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August 26, 2021
As the Vital Conversations series moved toward one of the most important marks of Vital Congregations — keeping the focus outward rather than inward — organizers landed four speakers for Wednesday’s session uniquely qualified to offer up their experiences and share their views. Read more »
August 25, 2021
While the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program had hopes to return to an in-person International Peacemakers program this fall, the pandemic had different plans. Read more »
August 25, 2021
Rola Al Ashkar is a Presbyterian Christian from Lebanon. She grew up in a non-religious family, in a culture drenched in religion. Her parents took her and her brothers to church and Sunday school on occasions. When she had her confirmation class, she received her first Bible, and even as a teenager, she read the Bible with critical eyes, questioning parts of it and searching for answers. Her curiosity led her to regularly attend Sunday services, youth meetings and church summer camps, and through those experiences her faith grew and she found a community in the Presbyterian Synod of Syria and Lebanon. Read more »
August 25, 2021
It seems that everywhere we turn there are “help wanted” signs displayed in merchant windows. Employers are offering enticements like higher wages, better benefits and flexible work hours, all with the hope of attracting workers to fill needed jobs. As our country moves away from COVID-19-related lockdowns and opens up again for business, many employers seem to be having a labor problem. Read more »
August 25, 2021
When telling the church’s story, it helps to know one’s own faith story well enough to tell it succinctly and powerfully. Read more »
August 25, 2021
The Book of Isaiah helped to set the tone for a Presbyterian Week of Action program focused on the need to mobilize against systemic and racialized poverty. Read more »
August 25, 2021
If you’re looking for a biblical definition of resilience, you’d do well to turn to the story of the Syrophoenician woman’s faith as recorded in Mark 7:24-30.
“Sir,” the woman tells Jesus in the story’s pivotal moment, “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” Read more »
August 25, 2021
“I’m a Black Italian, a Black European, a woman who was born in Rome with Somalian roots,” said writer Igiaba Scego. She spoke out about herself after the death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man who died in police custody in Minnesota after being pinned to the ground, and whose last words were, “I can’t breathe.” Read more »
August 25, 2021
Sharing food is one of my great joys. I know, I know … that isn’t altogether unique, and definitely not unique for Presbyterians I know. We gather around tables for myriad reasons, and in lots of different ways. But the act of sharing food can remind us of other things we share: namely a need for food — hunger — and the interdependence it takes to make a meal possible. I think it is true that we never eat alone. Not really. Even if we sit at the table by ourselves, we are eating with each and every person who finds a part to play in this interconnected food system that helps bring food to table. Read more »
August 25, 2021
These days, every organization is coming up with a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion — commonly referred to as DEI — strategic plan. The hiring of diversity and inclusion executives has grown 113% in the last five years. As of February 2021, half of Standard & Poor’s 500 companies have a chief diversity officer. The national agencies of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) are also putting together DEI plans as a response to the General Assembly mandate for a Race Audit in 2018. However, this is not the church jumping on the latest business trend. DEI has been a core value from the birth of the church. In fact, the church practiced them first. Consider the basic definitions of DEI and how they were present in the early church, from its Pentecost birth. Read more »