This Easter season, one of the ways Covenant Network of Presbyterians is furthering its mission is to offer Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) preachers a week off from filling their virtual pulpit on April 11, the Sunday after Easter.
The Rev. Aisha Brooks-Lytle enjoys nothing more than cheering on the Herculean online worship efforts being made each week during the pandemic by churches of the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta, where she’s the executive presbyter.
In recognition of Black History Month, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) celebrated Wednesday with a soulful online worship service. View the service here.
As the Association of Presbyterian Church Educators (APCE) kicked off its 2021 annual event, which is online for the first time ever, Thom Cunningham, a member of APCE’s annual ministry team, broke the news.
Public health officials urge people to wear masks. Workplaces and businesses adjust hours to prevent crowding. Several cities impose quarantines or ban public gatherings. This sounds like something people see and hear as they go online or watch the news every night, but this was December 1918 when the world struggled with the impact of a global flu pandemic.
Alaska’s breathtaking beauty can be deceiving. Just ask anyone who calls the last frontier home. Suicide rates, among the highest in the country, show no signs of abating anytime soon. According to Alaska’s Department of Health and Social Services, suicides increased by 29% from 2012 to 2017, up 13% from 2007 to 2011. While substance abuse exacerbates these statistics, there are other factors as well. Alaska’s unofficial nickname, “Land of the Midnight Sun,” where the sun disappears during the winter, often leads to a spike in seasonal affective disorder. Then there are the economic repercussions of a weakening oil industry. Add in Alaska’s already isolated lifestyle and a slippery slope becomes slicker for its residents.
Social media is an engaging tool for talented extroverts like the Rev. Josh Kerr, who you can see making viral dance moves on TikTok or advising, “Don’t burp in your mask. Trust me,” on Facebook.
For decades, children whose clothing has caught fire have been taught by teachers and firefighters alike to stop, drop and roll.
Church educators faced with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are employing a similar strategy, the nearly 50 participants in the “Faith Formation at Home” webinar, sponsored by the Office of Christian Formation, heard recently.
