By Rachel Yates We marked each Sunday in our Advent season with God’s promises for hope, peace, joy, and love. We lit candles at church or in our homes as tangible signs of these promises fulfilled in Jesus Christ. For many of us in Southeast Wisconsin, however, these promises have felt hollow or distant. Our… Read more »
December 21, 2021
Becoming Flesh
By Rachel Yates We marked each Sunday in our Advent season with God’s promises for hope, peace, joy, and love. We lit candles at church or in our homes as tangible signs of these promises fulfilled in Jesus Christ. For many of us in Southeast Wisconsin, however, these promises have felt hollow or distant. Our… Read more »
Separated from the world, but not separated from God’s love The Washington Correctional Center for Women is both the largest and the only maximum and medium security prison for women in the state. It’s surrounded by barbed wire, and you have to go through five locked gates to get to the main population. But while… 
Guest post by Clara Hare-Grogg, 2019-2020 Young Adult Volunteer The Philippines, where I served as a Young Adult Volunteer until being evacuated due to the global pandemic, is acutely vulnerable to disasters like volcanic eruptions, typhoons, and floods. Even everyday weather is notoriously unpredictable. The ability to deal with the unexpected has therefore embedded itself… 
Without power Who could forget the devastation after Hurricane Maria swept across Puerto Rico in 2017? Certainly not Mimita Nieves. Eighteen months later she was still living without electricity. Mimita did the best she could. She got along on canned food and powdered milk, and fresh vegetables when she could get them. She cooked on… 
Peace at all times in all ways Peacemaking is something that happens among leaders of countries warring over issues, rights and land, right? Certainly this is true, but it is also true that peace is made by many others — even you and me! Conflict arises in our families and communities. Instability threatens our livelihoods…. 
Coming Together Across Denominations Though they come from a small town, the seven young women who are part of the Rowley Youth Group won’t let this limit them from making a big impact in their community and around the world. The town of Rowley, Iowa, has a population of 266 people with the only two… 
Serving young immigrants and refugees Keeping up in school is hard enough, but for many students around the country, learning a new language while also learning other subjects can be daunting. How can children be expected to survive—let alone thrive—in such a situation? Seeing an opportunity to help these children improve their chances of success… 
Hands and Feet of Jesus The same Spirit that descended on the earliest followers of Jesus on the Day of Pentecost continues to work in the lives of believers today. Across the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), people are hearing and following the Holy Spirit’s call to be the hands and feet of Jesus in today’s world… 
The Spirit Moves in Peru… One day at lunch, 14-year-old Teresa pointed to the camera of Presbyterian Young Adult Volunteer (YAV) Kristen Young and called it Kristen’s “treasure.” “I tried to tell her that it wasn’t my camera that I treasured, but rather the people and moments I could capture with it,” Kristen says. Kristen… 
Illinois congregation prioritizes ministry with children at risk The celebration in 2008 of 150 years of ministry at First Presbyterian Church of Homewood, Illinois, was a time to both cherish the past and embrace the future. As it looked toward future opportunities, the congregation decided one focus should be children considered at risk served by the…