The Presbyterian Outlook

News and Articles from the The Presbyterian Outlook

Top Search/Contact Area

Expecting

by

For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. - Romans 8:22   My wife has been in labor for 20 hours but the boy's not ready for his revealing What's he waiting for? I shuffle back and forth, from my wife’s bedside to the waiting room, where both mothers are wondering if they should stay put or run some quick errands, they ask, What time does the doctor say? I say, Anytime. A n y     t i m e         k e e p s             s t r e t c h i n g. Earthquakes of the womb are getting longer and frequent.   She refuses epidural and Demerol; going to go the old fashioned way, hicks breathing. How can counting counter pain? hee-hee-whoo-whoo hee-hee-whoo-whoo In the waiting room, our mothers are watching reruns of “Friends.” A child is going to rearrange your friends, a father of two told us when we told him we are expecting, every car a death machine, each window a death … [Read more...]

Tagged With: Advent

Advent stirs deep longings

by

  As we turn toward Thanksgiving and Christmas, there are cultural rituals that we enact. White lights line roofs and store windows. Children send letters to Santa with their Christmas wishes named. Radio stations put holiday songs on repeat. Travel plans get made. Thick catalogs stack up in the daily mail, full of ideas of what we might want for Christmas. Underlying all these simple acts, I think, is a deeper longing. We long for peace, beauty and light in darkness. We dream of magic and fantasy that can delight us. We want to “have ourselves a merry little Christmas,” and for “hearts [to] be glowing when loved ones are near.” We would like to gather with family — of blood or choosing — and know that we belong. And it would be nice to give and receive just a few gifts that remind us that we love and are loved. These longings lie under our holiday rituals. The longing runs deeper still. We long for a renewed civic life after an embittered, fear-based campaign season. … [Read more...]

Tagged With: Advent

Come, Lord Jesus

by

I am tired of waiting for Jesus. The wrangling of a national election that had the tenor of a raunchy reality show, the endless violence of war, the blatant racism of our country, the tsunami of mistrust that swamps us, the vitriolic hate ubiquitous on the web. Enough already. Come, Lord Jesus. I don’t know what the Parousia will entail, but some days I think it can only be better than what we’re living. I looked back at pastoral prayers I’d written not years ago but over a decade ago, and I realized that I could have written them last week, or yesterday. Change the name of the country devastated by war or natural disaster, insert a different person in need of healing, replace one grieving family with another, and there you have it: the prayer for the day that was the prayer for yesterday and for the day before that. And for tomorrow, too. Liturgical Madlibs that make you cry instead of laugh. Come, Lord Jesus. I am weary of waiting for reconciliation, for redemption, for … [Read more...]

Tagged With: Advent

Advent: Light and belief in action – November 21, 2016

by

As we look forward to the Christ’s inbreaking, we look at communities of faith that are sharing that light: A community in North Carolina brought life and light to one of its members and a church in Chicago grew together as they shared their stories of faith. Click here to view the digital issue in the Uberflip magazine reader. Christ’s love in action The North Carolina Presbyterian Pilgrimage shares Christ’s love in many ways, even stepping up when a member needed a kidney. This we believe This summer, members of Friendship Presbyterian Church in Chicago recorded their stories of faith. Awareness Part one of the Presbyterian Writers Guild winning short story. Lux plus Veritas Advent poetry by J. Barrie Shepherd … [Read more...]

Tagged With: Advent

The right group-study curriculum can enrich the meaning of Advent

by

By Nina Simone With fall in full swing, Advent will soon be upon us. Busy as December is, Advent invites people into spiritual reflection unlike any other time of year. Whether they are looking for rest from the frantic holiday pace or still able to connect the season with childlike wonder, members of your community might be open to participating in a short-term group or study in hopes of experiencing Advent in a new way. And while there are endless books about Christmas, finding a curriculum to move your particular gathering through the season in a thoughtful and captivating way can prove more challenging. Here are a few resources that may help. The PC(USA)’s “Being Reformed” series, which provides six-week studies for adults on the foundations of the Reformed faith, offers “Illuminating Advent” for groups during this sacred season. Expanding on the themes of Advent – hope, love, joy and peace – “Illuminating Advent” provides in-depth commentary by biblical scholars as well as … [Read more...]

Tagged With: Advent

Hymns for Advent & Christmas – Year A (2016)

by

The Presbyterian Outlook commissioned Presbyterian hymn writer, Carolyn Winfrey Gillette to compose Advent hymns set to familiar Christmas tunes. Your purchase includes a bulletin insert score (a PDF of the lyrics scored with the music for a half-page regular sheet of paper), a large print version (PDF of the lyrics and scored with the music for a full sheet of paper) and a document with lyrics only. Each hymn is $10. You have permission to print as many copies as needed for your use. 2016 package - $50 - Click here to purchase Order all 5 new hymns for 2016: One for each Sunday of Advent and one for Christmas 1st Sunday - No One Knows the Day or Hour 2nd Sunday -  Did Your Parents Pray at Table 3rd Sunday - Are You the One Who Is to Come 4th Sunday - Joseph Was Troubled Christmas - A Savior Born, A Gift of Joy Advent wreath hymn for four Advent Sundays & Christmas Eve/Day The Candle of Hope - Click here to purchase This hymn is not geared to the … [Read more...]

Tagged With: Advent • Christmas

CONTACT US: