Monthly Archives: May 2018

Gospel and Inclusivity

Praying in Mother’s Language Why It’s Important to Worship God in Multiple Languages by Samuel Son The gospel song, 나의 반석이신 하나님 (naui banseogisin hananim/Ascribe Greatness to Our God), sung in the closing worship service of the National Caucus of Korean Presbyterian Churches (NCKPC) annual meeting excavated my soul, loosening memory and longing of a… Read more »

Writing in the Margins

Come, Holy Spirit, Come A reflection of Acts 2 by Antonio (Tony) Aja   You may have seen in the news how a New York City attorney insulted people at a restaurant and threatened them to call ICE just because they were speaking Spanish. Recently the president of the United States called some immigrants from Latin… Read more »

justleros: more than nonsense / más que disparates

Choose life over death A Revised Common Lectionary resource for June 3 by Magdalena I. García Then he said to them, ‘Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to kill?’ But they were silent. – Mark 3:4 Read the full lectionary passage here When a… Read more »

What Presbyterians Believe

Pentecost Spotlight on the Spirit  by Katrina Pekich-Bundy   Pressed for time (like most ministers) I decided to write my sermon in the car as my spouse drove. About 10 minutes into the ride I realized I had grabbed the wrong commentaries. Lent was beginning but I had hurriedly snatched the Epiphany commentaries. I mumbled… Read more »

The B-Flat Chrisitian

  Come to the Table Finding Inclusion at God’s table by Rebecca Lister     The Last Supper, 1896,  by Pascal-Adolphe-Jean Dagnan-Bouveret (1852–1929)   You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days… Read more »

Hopeful Church

What Good Is a Vision without a Path? You can’t tell a congregation where to go if you don’t tell then how to get there by Graham Standish In the King James Version of the Bible, there’s a lovely phrase that’s been quoted often by those teaching church leadership: “Where there is no vision, the… Read more »

The Church for Today

Not Yet Do you have a ‘growth mindset’? by Richard Hong     I’m seeing a lot of decisions made at all levels of the denomination, as we struggle with negative overall trends. What distresses me about the decisions are that so many of them seem to presume that continued decline is inevitable. I don’t… Read more »

justleros: more than nonsense / más que disparates

But the other does not A Revised Common Lectionary resource for May 13 by Magdalena I. García And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be… Read more »

Sightings

  Pentecost Possibilities and Surprises by Ken Rummer Red banners. Strange tongues. Wind and fire. Pentecost Sunday (May 20) is almost here!  The keynote story can be found in the second chapter of Acts, but my excitement for the day goes back to another story, a surprising one from my own life. Toward the end… Read more »

Living in Between

Consent: Everybody Wins Joining the conversations about sexual assault and violence by Abby King-Kaiser   I am the parent of a four-year-old and a seven-year-old. We spend a lot of our time and emotional energy on language. Turns out, this is where, as 1 John 3 puts it, my faith becomes real, as I teach… Read more »