From the General Presbyter The other day I was driving by the community center near my home and noticed some children playing under two basketball hoops. They could not have been more than four or five years old, and they looked tiny compared to the tall basketball hoops designed for adults. One or two of […]
May 3, 2023
From the General Presbyter Connectional vs. Relational The Presbyterian Church USA boasts of being a “connectional church.” From a practical perspective, it means each “council” of the church supports each other. The congregation supports the Presbytery who supports the Synod and General Assembly. On a good day, we then practice a kind of trickle down […]
November 30, 2022
From the General Presbyter The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come Do you remember that ghost from Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol? Shrouded, mysterious, creepy, silent. Scrooge was afraid and if we stop for a moment and think, so are we. What will this Advent/Christmas season be like? Will people come back to church? Will […]
July 12, 2022
From the General Presbyter Bad Karaoke On my recent vacation to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, I reserved an oceanfront condo located within a resort. From my balcony, I could hear children playing in the swimming pool, people laughing while dining outdoors and….bad karaoke! Okay, there were a few people with good voices but for the […]
May 24, 2022
From the General Presbyter I want to first address the faithful pastors in this Presbytery of Baltimore. Please hear me; there is no way you can possibly carry the heavy burdens this world has put on us in these violent and terrible times. Words often fail in the face of today’s shooting in Texas. There are not […]
A Prayer for Shootings
Breathe on us, breath of God and fill us with life anew. God, Divine Love, we come to you anxious, fearful, sorrowful, and angry. We are surrounded by hatred, violence, greed, racism, war, disease, and systems of oppression. The air we breathe is filled with the soot of uncontrollable wildfires and the ground beneath us […]
April 20, 2022
From the General Presbyter “With your whiskey and your water, your sugar and your tea. What are all these crazy questions you’re asking me?” Mama Told Me Not To Come, Three Dog Night I have a colleague that always says, “you have not because you ask not.” When the women went to the tomb to […]
February 3, 2022
From the General Presbyter Black History Month In 1807, the Presbytery of the Union Synod of Tennessee recommended to the General Assembly in Lexington, Kentucky, that a “slave should be licensed to preach among colored people.” Enter the Rev. John Gloucester, who founded the First African Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia in 1807. I guess that […]
January 19, 2022
From the General Presbyter Going Back to the Way it Was I doubt any member of our Presbytery intends to return to “the way it was” once the pandemic is over. The time away from church, brought to you by COVID-19, has many evaluating and re-evaluating their call to ministry, their regular participation as congregation […]
September 28, 2021
From the General Presbyter Survey: What percentage of Session, Deacons, Trustees, Committee meeting time is spent a. Doing business as usual b. Innovating for tomorrow c. Future forecasting – what is emerging in church and society Next: How is this “working for you?” Next: Where do current members want time spent? What about potential new […]
