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Faith & Worship

Parking lot church

As she pondered how to lead worship while keeping the safety of congregants who may be affected by COVID-19 uppermost in her mind, the Rev. Lynn Rubier-Capron remembered her childhood, when she used to see movies at the drive-in.

Zooming to the rescue in the face of COVID-19

On Monday, pastors and other leaders from dozens of churches were eager to share their most recent virtual worshiping experiences from the day before, and the Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow was up to the task.

Vital Congregations gathering postponed

Both the 2020 Vital Congregations facilitator training and national gathering in Austin, scheduled for April 24-30, have been postponed. The Office of Vital Congregations in the Presbyterian Mission Agency is looking at the possibility of rescheduling the event in August 2020.

‘Church attendance is an individual choice’

The Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is urging congregations to make decisions about worshiping in person based on what’s best for their community and the people gathered for worship.

A peace that surpasses all understanding

These days the Rev. Dr. Ray Jones III has a fancy title — director of Theology, Formation & Evangelism for the Presbyterian Mission Agency. But at one time he was a young pastor embarking on his first call at a church in a town in Mississippi.

‘Our church needs more rocks’

“This is our stone-cold moment to be like Jesus, our rock and our redeemer,” Dr. Brian K. Blount told the NEXT Church national gathering Wednesday at the close of a sermon as rousing as it was theologically well-built. The president and professor of New Testament at Union Presbyterian Seminary called on worshipers to “stand on God’s promise … and rock out our world.”

Pay attention. Be Astonished. Tell somebody

The Rev. Mike Mather, who along with his longtime friend De’Amon Harges presented Wednesday during the final day of the NEXT Church national gathering, took a walk in South Africa a few years ago with a South African who related a joke about apartheid he’d heard years before.