Today in the Mission Yearbook - A Presbyterian pastor on getting real with Reels

Podcast episode features members of the Presbyterian delegation

January 31, 2023

The Rev. Richard Hong

In our church’s social media posts, we’ve noticed a trend: The single, static photo is declining in effectiveness compared to short video clips. Meta (the parent company of Facebook and Instagram) has been pushing “Reels,” which are videos less than 90 seconds long. There are two considerations in creating these Reels — technical aspects and content.

The technical aspect of Reels highlights a tension between the video we create for worship and what we create for social media. This is the contrast between a horizontal format and vertical. We are used to horizontal video. Television screens are horizontal. Traditional cameras are horizontal. But people use their phones while holding them vertically, so the content should be posted vertically, and certainly no less than square.

Now that you got the right angle for shooting (keep that phone vertical!), it’s time to address content. If covering a church event, don’t take posed photos — ever again. Take 30 seconds of candid video and use that as a post. Another source of video is the recording of the sermon. Almost every week we isolate a one-minute clip from the sermon, looking for a section that poses a thought question or makes an essential takeaway point. Because the sermon is recorded horizontally, we use a simple video editor to crop the video to a square or vertical format.

Remember that many people watch these short videos with the sound off. Understanding this, both Facebook and Instagram will auto-generate captions. This automatically makes the videos appear to be more professionally produced.

Our church’s goal is that the short video will encourage the viewer to seek additional content by either following us or visiting our website or YouTube channel, where we make the full sermon available.

At this point, you may be asking, “What about TikTok?” My answer right now is that I don’t know yet. TikTok, which is entirely short-form videos, is the logical extension of the trend away from text and toward images. At present, TikTok’s audience is young — 70% are under 35. In terms of tone and focus, we aren’t well-positioned to create compelling content for the TikTok audience — yet. Maybe some of you are, and if so, I encourage you to try. Just know that the audience is very different from the typical audience for a Presbyterian church.

The move toward video is just the next step as our culture increasingly communicates visually. Thinking visually will help you increase your reach and engagement with the world around you.

The Rev. Richard Hong, pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Englewood, New Jersey

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Bob Ratcliff, Editor in chief, Westminster John Knox Press, Presbyterian Publishing Corporation
Rebecca Rayner, Senior Paralegal, Legal Services, Administrative Services Group (A Corp)

Let us pray

Gracious God, thank you that you have given us enough to share. Remind us always to be grateful for your blessings. Move us out of our comfort zones to reach to those who have not known your abundance. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Today in the Mission Yearbook - The PC(USA)’s ‘Advocacy Watch’ offers takeaways from COP27 climate conference

Podcast episode features members of the Presbyterian delegation

January 30, 2023

A Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) delegation returned from the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Egypt to encourage others in the denomination to find ways to show their concern for the environment.

“Get in touch with us, and we’ll connect you to groups and organizations” to collaborate with in your communities and churches, said Sue Rheem, a delegation member who co-hosts “Advocacy Watch,” the monthly advocacy episode of “A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast.” “There are things that each one of us can do to make a change.”

Rheem, who coordinates the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations, made the comment during a recent podcast, which centered on COP27, a global event also known as the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

During COP, which takes place each year, world leaders come together to discuss ways to address the global climate crisis. In addition to representatives from nearly 200 countries, the event attracts nonprofits, Indigenous groups and faith-based organizations and others to observe and take part in side events and other activities, such as protests and vigils. This year, there was an eight-member delegation from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Some of them appeared on the podcast.

“There is a rich history there of the Presbyterian church being present and having good connections,” said COP attendee Jessica Maudlin, the Presbyterian Hunger Program’s Associate for Sustainable Living and Earth Care Concerns. “We show up both as the PC(USA) but also as part of the World Council of Churches delegation and also the ACT Alliance — the activities that they plan — so we are well-connected to other faith organizations. That really helps us amplify the voices of people of faith.”

One of the biggest pieces of news from the COP was a decision to establish a fund to provide payouts to developing countries that suffer what’s referred to as “loss and damage” from climate-related disasters, such as floods and droughts.

“It’s the first time in 30 years that loss and damage even made it onto the agenda to be talked about, let alone have an agreement around that,” Maudlin said during the podcast. Also, “they’ve established this transitional committee that will help supposedly make the decisions” about how the fund will be implemented.

Although COP attracts worldwide publicity to the subject of climate change, it does have its flaws, and some activists have begun to look at it in a critical away. Some are wondering, “do we need to bring 40,000 people to this conference to get things done?” said Advocacy Watch guest Catherine Gordon, Associate for International Issues in the Presbyterian Office of Public Witness. “I think that there’s going to be a lot of evaluation about the effectiveness of COP and what it means to participate in it.”

The podcast guests lamented the large presence of fossil fuel companies and efforts by corporate giants to promote themselves. Gordon, a first-time COP attendee, also spoke about a hunger strike by a man concerned about human rights conditions in Egypt.

“It gave a dark energy to the conference … knowing that someone might die in prison for human rights while we were at a conference on the environment, and very little attention was being paid to it,” she said.

Members of the PC(USA) delegation also noted some logistical difficulties at COP and a feeling that discussions weren’t always as productive as they needed to be, but there also were some bright spots (See Christian Brooks of the Office of Public Witness discuss her experience here.).

