Adapted from “When the Holy Dances with the Ordinary,” by Chris Keating (copyright 2025, CSS Publications) One year, an unseasonably warm week before Thanksgiving prompted more than a few in our neighborhood to get an early start putting up their Christmas lights. But does the week before Thanksgiving even count as early anymore? I’m not sure. While a fair number…
Throughout Advent, I’m grateful for the chance to offer a series of reflections about Advent and the grief we experience in our lives, in our churches, and in our world. Part two: The forgotten sadness of congregational grief Advent has begun. Thanksgiving’s leftovers are mostly finished, and the pace of life is picking up. At church, hallways are festooned with…
“The Life and Times of a Stated Clerk, part 1” Have you ever wondered what a Stated Clerk does all year long outside of the quarterly Presbytery Gatherings and their agendas? If so, you’ve come to the right place, because this month I focus on a topic a little closer to home for me. For the next two Spotlight on…
A Weekly Witness: Thoughts on Ministry, Justice, and Life Together from your Presbytery Leader “We incubate what we celebrate” I will never forget these words spoken at the 221st General Assembly in Detroit, where I sat as a commissioner in 2014. These words remind me just how important celebration is in our lives of faith. Take a look at…
A Weekly Witness: Thoughts on Ministry, Justice, and Life Together from your Presbytery Leader Like you, I am saddened and crushed by the start of the school year beginning with a mass shooting. The late Presbyterian activist and pastor James E. Atwood first introduced me to the image of rising gun violence being like a flood that rises…
“Presbyterian Historical Society: What’s That?” As the fall approaches and I prepare for another round of annual minute reviews with our Clerks of Session, I was inspired to focus this month’s “Spotlight on Polity” on something that doesn’t get enough attention in the life of our churches, but just as important as anything else when it comes to our Polity.…
A Weekly Witness: Thoughts on Ministry, Justice, and Life Together from your Presbytery Leader I am going to take an opportunity to let you in on a little secret that very few church people will say out loud: I love meetings. Yup. I said it. (Please don’t groan! Wait, don’t go anywhere, stay with me! Don’t close your friendly reading…
I love that our presbytery makes space for education hour. This last Thursday at our presbytery gathering in Washington, we were blessed to have Rev. Dr. Aaron Stauffer, Associate Director of the Wendland-Cook Program in Religion and Justice at Vanderbilt University Divinity School, lead our education hour. During his presentation, he posed a wonderful challenge to our ministry communities…
Reentry can be a jarring feeling that most pastors feel when we return to our offices after times of leave. No matter whether it is vacation or other forms of leave, there is a weary anxious energy over the wonderings of “what did I miss while I was gone?” It can be very hard to “stop thinking about work” even…
On May 3rd, the presbytery approved 12 weeks of medical and family leave for our presbytery leader to have an intentional time of recovery. The following was posted on Ryan Landino’s personal Facebook page on July 17th, as Ryan’s leave was coming to an end. The following is shared to catch everyone up on those reflections! “Hi friends. First, I…