When seminarian Alexandra Pappas felt the call to ministry while she was in her late teens, she was intimidated and afraid. Although she was doubtful that God could possibly call someone like her to be a pastor — she constantly battles the desire for perfection, especially in worship and preaching — Pappas decided to go to seminary anyway.
When Houston Hodges — a dyed-in-the-wool rural Texan — accepted a call to serve as associate executive presbyter for the Presbytery of San Francisco in the mid-1970s, the most daunting part of the job was navigating Bay Area traffic.
I was always proud to be a preacher’s kid. Growing up in Arkansas and Texas, it surprised many people when I told them my mother was the preacher, not my father. These types of exchanges certainly came with many puzzled looks.
During his junior year at Santa Clara University in California, Noah Westfall learned about the need for volunteers to assist new immigrants preparing for U.S. citizenship exams through the Immigration and Citizenship Program in Santa Clara County.
When seminarian Alexandra Pappas felt the call to ministry while in her late teens, she was intimidated and afraid. Doubtful that God could possibly call someone like her to be a pastor — she constantly battles the desire for perfection, especially in worship and preaching — Pappas decided to go to seminary anyway.
As the team tore down the last of the vines covering the garden gates, Young Adult Volunteer Regi Jones realized they had just helped to unwrap the gift of Okra Abbey for the Pigeon Town neighborhood in New Orleans.
It’s been a long four months for Marleny and her family. Since Aug. 28, she, her daughter, son-in-law and nine-year-old grandson have been on the road from El Salvador to the U.S. border. They’ve been at the Mexico-U.S. border for two weeks and are still waiting to talk with border officials.
As people from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador continue to make their way to the Mexico-U.S. border, a delegation of Presbyterian ministers and leaders headed to McAllen, Texas this weekend as part of the Interfaith Caravan of Hope.
Presbyterians living hundreds of miles from the U.S.-Mexico border can help asylum seekers and those facing deportation from the United States in a number of ways, including advocacy, accompaniment and aide.
