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… Read more »
May 11, 2020
Beauty in the Unknown
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… Read more »
#GivingTuesdayNow is a global day of giving and unity that will take place on May 5, 2020, believing that generosity has the power to unite and heal communities in good times and bad. We are encouraging congregations to consider a #GivingTuesdayNow campaign for the Pentecost Offering, so that we can continue to support our young… 
Welcomed into God’s household Take a minute to look back on your life. Who all have you lived with? In the earliest parts of our lives, we might live with parents or grandparents or other caring adults. Perhaps siblings. Over the years, we might live with friends and extended family, family of choice or even… 
The children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way. Remember that song from the 1980s? It is called “The Greatest Love of All.” And what greater love is there than God’s love for the children? The chorus in that song goes “the greatest love of all Is happening to me…. 
The Holy Spirit is moving Can there be any more inspirational words to hear from a young person than these? “The Holy Spirit took me, and changed me in ways that I wasn’t expecting.” During Pentecost, we celebrate that the Holy Spirit has opened the doors to faith in Jesus Christ. While serving as a… 
Who was the first person to teach you about Jesus? Who was the first person to show you how to honor God with your life? Who helped you open the doors to new understandings of God and of faith? When did these things happen? For many of us, they happened during our childhood. They happened… 
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… 
For 20 years, the Pentecost Offering has served to connect the outpouring of the Holy Spirit with ministries that build a life of faith in children, youth, and young adults. Since the Pentecost Offering started in 1998, Presbyterians have raised more than $14 million for Children-at-Risk, Ministries for Youth, and Young Adult Volunteers, committing to… 
“O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.” ~ Psalm 71:17 The Pentecost Offering unites us in a church-wide effort to support young people in Christ and inspire them to share their faith, ideas, and unique gifts with the church and the world. Each year on Pentecost…