Mission Yearbook: New confession in the works ahead of this year’s General Assembly

In 2022, the 225th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) approved an overture from the Presbytery of Arkansas calling for the formation of “a special committee to write a new confession for the PC(USA) to be considered for inclusion in the Book of Confessions” (TWE-08). Committee members have been quietly and steadfastly pursuing the mandate they were given for the last year and a half and recently convened for several days in Louisville to move forward in producing a draft confession to be considered by the 227th General Assembly this year.

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Dr. Edwin Aponte is co-moderator of the Special Committee to Write a New Confession.

The committee consists of 16 at-large members from presbyteries across the country who were appointed by the co-moderators of the 225th General Assembly, the Revs. Shavon Starling-Louis and Ruth Faith Santana-Grace. It is intentionally diverse, consisting of teaching elders, ruling elders, and church members of various backgrounds and identities. One committee member, Byungil Kim, speaks Korean, with simultaneous interpretation technology allowing him and the rest of the group to communicate with one another. The group is co-moderated by teaching elders Dr. Edwin Aponte and Dr. Margaret Aymer, who respectively serve as dean of Drew Theological School and academic dean of Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary.

The committee was tasked with drafting a new confession that contends with the intersection of faith and the contemporary challenges facing the church and the world, with the committee’s draft to be considered by the 227th General Assembly for possible inclusion in the Book of Confessions. In accordance with TWE-08 and two other overtures brought before the 225th Assembly, the committee was directed to consider the destructive impact of racism, white supremacy, and colonialism, while affirming unity and diversity in the church and the image of God in all people and rejecting oppression.

“The writing of a confession that speaks of the intersection of our faith with the challenges of contemporary culture is one of the most important tasks to which a church is called,” said the Co-Moderators of the 225th Assembly. “We are grateful for these saints who will put their hearts and pen to paper in an effort to offer words reflecting those values for a time such as this.”

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Dr. Margaret Aymer is co-moderator of the Special Committee to Write a New Confession.

The discussions have been rich and expansive but also intentional and slow by necessity. The committee has divided itself into subcommittees several times throughout the process, ranging in focus from theological questions to communication strategy. As the subcommittees have evolved, the make-up of committee members has also intentionally shuffled, allowing various voices to be in conversation with one another.

When the full committee gathered together at the Presbyterian Center in Louisville recently, the subcommittees brought their work to be considered by everyone, and the committee worked to compile the various components into one cohesive document. The committee still has a lot of work ahead. One challenge the group is still contending with is the limitations of language. A smaller group of committee members met after the formal gathering ended to reflect together on the process and discussed how “current language of the day can be a fault line.” The confession will somehow have to find words that are both timeless and descriptive. Much of what the group will focus on now is the work of honing the specifics of word choice and other particulars.

Even when the committee’s draft is complete, the process of getting the confession finalized and approved will likely include revisions and reviews and will require approval at multiple stages from multiple future General Assemblies, followed finally by ratification from at least two-thirds of presbyteries. This complicated process reflects the significance of adding a new confession to the doctrinal standards of the denomination.

If this new confession is ultimately added to the Book of Confessions, it will be only the second time a confession written by members of the PC(USA) is formally adopted. A Brief Statement of Faith was drafted by a committee appointed by the 195th General Assembly in 1983 and was approved for inclusion in the Book of Confessions in 1991.

Despite the lengthy process and the challenges yet to come, members of the Special Committee to Write a New Confession share a common conviction that their undertaking is a sacred calling and worth the effort. 

Layton Williams Berkes, Communications Strategist, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Click here to read original PNS Story)

Let us join in prayer for:

Barbara Betts, Manager, Presbyterian Distribution Services, Administrative Services Group, A Corporation
Beverly Bewley, Customer Service Representative, Operations, Presbyterian Publishing Corporation

Let us pray:

Faithful God, please lead the church to deeper faithfulness and help us live out the good news we proclaim. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Mission Yearbook: Young Adult Advocacy Conference participants are urged by Stated Clerk to act with compassion and love

The Rev. Jihyun Oh gave a message on the second day of the Young Adult Advocacy Conference that served as a reminder that justice was a central part of Jesus’ ministry and should be a guiding force for Christians today.

