Dear Friends, Setting fire to churches is not a new phenomenon. Unfortunately, this act of terror goes way back in history. But it becomes very real when it happens in our own community. Five black churches and one interracial church in the St. Louis area recently have been set on fire. In circumstances like this we are alarmed and some…
Saturday, August 29, 2015 What I believe At the Big Tent I had a conversation with an affable stout gray-haired woman. She appeared to exude cheerfulness. As we were walking from worship to the next event, she began enthusiastically to tell me about her call as pastor of a small town congregation. Retired from her previous employment, she went to…
The Presbytery Leader’s Blog… the anniversary of the death of Michael Brown…. One joy of this summer has been visiting the Tower Grove Farmer’s Market on Saturday mornings. People of all ages with dogs in tow meander through the stalls that offer fresh vegetables and fruit, meats and cheeses from organically fed animals, yoga and massage, jewelry and clothing, kids…
Wake up and smell the coffee! When I hear this expression, I wonder which comes first– smelling the coffee or waking up. Come to think of it, if I’m asleep and smell coffee, I wake up. Perhaps I could program my coffee maker to awaken me with pungent Northwest Coffee Company’s best (Thank you, Pastor Holyan, for introducing me to…
When I first began service as pastor of an urban church in Baltimore, I sought opportunities to increase my capacities for transformation of the congregation which had been declining in membership for 30 years. Situated in a neighborhood that had experienced rapid demographic change, the church had lost many members to the suburbs. Seeking ideas about how to attract new…
Recently I’ve been reading Barbara Brown Taylor’s Learning to Walk in the Dark. I met her years ago when she was the lone woman preacher among several men at an event for pastors. Dr. Brown Taylor’s writing is lyrical and profound, at once available and deep. Emerging from her intermittent sojourns in darkness, she makes a case for its necessity…
Last week hundreds traveled to Chicago for the NEXT Church event, a gathering of mostly younger people looking forward to how the Spirit is reshaping the PCUSA. On Tuesday evening a person in the balcony interrupted Dr. Diana Butler Bass’s presentation to announce that amendment 14F had received the requisite number of presbytery concurrences for approval. Many stood and cheered…
The Opportunity Your Congregation–Growing in Christ and Blessing Your Neighborhood Many of the people who will help you build your congregation in faithfulness to Christ and mission with your community and the world are not sitting in your pews on Sunday mornings. Rather, they are spending Sunday mornings at the neighborhood coffee shop or park. Reading the Gospels and the…
Less than six weeks after my arrival in Giddings-Lovejoy Presbytery to begin ministry as the Presbytery Leader, Michael Brown was shot and killed, unleashing reactions and responses. As young adults reacted with protest, pastors, churches, ecumenical and interfaith organizations mobilized, and the eyes of the world focused on our city. The ecumenical and interfaith connections forged over decades uniquely positioned St. Louis to address Brown’s tragic death.