By Lemuel Garcia-Arroyo “Welcome one another … just as Christ has welcomed you.” (Romans 15:7) “Mi casa es su casa” expresses a sincere welcome to all. One hears this phrase often in Latina communities. When guests are in one’s home, they become part of one’s family. As a child of the manse — our home… Read more »
October 12, 2021
‘Mi casa es su casa’
By Lemuel Garcia-Arroyo “Welcome one another … just as Christ has welcomed you.” (Romans 15:7) “Mi casa es su casa” expresses a sincere welcome to all. One hears this phrase often in Latina communities. When guests are in one’s home, they become part of one’s family. As a child of the manse — our home… Read more »
Have you ever felt so far from God’s peace that you couldn’t even imagine it? Natalie Pisarcik testified during Sunday worship in her home congregation, First Presbyterian Church of Boonton, New Jersey, that she was in that place. A place so dark that she was ready to end her pain. Ready to take her own… 
Beirut’s 2020 port explosions shattered Nada Raphael’s world. The devastating blast that tore through the port area of Beirut — one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history — left hundreds dead, thousands injured, an estimated 300,000 people homeless and artists like Raphael psychically wounded. “Beirut is my city,” said the Lebanese-born photographer, videographer and… 
It was a daring prayer, all things considered, to ask the Thessalonians to pray — and it is also a daring one for us. The second letter to the Thessalonians arrived at a time of turmoil, strife and confusion. The Christian community was experiencing persecutions so severe that some believed the time of judgment had… 
Engaging the children of your congregation with the four churchwide Special Offerings has never been easier or more important, whether you are engaging them in-person or virtually. And the Peace & Global Witness Offering is especially important as we learn that no one is too young to be a peacemaker! First and foremost, the Peace… 
By the Rev. Rosemary C. Mitchell Crowdsourcing existed long before the internet. Of course, we didn’t call it that. In some instances, we called it a miracle. Consider this: What was, for you, the miracle of the Feeding of the 5,000? Was it that Jesus single-handedly fed 5,000 people with two fish and five loaves?… 
By René Myers In the words of Nat King Cole, “Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer.” Summer is upon us, typically a time of respite from normal routines and activities — school, work, church programs. This summer might not be quite so “lazy,” as the world is emerging from pandemic isolation now… 
By Emily Enders Odom The first time I served as an adult advisor at the Presbyterian Youth Triennium — that storied gathering of nearly 5,000 exuberant and excited high-school youth from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the Cumberland Presbyterian Church — was in 1989. That summer, as I continued to live into my evolving call… 
By Lemuel Garcia-Arroyo The Church is to be a community of faith, entrusting itself to God alone, even at the risk of losing its life [from “The Foundations of Presbyterian Polity,” Book of Order- F-1.03] Gospel Lesson: Matthew 19:16–30 The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is committed to being a Matthew 25 church that is actively engaged… 
By William McConnell How many times have we winced as an older, wiser sage reminds us to “look on the bright side,” to consider the “other side of the coin” or to “look for the silver lining”? Cringeworthy platitudes to be sure, but wisdom worth considering. After more than a year dealing with COVID-19 pandemic…