communities Archives

Relieving the stress brought on by ongoing slow-moving crises

Posted May 17th, 2021

Those attending the recent online Presbyterian Border Region Outreach conference enjoyed a 90-minute respite during a workshop given by the Rev. John Cheek and the Rev. Suzanne Malloy.

Minute for Mission: May Friendship Day

Posted April 28th, 2021

May Friendship Day, a Church Women United initiative, is most often celebrated on the first Friday of the month of May around a theme of shared concern for Christian women and their communities. The predecessor to May Friendship Day, May Fellowship Day, began in 1933 after two Christian women’s groups planned gatherings based on similar concerns: child health and children of migrant families. These groups united and over the years eventually became what we now know as Church Women United. The May celebration has been continually observed since 1933; in 1999, Church Women United changed the name from May Fellowship Day to May Friendship Day.

‘Addressing the root causes of hunger is always better than focusing on the symptoms’

Posted March 29th, 2021

Imagine learning your family member’s home was burned down by the army, or that your brother-in-law was brutally murdered by soldiers in your hometown.

Needed: Courageous leadership

Posted January 26th, 2021

Speaking during a Facebook Live event on the topic “Courageous Leadership Matters,” the Rev. Stephen Lewis, president of the Forum for Theological Exploration, told host the Rev. Dr. Lee Hinson-Hasty that in many ways, “our future is rooted in the labors of those who came before us.”

Minute for Mission: Christian Education Celebration

Posted August 24th, 2020

In the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), we set aside this week to be reminded of the importance of Christian education and those leaders who teach, plan and above all nurture our faith formation. In years past, we have celebrated with kickoff Sundays and large rally day celebrations across our churches. This year, we are navigating an entirely different fall and beginning to our Christian education year. Christian Educators and church leaders have weathered a difficult spring and summer already, and looking ahead to the upcoming program year seems insurmountable at times. And yet, the energy, imagination, intelligence and love are abundant in these leaders as they have pivoted to the reality of virtual, hybrid and anything but normal settings for Christian education and faith formation. Let us take a moment to express gratitude, lament losses and frustrations and rest in the knowledge of God’s abundant grace.

Becoming Presbyterian

Posted August 20th, 2020

Nick Pickrell, organizer of The Open Table KC, has never set foot in a seminary. But after five years co-leading this new worshiping community in Kansas City, Missouri, he’s going through the process of becoming a commissioned ruling elder. “I wanted to be more connected to the PC(USA) denomination,” he says in the new 1001 Worshiping Communities video, “Becoming Presbyterian” at vimeo.com/416070513.

Minute for Mission: Celebrating Young Adult Volunteers

Posted July 23rd, 2020

“It was a very painful but meaningful time to think again about what it means to live as a Christian and as an American in this world.” This was a comment from Dia, one of the Young Adult Volunteers (YAVs) from 2016–17, after we visited No Gun Ri, the site of a massacre of Korean civilians committed by U.S. soldiers at the beginning of the Korean War. Believing the civilians to be communists, the U.S. military killed 250–300 people, mostly women and children, from July 26 to 29 in 1950, attacking them as they sought shelter under a railroad bridge. Visiting this site is always painful for me. As a site coordinator who is also a Korean, learning about my own history that is related to the U.S. along with YAVs is a powerful and meaningful experience. Stories like these are often ignored or well-hidden, even though there are people who are still suffering from the wounds of these incidents to this day. Learning stories like this may lead to discomfort as we come to face a distorted tragedy. Nevertheless, I believe that we must uncover and retell the stories like this. History can teach us not to repeat gruesome mistakes and it can also teach us how we can live our lives more responsibly in our present day.

‘This is just a change in where we are needed’

Posted June 11th, 2020

As churches, worshiping communities and their leaders continue to grapple with the spread of COVID-19, some are finding ways to live into their commitment to the Matthew 25 invitation.

Minute for Mission: World Refugee Day

Posted May 27th, 2020

Even before we were faced with the developments brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, my colleagues and I talked about how migrant journeys often take unexpected turns and yet their faith sustains them. Forced to leave their homes and their countries, they often set out on journeys with only a vague understanding of where they are headed. Refugees and asylum seekers know that even when the physical route itself is well-known, the metaphorical journey over time is much less certain.

Making food and farming more accessible to people of color

Posted May 17th, 2019

As a college student, Lytisha Wyatt became greatly concerned when she learned about health inequalities in the United States. She was especially troubled by data that showed that people of color die from illnesses linked to poor nutrition at a much higher rate than white people. Yet she was not at all surprised. People of color and people in lower-income communities are disproportionately impacted by a lack of access to healthier foods. “Nutritious food sources were not present in the community where I grew up, but they were in more affluent communities,” Wyatt said.