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Matthew 25
Lisa Allgood, a commissioned ruling elder and the executive presbyter for the Presbytery of Cincinnati, sometimes refers to herself as “the accidental presbyter.” After a 36-year career in the pharmaceutical industry, the trained immunocytochemist accepted a planned three-month stint when the presbytery called her to leadership.
The Rev. Dr. Floretta Barbee-Watkins calls her online outreach “Zoom at Noon,” and Wednesday’s edition “Matthew 25: the real deal.” But it might well have been labeled “Exegeting Matthew 25:31-46 in practical ways everyone can understand.”
Long before the pandemic and the social upheaval of 2020 following the murder of George Floyd, the church had been preparing and mentoring leaders who could lead communities in faithful means of protest. The New Poor People’s Campaign, co-chaired by Presbyterian pastor the Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis and Disciples of Christ pastor the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, is one such visible and contemporary example of this work.
On Thursday the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) offered up his thoughts on the proposed renovation of the Presbyterian Center in downtown Louisville, a renovation that the Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II also hopes will include the transformation of hearts and minds of employees inside the building and of Presbyterians working at carrying out Christ’s mission across the nation and around the world.
In working for racial justice, it’s not just about us; we must also include God in the equation.
In the words of Nat King Cole, “Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer.”
“We were blessed with a $100,000 gift from a donor who wished to remain anonymous,” said Rachel Yates, executive presbyter of the Presbytery of Milwaukee. “The donor wanted every congregation — no matter its size — to have $2,000 for mission.”
The 130 or so people attending Wednesday’s online Matthew 25 national gathering on hunger heard from three innovative ministries working to alleviate hunger in their communities — Asheville, North Carolina; Cleveland Heights, Ohio; and St. Louis.
Having grown up in the projects in the West End of Louisville, Stachelle Bussey, 33, knows about the impact of poverty.
During the year 2020, Knox Presbyterian Church in Baltimore faced both the start of the pandemic in March and the loss of its pastor, the Rev. Michael Moore, who accepted a call from the denominational headquarters in September.
