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February 5, 2024

In November, seven Guatemalan young adults embarked on a four-day adventure that will have a lasting impact on their lives. I had the privilege of accompanying the group, alongside Pastors Emerson Morales and Mardoqueo Perez of Jesus es El Camino church in Guatemala City. The Guatemala Partnership of New Castle Presbytery funded this trip.

February 2, 2024

Dr. Melva Costen and Dr. Cynthia Rigby will receive Excellence in Theological Education awards this summer at the 226th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

February 2, 2024

At night when the campfire glows inside Highlands Presbyterian Camp & Retreat Center in Allenspark, Colorado, it’s not uncommon to find a familiar bull moose come close to the fire.

February 2, 2024

Anne Wilson, a longtime Christian educator who lives in Houston, led a workshop featuring a panel of fellow faith formation enthusiasts titled “Fresh Elastic for Stretched-Out Educators” last week during the APCE Annual Event held online and in St. Louis.

February 1, 2024

The belief that people of faith have an obligation to make their voices heard in the fight against climate change was expressed during a webinar by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and Presbyterians for Earth Care.

February 1, 2024

Although ballplayers have been swinging since ancient times — whether with bats, rackets, hands or clubs — recorded history is strangely silent about plungers. Yes, plungers.

First African Presbyterian Church pastor and Presbytery of Philadelphia moderator featured during Black History Month

February 1, 2024

David Staniunas and Kristen Gaydos | Presbyterian Historical Society

PHILADELPHIA

“They had never been in a situation like that, to have a confrontation. They became my fast friends.”

A lunchtime gathering of ministers from the Presbytery of Philadelphia had just been denied a table at the Union League. The white ministers of the group, affronted, asked for explanations. Their Black colleague, the Rev. Dr. Shelton Bishop Waters, pastor of First African Presbyterian Church, spoke up: “The problem is me.” The men walked across the street to a five and dime lunch counter and conducted their business.

February 1, 2024

Thom Cunningham, whom APCE honored last week as its ENRICH Educator of the Year, led a workshop during APCE’s Annual Event he called “Elephants, Ostriches and Cows — Oh My!”

February 1, 2024

It is possible to move from feeling powerless to repair the harm done to Black Americans toward being empowered to make personal and societal changes.

January 31, 2024

Joel Winchip, executive director of the Presbyterian Church Camp & Conference Association/Campfire Collective, led a workshop last week at the APCE Annual Event that relied on his and others’ decades of experience helping congregations, mid councils and other groups to plan and pull off meaningful retreats.

January 31, 2024

On a crisp winter day on December 29, 1986, Jewel McRae began her first day as a member of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) national staff, and, as the saying goes, the rest is history.

January 31, 2024

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s Office of Public Witness has again issued an Action Alert, asking Presbyterians to advocate for a ceasefire and an increase in humanitarian aid for Gaza.

January 31, 2024

An updated version of the PC(USA)’s Daily Prayer app is now available for Apple, Android and Amazon devices. The app has been downloaded more than 10,000 times since its debut in 2012. This is the first significant update to the app, and it comes in response to requests to have the new version match the latest (2018) version of the Book of Common Worship.

January 30, 2024

LOUISVILLE — The Rev. Dr. Jerry Cannon, Vice President for Ministry Innovation at the Board of Pensions, sent educators attending last week’s APCE Annual Event home well-fed with God’s word and Cannon’s own prodigious preaching talents. Using Nehemiah 8:10 as his preaching text, Cannon led with gymnast Katelyn Ohashi’s viral floor exercise, which earned her a perfect score from the judges. “The most important thing about her routine is the joy. She clearly loves what she is doing, and it shows. The joy on her face is contagious,” Cannon said. A subsequent NPR report discussed how her coach at UCLA, Valorie Kondos Field, helped Ohashi rekindle her love for the sport. “What do you do when you lose your joy, when you just don’t glow like you once did?” Cannon asked. “Who do you go to when your joy is gone?” One thing to keep in mind as a source, he said, came from educator Dr. Jonathan Jackson: “Christian education is that ministry that undergirds all ministries of the church.” Nehemiah knew “true joy and restoration could come only by the inner strength provided by the Lord,” Cannon said. “The shiny new wall would not restore the people. They needed inner strength to keep them moving.” We can reconnect to our joy through the alliterative process of remember, repent and restore, according to Cannon, who offered examples of each during his sermon. Morgan Neville’s film “20 Feet from Stardom” tells us the story of great backup singers including the great Darlene Love. “It’s a movie about people who recognized God had them right where they needed to be,” Cannon explained. “Who would Gladys Knight be without the Pips? You would not have KC if there was no Sunshine Band. Every now and then, you ought to give God thanks for the background folks who make you who you are.” “You need to realize that God has a way of bringing us to a point where we need to repent,” Cannon said, adding he wonders how an Old Testament prophet like Nehemiah can speak to APCE in 2024. “How was Katelyn Ohashi able to complete that championship performance? She was miserable and had lost her joy, and Coach Val helped her rekindle her love and joy. She said, ‘I had to earn her trust that I cared about her more as a human being than I did as a gymnast,’” Cannon said, adding that APCE members and friends “are more than Christian educators, more than pastors and youth directors. That may pay the bills, but what makes you who you are is your relationship with Almighty God.” Cannon, a native of Charlotte, North Carolina, recalled his Carolina Panthers playing in a close conference championship game a few years ago. He was watching the game on an upstairs television while his children watched on the downstairs TV. As Cannon chewed his fingernails down the stretch of the back-and-forth contest, he noticed his children were cheering and groaning at different times than he was. It turned out his cable television provider was providing an uneven signal throughout the house. “God told me, ‘Every now and then, it’s OK to open up your ear when someone else is having a celebration,” Cannon said. “The joy of the Lord is your strength. That’s it!” Check back with pcusa.org for further reporting on last week’s APCE Annual event.

January 30, 2024

A new publication from the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program showcases reflections by people of faith who’ve been involved in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s long history of peacemaking and reconciliation.

January 30, 2024

Dr. Jacqueline E. Lapsley, President, and the Board of Trustees at Union Presbyterian Seminary welcome the Rev. Dr. Lee Hinson-Hasty as the Seminary’s next Vice President for Advancement.

January 30, 2024

“Aurora has become a place where immigrants and refugees from all over the world are settling now,” said the Rev. Doug Friesema, pastor of Aurora First Presbyterian Church in Colorado, whose congregation has opened up its space to five other congregations that serve Spanish-speaking immigrants, refugees, individuals from the African diaspora and African Americans.

January 29, 2024

Three longtime educators were recognized for their many years of ministry in the field of Christian education Friday during the Association of Partners in Christian Education Annual Event held last week in St. Louis and online.

January 29, 2024

Historically, Presbyterians “are used to being on a bigger stage and having what we say mean something,” the Acting Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the Rev. Bronwen Boswell, said last week during “A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast.”

January 29, 2024

As Stephanie Fritz took the microphone last week to give the sold-out crowd at the APCE Networking and Resourcing Lunch a “fast and furious introduction” to the abundance of resources and initiatives offered by the PC(USA), Laura Sparks caught her breath.