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Mission Yearbook
When asked how the current pandemic changes the way he interprets Scripture, the Rev. Dr. Brian K. Blount speaks of hope in the midst of struggle.
The question of theodicy — divine goodness in the presence of evil — comes to mind, he said, citing the Old Testament trials of Job.
When members of the Christian Education Committee at Pisgah Presbyterian Church in Versailles, Kentucky, met to discuss options for their children during the pandemic, they decided to try something radical.
Whether it’s threats like climate change or a pandemic — or whether we feel powerless after news of another shooting or natural disaster — we live in a state of fear and constant vigilance.
This spring, Presbyterian churches, large and small, scrambled to get online using technology that they had either heard of, dabbled in or had been wanting to use in their own ministries.
By mid-March, COVID-19 began changing the way the world interacts, and the church was not immune to those changes. Amid social distancing and shelter-in-place orders, many churches either canceled worship or moved to a virtual form of worship. Pastors and sessions looked for creative ways to worship and to care for the most vulnerable church members in a quickly changing landscape. But what about financial stewardship during such a time as a pandemic – or any other event that would interrupt traditional modes of being the church?
Halfway through her opening statement on a recent episode of “Standing Our Holy Ground,” the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program’s yearlong webinar series about how the church can respond to gun violence, Nicole Hockley of Sandy Hook Promise cited some extraordinary achievements by her group.
As more than 50 pastors and other church leaders recently explored together “Lifelong Discipleship Formation” — which is one of the Seven Marks of Vital Congregations — it became apparent that during the coronavirus crisis they are discovering new ways to help people live out their Christian faith.
An April survey by Research Services of nearly 1,100 Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) congregations and mid councils revealed some surprising responses on how they’re dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is said, “When America gets a cold, the African American community gets pneumonia.”
The COVID-19 pandemic is proving that to be true. As the virus spreads across the country, it appears that it is impacting African Americans at a disproportionally high rate. In hot spots like New York, Detroit, New Orleans and Chicago, blacks are dying at alarmingly high rates.
The Rev. Jane Pauw remembers the date, March 12, when she blacked out and entered the darkness, into what she calls “a warm, mindless comfort” that she had never experienced before.