There is a “whole movement of people who call themselves Christian” who say that God’s justice and the good things of life are only for a particular segment of people, said Oh, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). To counter that, “we must talk about and act on and advocate for justice where there is injustice and negate that message as being something that comes from Jesus because it doesn't.”

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The Rev. Jihyun Oh addresses the Young Adult Advocacy Conference Saturday at First Presbyterian Church of Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Alex Simon)

Oh, who also serves as executive director of the Interim Unified Agency of the PC(USA), spoke those words during a morning worship service in Michigan at the “Jesus and Justice” conference, which has been held by the PC(USA)’s advocacy offices for the past three years to teach young adults to do social justice advocacy.

“I think it’s of vital importance that you continue to remind us in your local congregations, but also on the national level, that the voices of young people need to be heard,” PC(USA)’s advocacy director, the Rev. Jimmie Hawkins, told attendees gathered at First Presbyterian Church of Lansing for a day of worship, workshops and networking. “We are a church that, right now, is seeking new ways that we can engage with young people.”

 Oh read from Luke 4:16–30, a passage that harkens to a time when Jesus was at the beginning of his ministry and ready to declare that a new day had come.

In that passage, Jesus visits a synagogue in his hometown of Nazareth and stands up to read a scroll containing words from the prophet Isaiah.

Jesus “unrolled the scroll and found the place where it’s written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, and to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

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Lawrence Robertson of Compassion, Peace and Justice ministries sings at the Young Adult Advocacy Conference in Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Alex Simon)

After rolling up the scroll as all eyes were on him, Jesus declared, “Today, the Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing,” and the people were amazed at his gracious words, though they eventually became offended and drove him away.

Jesus’ goal had been to share a particular vision of his ministry that was directed not just for the people he’d grown up around but “anyone who has been bound and pressed down and treated as less than,” Oh said.

That includes “anyone who has felt powerless in the face of the rich and powerful, in the face of unjust economic and social systems, in the face of unjust health care systems” as well as “anyone who has been made to bow down, made to feel crazy, made to feel like they don't matter in society and to God,” Oh said.

Jesus’ reading of the words from Isaiah was a message of justice is everlasting. “It’s a reminder that God has always been about justice, and that the vision of the reign of God is a vision of justice yesterday, today and tomorrow,” Oh said. “God has been and God is, and God always will be about justice.”

And what does that kind of justice look like? It means “all needs are met,” Oh said. “Nobody is hungry, nobody is suffering because they can’t pay for care and healing. Nobody is jailed because they can’t pay a debt or pay a fine. There are fair scales and fair wages and ways for people to dig out from enormous economic hardship.”

Oh also explained what God’s justice is not. For example, in Jesus’ ministry, “religion isn’t used to keep people from wholeness.”

Jesus knew that “justice only for us and not for anyone else is perhaps vengeance, but not God’s justice,” Oh said. “Justice for us at the expense of ‘them’ is not God’s justice.”

Oh went on to encourage conference participants to “act with humility and compassion,” remembering that “God’s justice, God’s love, is for everyone.”

Darla Carter, Communications Strategist, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (Click here to read original PNS Story)

Let us join in prayer for:

Jon Baxter, Chief Engineer, Building Services, Administrative Services Group, A Corporation
Serrita Bell, Directory of Communications and Marketing, Presbyterian Foundation

Let us pray:

God of justice and mercy, you proclaim good news to the poor, freedom to the oppressed and hope to all who feel forgotten. Shape our hearts to reflect our compassion and guide us to seek justice for others. Amen.

One Great Hour of Sharing - Housing is a Human Right

Housing is a Human Right “Why?” wondered Adrian Alberto Madriz. Why were his neighbors in Miami living in unsafe housing in one of the richest cities in the richest country in the world? Why were “forgotten neighborhoods” being allowed to fall into neglect while landlords avoided prosecution? Adrian decided to take action. And that’s when SMASH — Struggle for Miami's Affordable and Sustainable Housing, was born. SMASH, supported by gifts to One Great Hour of Sharing, is the first community land trust and affordable housing cooperative in Liberty City, Florida, to make housing a human right. Read more about SMASH, and how our gifts make a difference. Centered in the prophet Micah’s call to do justice, One Great Hour of Sharing has been helping neighbors in need around the world for over 75 years. The annual Offering gives the PC(USA) a tangible way to share God’s love by joining together to help eliminate the root causes of the world’s injustices. If you have any questions, reply to this email or call us at (800) 728-7228, Ext. 5047.

