Isaac Adlerstein, the executive director of Broadway Community at Broadway Presbyterian Church in New York City, whose efforts helping the city open shelters in New York City faith communities for asylum seekers was reported here, was the guest recently on “A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast,” hosted each week by Simon Doong and the Rev. Lee Catoe.
Broadway Presbyterian Church, a 100-member congregation across the street from Columbia University in Manhattan, is playing an oversized role in the creation of a faith-based shelter program announced Monday by New York Mayor Eric Adams. Watch Adams’ announcement and press conference here.
Friends and family of a passionate and prophetic Presbyterian pastor gathered Saturday at Broadway Presbyterian Church in New York City to share their gratitude for the life, faith and hard work of the Rev. Dr. Robert Laird Brashear. Watch the 2-hour, 41-minute service here.
“With this faith we shall be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope” was the theme for Wednesday’s special online worship service commemorating and celebrating the life and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The theme was a quote from Dr. King’s iconic “I Have a Dream” speech delivered at the 1963 March on Washington.
As he strode purposefully down Broadway against the cold, New York City air last Sunday, the Rev. Chris Shelton had a song in his heart.
One he had written himself.
As modest as they are talented, three Presbyterian hymn-writers shared their sources of inspiration and some of their favorite hymns Sunday during a webinar called “When in Our Music God is Glorified,” put on by the Presbyterian Writers Guild. About three dozen people attended. Dr. Anita Coleman, a writer and former professor who’s vice president of the guild, moderated the hour-long webinar.
As one who is always hoping to have the right words at the right time, and the right feel in music at the right moment, the Rev. Chris Shelton says he is “almost neurotic” as a worship leader.
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.
On Saturday, March 7, the eve of International Women’s Day, the Presbytery of New York City celebrated this year’s theme, “An equal world is an enabled world,” in a unique way: the installation of Ruling Elder Frances Thom and Ruling Elder Terri Youn to their one-year terms as, respectively, moderator and moderator-elect. Present for this historic occasion in the sanctuary of Riverdale Presbyterian Church in The Bronx was the Rev. Cindy Kohlmann, Co-Moderator of the 223rd General Assembly.
What has become an annual ritual for many churches—the “Blessing of the Backpacks”—has taken on special importance at First Presbyterian Church in Findlay, Ohio. This year the event was integrated into the larger concept of commemorating milestones within the life of the church and its members, with “back to school” being just one of them.
