. When Tim Wilder arrived home in 2002 after serving with the State Department at the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem, he and his wife, Susan (who is a pastor), were asked to teach an adult Sunday school class on the state of political turmoil between Palestine and Israel. The Middle East Working Group grew out of those conversations as an effort to answer the question: As people of faith, what should our response be to what we’ve learned? According to Grace’s current pastor, Ben Trawick, members of the working group put in a great deal of time doing research and exploring possibilities for engagement in Palestine. Ultimately, in 2007, with the help of Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) staffer Doug Dicks, a partnership between … [Read more...]
Apophasis
Nothing happens in this room. That is why we come. Pews have ceased to creak beneath their burden. Elders summing up the worth of lives, exhausted careworn parents, antsy children — all gone now. A gasp escapes an organ pipe. Like a canyon breeze, it serves to warn the pilgrim of a fast-approaching storm. We walk in holy canyons before a rain, before the drowning torrent washes clean the remnants of unsanctified terrain. This is the honest hour, when all pretense has flown. Nothing knows and nothing is unknown. Holy words may yet be said, holy music sung, holy food broken and poured in holy ware. Nothing makes them holy, and makes us one. Beyond the reach of prayers for grace, surpassing justice neither blind nor balanced true, solace trickles down in wordless blessing, like drops from canyon walls after a deluge, oblations to the god whom none can claim, who obeys no law, and has no name. Nothing happens in this room. That is why we … [Read more...]
Life after death? Reflections on the Princeton Karl Barth Conference
Guest commentary by Raymond Anderson In mid-June (June 15-19, 2019) church leaders and scholars from several countries met at Princeton Theological Seminary to examine Karl Barth’s Christ-founded teachings about how our lives end and what we may hope for in an afterlife. The title of this, one of several annual Barth conferences, was “The Finality of the Gospel: Karl Barth and the Tasks of Eschatology.” The technical term eschatologymeans “last things.” But that can be quite misleading, since Christians may rely on a whole array of further hopes regarding our being together out beyond our earthly life span, and many believe that God’s eternity is not a sterile timelessness, but may embrace a vast wealth of re-created time and place. Karl Barth was one of the most influential and Bible-attuned Reformed theologians of the last generation. But it becomes shockingly apparent that what research like his discovers through close analysis of Scripture is that the future vision Jesus … [Read more...]
Called to transition
Guest commentary by Laura Viau “So… how many churches have you served?” I can understand why I get this question. If I’d gone straight from college to seminary to ordination, I might have several churches listed on my résumé. Instead, I’ve had several careers. Right out of college, I spent five years teaching and coaching in public high schools. I detoured into positions comprised of technical writing and project management work. And then: God called me to start preparing for congregational ministry. My seminary years overlapped with a job in fund development for a global mission organization, writing everything from grant proposals to multi-day program scripts. When I graduated with my M.Div. from the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary in 2012, I was moving into a broader communications role with executive level responsibilities. That serpentine road toward answering a long-delayed call to congregational ministry did more than add mileage and a variety of … [Read more...]
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