The daughter of a church member texted, late one Friday night, to say that her dad’s physical health was fading fast. He had been placed on hospice, and she was concerned about how much more time he had. She told me that she had become his round-the-clock nurse/caregiver, and she was grateful to be able to do that. Earlier in the week I had offered to drive to her house (about 60 miles) to visit them. She indicated that she now wanted to take me up on my offer.
What is discernment? What is God calling us to do in a particular situation, either as an individual or a congregation or mid council? How do we move forward?
Valentine’s Day is one of those commercialized holidays that boost the bottom lines of candy companies — and florists. But when I was a little girl, Feb. 14 wasn’t about flowers or even the chocolates in the heart-shaped box that my mother would put on top of my cereal bowl in the morning. (It was always a beautiful sight to see that loving gesture brightening what would have been just another ordinary wintry day for my brother, sister and me. I tried my best not to get into the candy before heading to school, emphasis on “tried.”)
Their place at the pulpit offers Presbyterian preachers a weekly opportunity to persuade parishioners of the power and reach of God’s love for them — as well as hundreds of other messages found in Scripture.
What is Intentional Authentic Evangelism? How is it being practiced in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)? And how has your understanding of evangelism changed during your time in ministry?
Catherine McAuley, who founded the Sisters of Mercy in 1831, once said, “We are like the compass that goes round its circle without stirring from its center. We have one solid comfort in all our tripping about. Our center is in God, from whom all our actions spring from their source.”
We are going to discover new gifts this afternoon,” Dr. Leanne Van Dyk promised viewers Tuesday during the REvangelism conference. Van Dyk, president of Columbia Theological Seminary, was speaking about generosity, a topic she wrote about for the 8 Habits of Evangelism resource ahead of the conference for which about 150 people have registered.
Climate change, according to the rev. abby mohaupt, has made it more difficult for many people, especially the poor, to access six keys to human existence — food, access to water, rest, home, safety and love.
What did you do on Mr. Rogers’ Day?
Saturday, March 20 would have been the 93rd birthday of Fred Rogers (1928–2003), remembered perhaps as the greatest virtual teacher of all time and a beloved ordained minister of word and sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