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Mission Yearbook: Joy is served up with social justice advocacy at conference

The third annual Young Adult Advocacy Conference recently kicked off with a sermon inspired by the book of Nehemiah that encouraged cultivating moments of joy while continuing to fight for a more just and compassionate society.

The Rev. Christina Cosby and Ivy Lopedito, staff members in the Presbyterian Office of Public Witness, tag-teamed on a sermon acknowledging that it’s easy to lose sight of joy or to feel guilty about it during the tumultuous times that many people in society are enduring today.

The sermon at First Presbyterian Church in Lansing, Michigan, was the centerpiece of a worship service organized for the first evening of the “Jesus and Justice” conference, a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) gathering designed to give young adults, ages 18–35, the skills they need to practice social justice advocacy. 

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Ivy Lopedito and the Rev. Christina Cosby speak at the 2025 Young Adult Advocacy Conference in Lansing, Michigan (Photo by Alex Simon

The conference, which was organized by the advocacy offices of the Interim Unified Agency of the PC(USA), was a way for young people to learn how to use their voices and to not be afraid to do so.

Those who greeted the audience or took part in aspects of the opening day included Neil Myer, a campus minister at Michigan State University, the Rev. Jimmie Hawkins, advocacy director for the PC(USA), and representatives from seminaries and entities such as the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations.

During the sermon, Lopedito noted that being an advocate for social justice can be challenging.

“There’s a real danger of burning out, and many of us have probably felt that — of pouring ourselves out until we’re running on empty,” she said.

Lopedito and Cosby preached from Nehemiah 8:1–3 and 8–12, with special emphasis on the encouragement given to people who had been weeping and mourning while listening to a public reading of the book of the law of God. Nehemiah reassured them by saying, “Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions of them to those for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy to our Lord; and do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

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Ivy Lopedito at the Young Adult Advocacy Conference (Photo by Alex Simon)

But such words can be hard to wrap your head around when times get tough, the speakers noted.

“Some days, joy feels out of reach,” Cosby said.

Cosby has found it difficult to be joyful while watching people be subjected to increased militarization on U.S. streets, which is occurring in various parts of the country.

Witnessing police encounters that seemed based on race and language “made my chest tighten, my soul ache, my eyes swell with emotion,” Cosby said, and in such moments it’s difficult to embrace Nehemiah’s words.

Lopedito described finding joy while experiencing a cool moment in the park filled with music and frolicking kids. “But as quickly as that joy came, I found myself thinking, ‘How can I feel this way right now?'” she said. “People in our nation are losing their rights right now. People don't have access to food right now.”

But finding moments of joy are necessary, especially when fighting for justice, the duo noted.

“Nehemiah’s words matter ... as an invitation to joy in God's presence, as a message, as a source of healing, and even as a quiet resistance,” Cosby said.

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Representatives from seminaries take part in singing a hymn at the Young Adult Advocacy Conference. (Photo by Alex Simon)

Lopedito noted that joy is part of what gives "us strength for the important work of advocacy and justice,” adding, “This is why spaces like this, where we gather in community, are so vital. They allow us to hold both grief and joy” and “to bear witness to each other’s experience.”

Lopedito also stressed the importance of continuing to work together, so that every person “in our nation and around the globe” can experience love, belonging and joy.

Cosby noted that during Nehemiah’s time God’s people had returned home only to find their homes in ruin and their temple destroyed and their identities shaken. Likewise, some people may feel like that today.

Joy is rooted not in “how we feel but in who God is,” Cosby said. So “we as followers of Christ must practice joy, practice it daily, not as a fleeting emotion but as a sacred rhythm that calls us back to God's presence again and again.”

