The older we get, the more we begin to think, “My memory isn’t what it used to be.” With each successive decade, we seem to remember less, and less accurately, than we used to. Sometimes we look back and see what we want to see, rather than what really happened. We see this in Numbers 11.
Today is the day the liturgical calendar turns green.
Ordinary Time … the long expanse of days without festival or celebration.
It’s as if all that fire of Pentecost has burned out overnight and the Holy Winds have blown right out to sea. Yesterday was a great and mysterious day, but it’s time to get back to work and on with life as we’ve known it. Blow out the birthday candles. The Church is another year older, feeling her age in her joints and in her responsibilities.
So, let’s get on with it.
The older we get, the more we begin to think, “My memory isn’t what it used to be.” With each successive decade, we seem to remember less, and less accurately, than we used to. Sometimes we look back and see what we want to see, rather than what really happened. We see this in Numbers 11.
“What does it mean to actively follow Christ?” the Rev. Carlton Johnson asked three PC(USA) church leaders during a Vital Conversation panel discussion on Lifelong Discipleship Formation, which is one of the Seven Marks of Vital Congregations.
COVID-19 has exposed many discrepancies as well as learning opportunities for society and for the church. One of the greatest lessons for the church is the need for and use of technology.
Presbyterians love a well-crafted sermon and well-written prayers. But the Rev. Carlton Johnson, coordinator of Vital Congregations, believes that sometimes PC(USA) congregations need to return to vibrant prayer.
Speaking with the urgency of a man whose house is on fire, the Rev. Dr. Cláudio Carvalhaes issued a wake-up call Sunday for everyone to notice the precarious state of the environment and everything living in it, from birds and trees to humankind.
During the first week of COVID-19 quarantine and canceled in-person worship services, the Revs. Liz and Dexter Kearny performed a wedding via Zoom.
The Kearnys have served as co-pastors of Longview Presbyterian Church (LPC) in Longview, Washington, since 2016. It’s their first call following their studies at Princeton Theological Seminary and definitely their first virtual wedding.
