By Laura Stephens-Reed I am so relieved that heading into Advent and Christmas 2021, the pandemic is in the rearview mirror. We can put aside the difficulty and the different look of last year’s holiday observances and go all out, with all of our people back in the pews! Record scratch. The reality is that … Continue reading
By Sarah Hemberger Let’s talk about what scares you. I don’t mean the kind of scared you get when watching those horror movies this time of year or the sudden jolt you feel when someone jumps out and surprises you. No. I’m talking about fear—that deep emotion you cannot avoid, yet struggle to find the … Continue reading
By Laura Foushee The last time I preached for our church in Tokyo (Tokiwadai Baptist Church) was in November. It was by video, allowing as many takes as I needed. The last time I had walked into a church building for worship was in March of last year. The last time I had used public transportation … Continue reading
By Steven Porter Pastors keep asking me how to respond to the crises in Haiti, Afghanistan, and Lebanon. My answer: PRAY and then GIVE to the Offering for Global Missions. Why? Because presence matters. Moments like these are the reason our Fellowship pools resources to support committed and highly trained people whom God has called … Continue reading
By Caleb Mynatt For citizens of most of the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has been the crisis that has encompassed our lives over the past year. But for citizens of Venezuela, the pandemic is just one crisis of many that Venezuelans have had to navigate and survive. One group hit particularly hard in Venezuela are … Continue reading
By Caleb Mynatt When the COVID-19 pandemic sent the world into lockdown, it was an unprecedented and often chaotic transition for churches to make. And while figuring out the logistics of virtual business meetings and livestreaming worship services certainly wasn’t easy, there is one group of church leaders that perhaps had the toughest transition of … Continue reading
By Lesley-Ann Hix Tommey At the beginning of February 2021, I was on the phone with the community relations and AmeriCorps Program coordinator at Ryan Chelsea-Clinton Health Center on 10th Avenue in Hell’s Kitchen. We were talking through a nutrition workshop she and one of her AmeriCorps staff would be leading for our Living Well … Continue reading
by Christopher West In the world of Covid-19, health has become a major topic of discussion and debate within our congregations. It seems that everywhere one goes today, people are discussing public health, health insurance reform, epidemiology, public policy in wake of the coronavirus, and the diminishing health of the American public. The thing missing … Continue reading
By Maggie Parker I remember sitting in the admissions room at Agnes Scott College as I prepared to celebrate my graduation with a senior reception, not knowing that the graduation I was longing for would never come. I remember everyone being together and so proud of each other as we all looked forward to the … Continue reading
“God had sent us to the wrong pharmacy; but it actually turned out to be the right pharmacy. We accidentally had sent a young man to a place that had a leftover vaccination that was going to be thrown out.
The pharmacist was thrilled that we called; the young Karen man was thrilled to get the vaccination; and we were amazed at how God used a misunderstanding to keep an unused vaccination from being thrown away, giving an unexpected, much-needed vaccination to a Karen refugee.” Continue reading
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