Darla Carter, Communications Strategist, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (Click here to read original PNS Story)

Let us join in prayer for:

Dwayne Batcho, Production Clerk, Presbyterian Distribution Service, Administrative Services Group, A Corporation
Doug Batezel, Senior Vice President & CIO, Information Technology, The Board of Pensions

Let us pray:

Loving God, you meet us in both our grief and our gladness, holding our struggles and our hope together in your care. When the work of justice and the needs of the world feel overwhelming, renew our spirits with moments of joy that strengthen rather than distract us. Amen.

Mission Yearbook: North Carolina pastor looks back at impact of Hurricane Helene

It’s been over a year since Hurricane Helene hit Western North Carolina. Different metrics are used after a natural disaster to measure its impact: the number of lives lost (248 recorded), the number of homes destroyed or damaged (some estimates as high as 200,000), the dollar amount of economic losses (in North Carolina alone estimates exceed $54 billion), and how much it will cost to rebuild (some estimates exceed $200 billion). Hurricane Helene’s numbers are staggering, and they tell only a fraction of the story of how life changed that day in September 2024.

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A few weeks after Hurricane Helene's destruction, the Rev. Dr. Marcia Mount Shoop was pictured in the sanctuary of the Asheville, North Carolina church she serves, Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church. (Photo by Rich Copley)

Hurricane Helene was not just a hurricane; it was also a devastating geologic event. The storm triggered more than 2,000 landslides in our region. In the area I live in, 16 people died in mudslides, some of which were several miles long. The storm spawned multiple tornadoes. All told, Hurricane Helene took out at least 40% of the trees in Buncombe County.

Like many other churches, the church that I pastor, Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church, sprang into action right after the storm hit. We opened our doors and figured things out together. At the six-month mark after Hurricane Helene, we had done more than $5.5 million in rent support for storm survivors. We had done over $500,000 in utility bill support, and we have no way to count all the free supplies we have handed out. Over a year later, we, alongside some of our community partners, are still doing rent support, providing free supplies, and assisting those facing utility bill shut offs. Many of our service economy workers are not back to full-time hours. Some of them worked for businesses that no longer exist. Some of them work for businesses that are not sure they are going to make it.

Rent support means that when you hit a hard stretch because of a job loss, a health emergency, or a natural disaster, you have a way to get your rent paid to avoid eviction. At Grace Covenant, we created a low-barrier application system because of the sheer magnitude of the disaster. Hundreds of people were lined up at our door every day, even months after the storm. In July 2025, we opened one day of the month for rent support and had 110 apply. We were able to stop 23 evictions that were already in the courts for a total cost of $67,000. And we assisted many others who were in immediate danger of eviction. In one day, we spent $110,000 to help keep people housed. 

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Like many other PC(USA) congregations, Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church sprang into action following Hurricane Helene's devastating impact. (Photo by Rich Copley)

Even in the best of times, rent support has the capacity to be a thread that strengthens the whole economic ecosystem. It supports renters by helping them stay housed and avoid having an eviction on their record. Having an eviction on your rental history makes future renting very difficult, if not impossible. Rent support helps property owners because evictions often end up costing those who own rental properties. Rent support supports business owners by keeping a trained workforce in place. And rent support helps the whole community stabilize after a natural disaster.

The rent support we did at GCPC did not come from any state or federal funds.  Over 60% of our donations were from private donors all over the world. The rest of the funds came from grants disbursed by local philanthropic organizations like the United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County and Dogwood Health Trust, as well as grants from the City of Asheville and Buncombe County. 

As our country settles into this next phase of climate change, epochal weather events will be more frequent and more devastating. Our collective resolve to take good care of each other in this historical moment can be about something other than political polarization and competing claims about truth and consequences. Human beings can adapt, and we can learn from difficult experiences about how to strengthen what makes us a nation in the first place: we, the people. The better we are at disaster responsiveness and sharing resources with those most impacted, the safer and stronger local communities will be. The safer and stronger our local communities are, the safer and stronger our nation will be.

