Posts Categorized: Communities

Hopeful Church

Building on a Blessed Community Recognizing the Church’s True Center by Graham Standish Years ago I read a quote by the Quaker mystic, Thomas Kelly, that changed my ministry: “Yet ever within that Society, and ever within the Christian church, has existed the Holy Fellowship, the Blessed Community, an ekklesiola in ekklesia, a little church… Read more »

The B-Flat Christian

The Brave Warriors of the Little Rock Nine The struggle to end school segregation in 1957 and today by Rebecca Lister Armed guards in schools to protect children from violence…who would imagine it?  It happened in 1957. Several months ago, I heard an interview on NPR’s “Fresh Air” that still stays with me. The interview… Read more »

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 »

Gospel & Inclusivity

 Lessons from Starbucks What the church can learn by Samuel Son   I am in Philadelphia in the research room of Presbyterian Historical Society, surrounded by shelves holding General Assembly minutes from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) going back to 1707. I am reading the following lines from a report titled, “The General Assembly Faces the… Read more »

Living in Between

Let’s talk about sex Are you in the conversation? by Abby King-Kaiser   The first time I got catcalled in the street, I had parked my car and was walking to a twice a week volunteer gig as at a local community developer, where I wrote thank you notes to donors, organized closets and answered… Read more »

The Church for Today

It’s SOCIAL Media… not an electronic bulletin board by Richard Hong    You’ve felt the pressure. The church needs a Facebook page. Should we be on Instagram? But while many churches are trying to have a presence on social media, most are being ineffective. And the primary reason they are failing is they are forgetting… Read more »

The Church for Today

Snail mail still works Thinking through technology’s uses by Richard Hong     My first job was in software development, creating the first-generation of programs that replaced laboratory notebooks with computer systems. Our clients expected that computerization would solve their problems. But we had a saying: “The computer doesn’t do it better, it just does… Read more »

Barn Boots and Blessings

Ashes and violence and teen’s question: Why?   by Donna Frischknecht Jackson   The sanctuary was mostly quiet. Every now and then a hum, rattle and swoosh from the ancient heating system would interrupt the stillness. It was a welcomed noise as I was trying hard to keep the cavernous room at a toasty 60… Read more »

The Church for Today

Going backwards How church entryways have changed   by Richard Hong    In March 2016, our historic sanctuary was destroyed in a three-alarm fire. After five months of worshiping in “portable” locations, we returned to our gym, which we outfitted for use as a worship space until our sanctuary can be rebuilt. Last month we took… Read more »

Barn Boots and Blessings

Finding God in the Junk Drawer A much-needed reminder to ‘watch for God’ by Donna Frischknecht Jackson    God spoke to me the other day. I wasn’t standing on some mountaintop. Nor was I lying prostrate on the floor. I wasn’t even kneeling in the quiet of the old sanctuary of the little rural church… Read more »