Posts Categorized: Pentecost

Building faith connections that last a lifetime

By Lynne Foreman In the late 1980s, when I was serving as a youth group leader in my local congregation, my pastor invited me to attend a gathering that I recognize now as the early stages of a new movement for youth in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Even as I was being drawn headlong into… Read more »

Pentecost: Young Adult Volunteers stand up to injustice and work for healing

As a student at Presbyterian-related Davidson College, Langley Hoyt knew her own mind. The lifelong Presbyterian ventured beyond the college’s bucolic campus into the streets of West Charlotte, N.C., where the world’s injustices were all too apparent. “For two summers during college, I worked and lived in a neighborhood in Charlotte where my neighbors were… Read more »

Pentecost: A world away, yet connected through faith

Just when most young people were beginning to imagine what nontraditional instruction might look like during COVID-19, Sami Han took things a step farther — a big step farther. She moved to South Korea with her parents. When the 16-year-old’s parents, the Revs. Myung Sung “Martin” Han and Jieun Kim Han, accepted the call to… Read more »

Pentecost: Living the “DREAAM”

Tracy Dace, a passionate advocate for at-risk youth had just relocated to Champaign, Illinois, to start a doctoral program in special education at the University of Illinois when he found his heart calling him back into the community and, eventually, through the doors of a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A) congregation. As Tracy was working in schools,… Read more »

O God, from my youth you have taught me

Who have been your most influential teachers? All types of teachers — at school, at church, at work and in families — help shape who we become. We are grateful for all our teachers. In Psalm 71, the author uses the image of a teacher for God by stating, “O God, from my youth you… Read more »

Celebrating the 2021 Pentecost Offering with Our Youth

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 Pentecost Offering is especially important for young people to engage with as it supports them and their peers! First and foremost, the Pentecost Offering is a… Read more »

School’s in Session

Greetings from the PC(USA) Educate a Child Roundtable, an ongoing community of Presbyterians who care about our schools and are working to provide support and resources to congregations as they support education in their community. We write to encourage you in this difficult season to reach out with support and encouragement to those involved in… Read more »

Pentecost Offering Sparks a Flame

This blog post, written by Ashley H. Hostetter, Ruling Elder of Beulah Presbyterian Church in Louisville, Kentucky, was originally used as a Minute for Mission. Whoever decided to make the Pentecost Offering a youth-focused gift really knew what they were doing. I can think of no better metaphor for a child’s potential than fire. A… Read more »

Pentecost: Building a Strong Foundation

Right Here, Right Now Rev. Dr. David Gambrell spends of plenty of time with young people. He is a father of two daughters, he volunteers to teach confirmation classes at Highland Presbyterian Church in Louisville, Kentucky and he was one of the youth leaders who preached at the 2019 Presbyterian Youth Triennium. He says Triennium… Read more »

Pentecost: One YAV’s Journey of Faith

From Northern Ireland to Nashville Rev. Ashley McFaul-Erwin would not likely be a pastor for the Presbyterian Church today if she’d stayed in her homeland of Northern Ireland, and especially if she had never found the Young Adult Volunteer (YAV) program. From Northern Ireland to the U.S. seems like quite a big leap, but it’s… Read more »