In a world beset by disaster, hunger and oppression, One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS) is dedicated to aiding the millions of people who lack access to sustainable food sources, clean water, sanitation, education and opportunity. Never has this been more prescient than in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Rev. Morgan Schmidt serves First Presbyterian Church in Bend, Oregon, as the associate pastor of teens and 20-somethings. When she launched the Facebook site Pandemic Partners on March 12, little did she know the extraordinary impact that using crowdsourcing to help fill some of the needs brought on by the coronavirus would have on her Central Oregon community of about 98,000.
Serious JuJu, a skateboarding ministry and 1001 New Worshiping Community in Kalispell, Montana, has been faithful to seeing, feeding and strengthening kids; celebrating skateboarders; and serving Christ for 13 years.
Fear, exhaustion and grief came through as the primary emotions as a group of mid council leaders gathered on a Zoom call in late March. The group was brought together by the Presbyterian Mission Agency to listen to their concerns and learn how the Church might best help mid councils and congregations during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
Presbyterians for Earth Care has a new program and toolkit to promote the creation of Earth-care teams at the presbytery level to address issues such as climate change.
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) has worked in long-term recovery efforts following disasters for years. This includes scheduling volunteer work teams at recovery host sites who clean, rebuild or repair homes years after a disaster. In the past two years, PDA has scheduled 16,516 volunteers from 468 different churches, universities and organizations to stay at one of our many host sites.
Concerned for all the pastors, church educators and parishioners “trying to figure out what church means” in the new reality of the COVID-19 pandemic, Presbyterian Publishing Corporation is sharing “some of the things we are doing to help during this anxious time,” according to PPC President and Publisher David Dobson.
There’s a growing cultural understanding that mental health is an integral part of one’s whole health, and the church can play a vital role in it, said the Rev. Rose McCurdy, vice moderator of the new Presbyterian Mental Health Network.
St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church in Lomita, California, is located near a substantial encampment of people experiencing homelessness. In and around the community in southern Los Angeles County, “the homeless issue out here is humongous,” says Marney Wilde, an 82-year-old St. Mark’s member who is part of one of two St. mark’s teams providing services to the church’s neighbors. “It’s not just the typical homeless. The rents here are incredibly expensive. Most people are two or three paychecks away from being on the streets. That helps explain the heavy homeless population we are seeing.”
Imagine a set of strings lying across a table, each one a different and vibrant color. Individually, the strings are beautiful — they are bright red, golden yellow, vivid green, chocolate brown, royal purple. Each has a different thickness, weight and texture; each was created in a different place, by different hands. Now imagine the strings woven together in a rich, multicolored pattern that creates a broad tapestry. The tapestry is even more beautiful; the interplay between the individual strings, their colors and textures, creates a work of art. Together, the tapestry is unique and strong.
