Whoever wrote the book of Hebrews — especially the 11th chapter, which the Presbyterian Association of Musicians was studying as part of its online 50th anniversary celebration — wasn’t a very careful reader of the biblical account of humankind’s first murder, told in Genesis 4:10-10.
On the heels of the commercial events of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, a third post-Thanksgiving tradition has emerged that redirects our priorities. Giving Tuesday, which is being observed today in more than 150 countries, exists for one purpose: to celebrate and encourage giving.
In the early days of the pandemic, Joel Gill, the executive director of Ferncliff Camp and Conference Center in Little Rock, Arkansas, gathered staff together for a brainstorming session.
Each year, site coordinators of the Young Adult Volunteer Program expect challenges. There are new participants, new personalities, new issues each year. But Maureen Anderson, site coordinator for New York City, faced some truly unique challenges this year serving at the U.S. epicenter of a global pandemic.
The Rev. Jessica Tate, director of NEXT Church and a worship leader for the 2020 Presbyterian Association of Musicians Worship & Music Conference, told a telling story about life during COVID-19 with 2-year-old son, Huw, during opening worship on a recent Sunday. As PAM turned 50, it held its golden year celebration online, with live broadcasts originating from Montreat Conference Center.
Gentrification was coming to Inglewood, California, and it was not pretty. Some people saw the change as a renaissance for a city that had been economically challenged. Some local congregations, however, saw the devastating change gentrification was having on the long-term fabric of residents in the neighborhood and knew it was time to do something — together.
Mid-curve of the COVID-19 crisis, I received a call from a man who, in a distinctive and educated voice, asked about our dinner program. “Is it a hot meal?” Yes. “Can I take it out?” He hurried on, “I would feel very uncomfortable sitting down to eat next to people I don’t know.” He was almost rambling now. “I’ve never had to go to a soup kitchen before. I lost my job at the beginning of the coronavirus and I’ve run out…”
There have been many prayers being lifted during the pandemic, among them prayers for wholeness, guidance, protection and peace. But perhaps the greatest request of all was that of healing — something that two Charlotte, North Carolina, congregations received quite unexpectedly. The COVID-19 virus opened the way for healing a post-Civil War wound between First United Presbyterian Church, a Black congregation established in 1866 that is located literally a stone’s throw away from tall-steepled First Presbyterian Church, which was established in 1821.
“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” That’s how the first article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights begins. The declaration was drafted in response to the calamities and barbarous acts experiences by people all over the world during World War II. This year marks the 72nd anniversary of this historic document in moral consciousness that has been a beacon of hope and purpose throughout the world. The United States was instrumental in this effort, and Eleanor Roosevelt was the driving force in the drafting the document that would become the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Over the years, I have had the privilege of serving three very different churches. One was a historic urban congregation with a sizable administrative staff. One was a rural, mountain church where I was the only staff person. The third was a multi-staff, big-steeple congregation in a midsize city. While worship styles and other ways of doing things differed in these churches, the handling of money was a responsibility that either the staff or volunteers had to deal with in all three ministry contexts. And with people having an endless number of charities and nonprofits to give their limited resources, churches need to be the very best, most faithful and most responsible places toward which we ask people to give. Churches have a moral obligation to handle people’s gifts in the most responsible way they can. That wisdom is just as true in small churches as it is in large ones.
