The Presbytery of Philadelphia is pleased to announce it has been awarded a $1.25 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. through its Compelling Preaching Initiative.
Over the weekend, the Rev. Jimmie Hawkins and the Office of Public Witness in Washington, D.C. — together with National Capital Presbytery — hosted two women of faith who regaled a Zoom audience with stories of the decades they’ve spent advocating for and ministering to God’s people.
“The world is hungry for healing and hope,” the Rev. Dr. Diane Moffett, president and executive director of the Presbyterian Mission Agency, told the Urban Presbyteries Network conference on Thursday following opening worship. “I want to remind us today to keep the main thing the main thing: the church’s call to make disciples of Jesus Christ.”
This story is about two churches in the Presbytery of Philadelphia who answered the PC(USA)’s Matthew 25 invitation to focus on racism and poverty, a decision that has increased congregational vitality in both churches. Watch their story here.
After dealing Louisiana a severe blow, Hurricane Ida weakened as it moved inland but still managed to wreak havoc on portions of the Northeast United States, leading to fatalities and property damage.
Nearly a year ago, Doylestown Presbyterian Church in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, accepted the invitation to become a Matthew 25 church. The predominately white congregation chose to concentrate its efforts on dismantling structural racism and its intersectionality with poverty. Members and friends knew they wanted to learn how to be allies with people of color who have been so adversely impacted by these issues, two of the three Matthew 25 foci (the other is building congregational vitality).
