Without the support of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the Rev. Denise McLeod isn’t sure she would have survived.
A widowed minister serving a small church, Trinity Presbyterian, in Key West, Florida — and raising a son who is now a senior in college — she applied for the Presbyterian Mission Agency’s Loan Forgiveness for Pastors.
Anastasiia Rozykova, a Russian journalist who grew up in an agnostic family, is among 14 Presbyterian Peacemaking Program’s International Peacemakers. She came to faith during her university studies, after taking a course in world religions and reading about Martin Luther and his 95 Theses.
Inside St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church in Millvale, Pennsylvania, are more than 20 murals painted by Croatian immigrant Maxo Vanka in the late 1930s and early ’40s. Many of the paintings depict the immigrant experience in America. There is one of St. Francis, though, that shows Vanka’s love of animals, especially his fondness of birds. In the painting, exotic birds can be seen encircling the patron saint of animals.
It’s that time of year again, when church starts ramping up after summer’s relaxed schedule. Youth rooms are filled with laughter, Sunday school finds everyone from toddlers to adults reunited with their favorite teachers, and the return of small groups elicits joy all around. These activities represent different aspects of lifelong Christian formation, one of the seven marks of church vitality that we’re exploring together this month. Our passage, Deuteronomy 30:15–20, sheds light on this mark as a lectionary selection for Sept. 8 — take time to read it now.
When the Rev. Stacy Cavanaugh was talking with the session of Union Presbyterian Church in Monroe, Wisconsin, about becoming their pastor, she asked ruling elders, “What’s the one thing I can change?”
