Politics are personal. As God’s people, we feel our politics. When we watch the news or read it on our iPad, we experience a potpourri of emotions. We get excited, angry, demoralized, indignant, frustrated and more. Some of us take a sabbath from Facebook, while others turn off Twitter.
Peter is to be the rock in which the church would be built upon, really? Outspoken and fearless in declaring Jesus’ message, let us not forget that Peter is the same person who cowered in denial when Jesus was about to be crucified. Still, after all is said and done, the proper focus is not Peter’s courage and lack thereof, but the fact that our Lord chose this fallible human as the touchstone of God’s intention to establish the community of the faithful here on earth. So, what can we say about this “church” in 2021?
Over the past year amid a pandemic, protests and politics, I often heard many pastors, elders and mid council staff say that they are having a particularly hard time making ends meet. People aren’t giving the way they used to give. These churches and presbyteries are struggling to do more with less, and it’s the same way at the place where I currently serve, the Presbyterian Mission Agency — which has had a 40% reduction of our workforce over the past 10 years. In the end, the need is becoming greater and greater.
They are questions the Rev. Jimmie Hawkins gets over and over doing his work as the director of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Office of Public Witness (OPW) on Capitol Hill: Why are Presbyterians getting involved in politics?
Isn’t there separation of church and state?
Shouldn’t you be preaching the gospel?
The Rev. Dr. Tēvita Koloa’ia Havea, moderator of the Pacific Conference of Churches (PCC), a PC(USA) global partner, says 2020 will mark a turning point for the Pacific Islands in how it understands everything from ecumenism, ecology and politics to development.
Tuesday evening on the PC(USA) web series “Just Talk Live,” Tennessee U.S. Senate candidate Robin Kimbrough Hayes recalled speaking at a town hall a few days earlier when she turned to the Bible and the passage in Ezekiel 37 about the Valley of Dry Bones.
Politics are personal. As God’s people, we feel our politics. When we watch the news or read it on our iPad, we experience a potpourri of emotions. We get excited, angry, demoralized, indignant, frustrated and more. Some of us take a sabbath from Facebook, while others turn off Twitter.