The Rev. Dr. Marcia Mount Shoop is pastor and head of staff at Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church in Asheville, North Carolina.(Click here to read original PNS story)

Let us join in prayer for:

Jenny Barr, Reference and Outreach Archivist, Presbyterian Historical Society, Interim Unified Agency
 Andrew Kang Bartlett, Associate, Presbyterian Hunger Program, Interim Unified Agency

Let us pray:

God of mercy and refuge, we remember all who were harmed by Hurricane Helene and who lost loved ones, homes, work and stability. Hold communities in Western North Carolina in your healing care and strengthen all who continue the long work of rebuilding. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Mission Yearbook: Creation care and global debt justice are topics featured on Presbyterian Advocacy Hour

The Presbyterian Advocacy Hour recently focused on the Season of Creation and a Jubilee year push for financial reforms to free developing countries from crushing debts that make it challenging to pay for essential services.

The online program featured the Rev. Cindy Cushman, pastor of Corydon Presbyterian Church in Corydon, Indiana, and Eric LeCompte, executive director of the Jubilee USA Network, an interfaith alliance of religious, development and advocacy organizations addressing the structural causes of poverty and inequality.

The hour, presented by the Presbyterian Office of Public Witness in collaboration other ministries such as the Presbyterian Hunger Program, takes place on fourth Wednesdays of the month.

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Catherine Gordon

“It’s a product of a variety of different Presbyterian programs, and we're hoping that these monthly gatherings will help to provide the knowledge” for “effective and focused action on some of the pressing advocacy issues of our time, as well as nourishment for your spirit and community building,” said host Catherine Gordon, OPW’s representative for international issues. 

The first hour and a brief prayer vigil that followed provided time to focus on the Season of Creation and its theme Peace with Creation. The season began Sept. 1 and continued through Oct. 4.

“It is a special season where we celebrate God as Creator and acknowledge Creation as the divine continuing act that summons us as collaborators to love and care for the gift of all that is created,” Gordon said.

The denomination and partners, such as Creation Justice Ministries, already have held multiple activities to observe the season, but for those who would like to begin incorporating the season into their churches, the Advocacy Hour provided some examples.

Cushman explained how her church has celebrated the Season of Creation with various activities such a multi-week sermon series and blessing of the animals. Reading the Rev. Dr. Patricia K. Tull’s book “Inhabiting Eden: Christians, the Bible and the Ecological Crisis” also has been part of the seasonal observance, as has an outdoor prayer walk that has included scripture, poetry and meditation.

The walk “is a really nice intergenerational thing,” Cushman said. “I think that engages the youth and children more than a sermon does, and when we did the prayer walk this year, our youth really loved it,” especially “walking the labyrinth outside.”

The second speaker was LeCompte, who highlighted Jubilee 2025 campaigns calling for debt justice and financial reforms for communities burdened by unsustainable debt.

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Eric LeCompte is the executive director of the Jubilee USA Network (Photo courtesy of the network)

LeCompte stressed the importance of faith-based support and urged Presbyterians to go to the network’s website to find the Jubilee 2025 petition, which individuals and organizations can sign to join the call for debt forgiveness for struggling communities.

“It's a vital time right now to be contacting members of Congress to say support global debt relief accountability legislation and accountability mechanisms for the IMF,” said LeCompte, referring to the International Monetary Fund. “We'd encourage people to go to our website, Jubilee usa.org, and there you'll find a petition that over 200 faith-based organizations are moving around the world.”

LeCompte explained that the debt crisis is intertwined with issues related to climate change and to countries’ ability to provide for social services.

He noted that “when a country is in crisis, they're going to exploit whatever resources they have,” and “when we take gas, oil and coal out of the ground" and massive deforestation occurs, “it has a cyclical impact, so not only are those countries being exploited for these resources, it’s also driving up the challenges of climate change as well as taking away one of our most precious resources, which are older trees and older plants, which can absorb CO2 emissions.”

He also provided historical perspective, noting that “the vast amount of industrialization and growth in the north that took place, starting in the 1800s by stealing resources from developing countries in the south, consuming them for the past several 100 years in the north, not only spurred climate change, but also created a greater debt for the south,” and “countries were unprepared to deal with climate mitigation and adaptation.”

Find more information about the Presbyterian Advocacy Hour here. 

