Encouraging, challenging and equipping congregations to thrive spiritually and be apostles for reconciliation
From the General Presbyter “God is on our side..today” Happy Black History Month! The verse above is from the civil rights anthem “We Shall Overcome” sung in many congregations during the month of February. I lift up this particular verse because it speaks of the audacity of Black Americans who claim their cause of securing […]
From the General Presbyter When I discovered ChatGPT, I shared my enthusiasm with Frank, our communications manager. He responded with something to the effect of “it’s a great tool but be aware; sometimes it makes stuff up.” In seminary several students walked out of my Old Testament class when the professor proclaimed the story of […]
From the General Presbyter Just returned from the Stewardship Kaleidoscope conference in Portland, Oregon. A good time was had by all, and I have asked Frank to create a Stewardship Resources page on the website where I will deposit some helpful and interesting resources from the conference. The first plenary was a panel discussion from […]
The Presbytery, the Strategic Plan and You Summer Series From the General Presbyter The Cabinet started devising this plan in 2022 which starts with identifying our core values. The first value is “Promoting Justice.” Merriam Webster defines “just” as acting or being in conformity with what is morally upright or good. Justice rarely exists outside […]
From the General Presbyter “Come on people now, smile on your brother, everybody get together, try to love one another right now.” – Get Together by the Youngbloods, 1967 Really? If you are like me, you are wondering if this might actually be the apocalypse. War in the Middle East, thousands of Palestinians starving and […]
From the General Presbyter One day during Advent in New Castle Presbytery, the Administrative Assistant and I were talking with our volunteer Treasurer about our holiday plans. This gentleman who, upon discovering that his whole family would descend at his house on Christmas Eve, said “I need to go to the store so I can […]
From the General Presbyter How do we keep Advent from feeling like Groundhog Day? You know, doing the same thing over and over. Answer, we don’t. Yes, we can freshen up traditions, update language, use contemporary illustrations. But we are waiting, and waiting and waiting for God’s love to be revealed in the flesh. We […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
