For its sixth episode, the hosts of the “Around the Table” podcast, the Rev. Michelle Thomas-Bush and the Rev. Cliff Haddox, turned to a pair of grandparents to share their wisdom on holding meaningful and helpful conversations with young people. Listen to their 46-minute conversation with the Rev. Robert Hay Sr. and the Rev. Dr. Sarah Reyes Gibbs here.
Susan Stabile, a distinguished senior fellow at the University of St. Thomas School of Law in Minneapolis and a spiritual director and retreat leader, taught a fascinating and helpful week-long class at Synod School last week, “Jesus the Storyteller: Learning from the Parables.”
A common table prayer opens with “O Lord, make us truly thankful for that which we are about to receive …”
It sounds pretty simple, doesn’t it? But isn’t there something a little strange about that prayer? I mean, why would anyone pray that way?
News, media, information, publishing and the spiritual or divine are inseparable — digital or otherwise. This fact has been laid bare since the pandemic began. Churches have had to respond quickly to increased anxieties and new challenges, all while reimagining the ways we gather as disciples of Jesus. How can they worship and serve faithfully in a strange time, when we are not gathered in bodily presence?
Two storytellers who clearly love the illuminating and often powerful work they do shared some of what they’ve learned over their years in journalism during the Community Conversations Facebook Live event broadcast Thursday.
The averted gaze when a member of the stewardship committee approaches. The neglected pledge forms. The Stewardship Sunday sermon the pastor secretly (or not so secretly) dreads giving.
The annual stewardship campaign is a rite of autumn that must be endured. Right?
Or, could stewardship be about abundance rather than scarcity? What if stewardship was a reason instead of a season?
Preacher, tell us a story.
People who listen to sermons week after week will usually sit up and take notice when the preacher launches into a good story, according to the Rev. Dr. Alice Ridgill, associate executive presbyter for the Presbytery of Charlotte. Ridgill spoke Saturday during the third installment of The Preaching Lab, a five-part online workshop offered monthly by New Hope Presbyterian Church in Anaheim, California, through a grant by the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
A few months ago, during our Strong Kids/Strong Emotions program for refugee kids, Hadil (not her actual name) was sitting across from me, stringing beads to make a bracelet.
