If you think congregants are busy during Advent and Christmas, consider your preacher, who, as the Rev. Dr. Chip Hardwick quipped on Wednesday, quoting a friend, must be, during the few hours between Christmas Eve and Christmas morning, Billy Graham, Martha Stewart and Santa Claus rolled into one.
As the world enters its second Advent season with the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic still looming over our shoulders, Christians are searching for devotional resources that offer space to connect with God through prayer and reflection. Westminster John Knox Press is publishing two offerings ahead of Advent season to guide Christians in group and individual study as they draw closer to God.
As dark December transitions into nearly-as-dark January and February, preachers in need of resources can serve both God and their hearers by preaching the psalms of lamentation.
The Service of Lament and Hope offered Sunday by Presbyterian Peace Fellowship included a highlight organizers may not have envisioned — poignant online participation by the nearly 30 people gathered to mark the loneliness, heartache and, yes, the hope that people have experienced during a year marked by pandemic, racial injustice, economic devastation and isolation.
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is one of 17 denominations and faith-based organizations to sign a letter to the incoming Biden administration seeking safety for indigenous Christians living in the Holy Land.
“Many hands make light work.” “Teamwork makes the dream work.” “If we all do a little, it adds up to a lot.”
There are lots of ways to say it — but working together really does make bigger and better things possible. And, lots of times, working together makes it more fun, too. In fact, there are times made better just by our ability to be together, to be with one another.
