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Mission Yearbook
“Seems like changes come faster and faster all the time!” My grandmother, who was born in 1904, told me this one day, as she described her youth without cars and then astronauts on the moon six decades later. Some of the changes over her 97 years were unwelcome. She never did buy a microwave. Other changes, like the “www” in her morning newspaper ads, intrigued her.
Many of us probably kept a journal at some point growing up. I know I did. And when I look back at them, I read entries about what I did, what I ate and the time I went to bed on any given day. I’m not sure why I ever thought that last piece of information about my fascinating 10-year-old life would be important for any future reading. It seems, though, taking inventory of our days comes naturally to us.
Three new worshiping communities in Arizona, Georgia and Louisiana have been named winners of the 2022 Sam & Helen R. Walton Awards. Each recipient, listed below, will receive $15,000 for their excellence in furthering Presbyterian mission in their communities and neighborhoods.
A recent edition of Leading Theologically took on a nautical theme as host the Rev. Dr. Lee Hinson-Hasty and guest Gina Yeager-Buckley launched into this topic: “Turning the Ship: What Ministry Feels Like Right Now.”
A recent article published by Vox titled “Everyone wants forgiveness, but no one is being forgiven” captured our attention. “Modern outrage is a cycle,” the subhead reads. “Could a culture of public forgiveness ever break it?”
One of the things that attracted the Rev. Daniel Van Beek to Franklin Presbyterian Church was its commitment to Matthew 25. “Their pastor had left, and the interim hadn’t even come, yet they still moved forward with Matthew 25,” said Van Beek, who joined the Franklin, Kentucky, congregation in 2020.
Each Saturday during March, people gathered at each of Mid-Kentucky Presbytery’s four African American congregations to hear the stories of each congregation, including its heritage and ministry.
This is the No. 1 question I receive from congregants, pastors, parents, high school youth and college students across the country. Often, the person means, “What does UKirk stand for?” UKirk stands for University-Kirk (the Scottish word for Church) and is the name for the network of Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and Presbyterian-connected ministries (like United Campus Ministry or other Christian college groups that are supported by two or more denominations). The UKirk Network includes over 200 ministries at state, private and Presbyterian-related colleges and universities across the country.
Howard Thurman, an author, theologian and civil rights leader, once wrote what impressed him the most about Jesus’ disciples was the fact that the only thing recorded that they asked of him was to teach them how to pray. Prayer is a lifeline to God, yet many people struggle with the “how to.” As church buildings reopen, there’s a trend among Presbyterians who are looking for ways to provide a space and place to nurture the act of praying. Some pastors are breathing new life into dusty church libraries that have become obsolete, while others are finding little alcoves to create prayer rooms.
An International Peacemaker from Rwanda will visit the United States this fall to share how the country has evolved since the genocide against the Tutsis in 1994.
