Author page: Office Communications

Guest Blog Post by Rev. Dr. Chris Keating Pastor of Woodlawn Chapel Presbyterian Church                 I’ve always been a bit uncomfortable with words like “privilege” or “bias.” There was little about my childhood that could be described as privileged—at least not in the way some might use the term.  Middle class, certainly, but hardly privileged. And while I’m far from…

Blog Post by Rev. Vanessa Hawkins Designated Associate Leader of the Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy vhawkins@glpby.org This past Sunday as I sat in First Church Edwardsville, Illinois, as they dedicated their new building, I was in awe at this new stage of their journey. Entering the building I was engulfed by the sound of excited voices and the smell of newly…

Learning More about Environmental Ministry  by Sue Bradford Edwards Member of Florissant Presbyterian Church When I volunteered to be a part of the FPC Green Committee, I hoped to learn about becoming an environmentally aware church. What I hadn’t counted on was being called on to learn about environmental racism. On November 14, 2017, I participated in a videoconference put…

Blog Post by Rev. Vanessa Hawkins Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy Designated Associate Leader vhawkins@glpby.org May 2006, I participated in a guided tour through several neighborhoods in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina had swept through the city. Starting in the Garden District, our guide systematically led us, a group of nine, through neighborhoods bustling with joggers, commuters, and restaurant employees preparing for…

I’m just another face in the pews each Sunday morning.  I regularly tune into the evening news going so far as to also watch the News Hour on PBS.  I need not reprise here the scenarios we are all too familiar with.  But perhaps I can share an insight that puts some of the turmoil in greater perspective for me.…

Witnessing in the Public Square My first few weeks in this position has been spent listening and learning from Giddings Lovejoy staff, team members, and various pastors and congregational leaders.  I am also listening and learning from those called to be public witnesses against established ways of being and doing that support and maintain systems of inequity. With the nonstop…

Rewriting The Rules This is hard. I get that. This conversation. All the emotions. Our cultural backgrounds and personal relationships histories and experiences and political leanings and theological positions. It makes it hard and complicated and difficult to talk about. But I have this little flicker of a vision or a dream or a hope that church could be the…

The Spiritual Discipline            of Protest I learned about civil disobedience from Shiprah and Puah, the two Hebrew midwives who defied Pharoah and refused to kill the Hebrew baby boys – including Moses. I learned about disruptive protest from Jesus, who barged into the temple in a rage, turning over the tables of imperial and economic…

Blog Post by the Rev. Dr. Craig Howard Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy Transitional Leader choward@glpby.org Next week I will be traveling to Israel. I have the opportunity to lead a group of 15 African American clergy as part of Interfaith Partners For Peace. This 10 day trip will allow me to meet with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, business people, politicians, and…