Darla Carter, Communications Strategist, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Click here to read original PNS Story)

Let us join in prayer for:

Cheryl Barnes,  Manager, US Global Ecumenical Liaisons, Interim Unified Agency
David Barnhart, Associate, Story Ministry, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, Interim United Agency

Let us pray:

Creator God, you call for us to care for the earth and to seek justice for our neighbors near and far. Open our eyes to the burdens carried by communities in poverty and to the wounds of your creation itself. Give us courage to advocate, wisdom to act and compassion that moves beyond words into faithful witness. Amen.

Mission Yearbook: New center at Columbia Theological Seminary aims to equip faith leaders for divided public square

In the midst of fractured and polarized debates in the United States, a timely new initiative, the Center for Theology and Contested Publics at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia, has been created to help church leaders understand changing public spaces and then enter them and speak with clarity and confidence.

Photo courtesy of Columbia Theological Seminary

The Center for Theology and Contested Publics at Columbia Theological Seminary will be an innovative hub for research and conversation to help equip communities of faith to speak wisely and faithfully in contested spaces, empower individuals with deeper theological insight and foster dialogue where division reigns.

“Surely one of the most unsurprising trends in the U.S. over the past few decades has been the increased presence of religious voices in public spaces,” said center director Dr. Mark Douglas, Columbia’s J. Erskine Love Professor of Christian Ethics and lead professor for the seminary’s ThM degree. “Whether for good (the Moral Mondays movement) or ill (White Christian Nationalism), religious language simply shows up more often and in more different ways than it once did.”

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Dr. Mark Douglas

“But what has driven this trend? And how have a range of significant forces — demographic shifts, the advent of social media, the rise of the ‘nones,’ etc. — shaped such language? The Center for Theology and Contested Publics dives headlong into those questions, hoping that addressing such questions not only can give insight into this trend but can shape better religious voices for public spaces,” Douglas said.

The center will utilize a national board to chart its direction in these conversations. That board includes Columbia professors and administrators Dr. Jackson Adamah, assistant professor of World Christianities; the Rev. Dr. Rafael Reyes, senior advisor for Flourishing and Belonging; Dr. Nicole Symmonds, assistant professor of Christian Ethics; the Rev. Dr. Charles Wiley, senior director for Leadership Support; and the Rev. Dr. Christine Roy Yoder, senior vice president and dean of Faculty and Academic Affairs; along with the Rev. Jennifer Butler (Faith in Democracy), Dr. Grace Kao (Claremont School of Theology), Dr. Vincent Lloyd (Villanova University), the Rev. Dr. Mary Nickel (University of South Carolina) and the Rev. Dr. Wonchul Shin (Villanova University).

“The launch of the Center for Theology and Contested Publics at Columbia Theological Seminary is a bold and unique step toward understanding and shaping the religious voices that increasingly define our public life,” said the Rev. Dr. Victor Aloyo Jr., Columbia’s president. “By engaging the complex forces of social change, technology, and shifting identities, the center offers a deeply relevant platform for fostering thoughtful and constructive dialogue, research, and contributions to today’s contested publics.”

For more about the Center for Theology and Contested Publics at Columbia Theological Seminary, go here.

Columbia Theological Seminary exists to educate and nurture faithful, imaginative, and effective leaders for the sake of the Church and the world. As a diverse, graduate educational institution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Columbia Theological Seminary is a community of theological inquiry, leadership development and formation for ministry in the service of the Church of Jesus Christ.

Columbia offers six graduate degree programs and dozens of courses and events along with resources for church professionals and lay people. For more information, go here.

Columbia Theological Seminary, Special to Presbyterian News Service (Click here to read original PNS Story)

Let us join in prayer for:

Amantha Barbee, Major Gift Officer, Stewardship and Major Gifts, Administrative Services Group (A Corporation)
Rebecca Barnes, Manager, Presbyterian Hunger Program, Interim Unified Agency  

Let us pray:

God of wisdom and truth, may leaders be guided by love rather than fear, by truth rather than distortion and by hope rather than despair. Form us into people who speak with grace, listen with compassion and work for the flourishing of all. Amen.