For more than 140 years, Magnolia Presbyterian Church in Riverside, California, has been providing ministry in this Southern California community. The city recognized it as a historic landmark in 1973. Members cite the church’s many outreaches into the community, across the country and around the world.
The Presbytery of the Inland Northwest has launched a new capital campaign seeking to raise $50,000 for repairs and renovations of its Native American churches.
The minister was giving a sermon on “total giving.” When it came time to take up the offering, the plate came to a pew where there was a very small boy. He looked up at the usher and said, “Could you lower the plate?” Thinking that he wanted to see into the plate, the usher held it down a bit. “No,” said the boy, “a little lower, please.” The usher lowered it a bit more. “More; could you just put it on the floor?” the boy asked. The usher was aghast but finally put it on the floor. The boy stepped into it, stood there, and said, “This is what I give to the Lord.” — A Stewardship Scrapbook
In 2006, Wayne Presbyterian Church, a midsized church in Wooster, Ohio, started looking at how we could make ourselves more inviting for other members of the community. To start, we did a needs survey of the congregation. One of the top five priorities, according to the survey, was to increase accessibility for those with disabilities. The last major renovation, in 1957, had not provided such accessibility to the sanctuary; there were steps at every entrance.