Maudlin recalled visiting a climate justice action hub that she found to be very hospitable. “Also, there were some side events inside of the venue that were geared more towards solutions and actions, and I got to be part of a really beautiful side event on storytelling and how everyone has a climate story to tell,” she said.

Maudlin’s day-to-day job includes interacting with PHP’s Earth Care Congregations. She plans to encourage them to begin working early to let their concerns about climate change be known so that “representatives at COP28 can, hopefully, make some more ambitious decisions.”

The Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations, the Presbyterian Office of Public Witness and the Presbyterian Hunger Program are all part of the Compassion, Peace and Justice ministries of the Presbyterian Mission Agency. Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, another CPJ ministry, also sent representatives to COP.

Darla Carter, Communications Strategist, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Hery Ramambasoa, Mission Coordinator II, Asia & Pacific Office, Presbyterian Mission Agency
Ed Ramsey, Network Support Engineer, Information Technology, Administrative Services Group (A Corp)

Let us pray

God of the tilling, God of the planting, God of the watering and God of the harvest, prepare your workers for all that you call us to be and for all you call us to do, so that the harvest might be great and your name be greatly praised; for the sake of Jesus Christ, the Lord of the harvest. Amen.

Today in the Mission Yearbook - Union Presbyterian Seminary panelists share their thoughts on just leadership and the care of souls

While developing empathy requires work and emotional energy, it’s a source of hopeful stories

January 29, 2023

Photo by Joel Muniz via Unsplash

White Christians who do the hard work of educating themselves and empathizing with the centuries of racial trauma their African American siblings have endured can produce hope and healing that’s badly needed, members of an online panel convened by Union Presbyterian Seminary said recently.

The Rev. Melanie C. Jones, director of the Katie Geneva Cannon Center for Womanist Leadership, moderated the panel, which discussed “Pastoral Paradigms: Just Leadership and Care of Souls.” Panelists were:

The Rev. Veronica Cannon, transitional pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Waxhaw, North Carolina

The Rev. Dr. Rubén Arjona, Assistant Professor of Pastoral Care at Union Presbyterian Seminary

The Rev. Chris White, executive director of Brightpoint Wellness Center in Largo, Maryland.

The discussion was part of the seminary’s Just Talk/Talk Just series. The 66-minute conversation is available here.

“I think there is something celebratory about Blackness in America,” White said. “Despite the trauma, African Americans as they customarily do organize toward programming, policy formation and advocacy and advancement. It’s a rich legacy. People know how to take catastrophe and transform it into something rich.”

When it comes to pastoral care, the practice has shifted in recent decades from focusing on the individual to placing the individual in context — both the internal and external dynamics, according to Arjona. Even more recently, it’s been focused on racial and economic justice, he said.

Asked by Jones to name roadblocks to healing, Cannon said for white churches, it’s “their inability or unwillingness to look at their racial histories, the reasons they have been instrumental in some of the trauma caused to some of our congregations.”

When people of color are othered by white people in places like churches, “the reason [white people] cannot hear the hurt is because they can’t empathize,” White said. “They keep othering us rather than looking at the history that brought us to this moment.”

Empathy, according to Arjona, is “the ability to enter the other person’s world with your imagination.” That requires “great willingness and emotional energy,” but “some of the most hopeful stories I have seen come from people who have done this work, people who can imagine the realities of oppressed people.”

While “I hear my white siblings say they can never fully understand what it was like to be enslaved,” Cannon said, “I maintain that you may not walk in my shoes as an African American female, but you know what pain, embarrassment and grief feel like. … You don’t have to walk a mile in my shoes. You can find your way in through those pathways.”

Arjona sees the journey coming through empathy and compassion to solidarity, “a word that Latin American liberation theologians cherish. It is giving of oneself toward a goal or a commitment.”

How, Jones wondered, can faith leaders help stir their congregations out of complacency?

The prophetic role includes “tough talk about issues of ethics and morality and the like,” White said.

In many ways, pastoral and prophetic roles “feed each other,” Arjona said. “Kindness can be deeply prophetic and political. Don’t discount kindness and compassion as prophetic acts.”

Reaching out to other faith communities affected by issues of race “is a good way for a pastor to lead the way,” Cannon said. “If you can build bridges across the divide, that’s a way to begin the disruption of comfort for white congregations.”

Jones asked panelists for strategies for promoting healing and wholeness.

“It’s complex. Maybe it looks like a revolution,” Cannon said.

“To be sure,” White said, “white Americans have played a critical role toward justice, liberation and freedom, and we should acknowledge that. That history informs the present moment. Abolitionists and those who marched with Dr. King, those who supported Ida B. Wells — in a real sense they have been a model from history. If you are really serious about liberation and advancement, initiate relationships and do so with humility. Acknowledge what has occurred. You don’t have to be responsible, but the moment you know what’s going on, you are accountable.”

“And when you find some form of empathy,” White advised white listeners, “step up like your ancestors did.”

 Mike Ferguson, Editor, Presbyterian News Service

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Kim Pryor, VP, Director Trust Relationship Services, Presbyterian Foundation
Elonzer Purkins, Custodian, Presbyterian Historical Society

Let us pray

Gracious God, you call us to serve one another with energy, intelligence, imagination and love. Bless us with your creative Spirit so that small acts of courage and kindness can become bold outpourings of your love. Connect us with our neighbors near and far so that all of us may rejoice together in your good news. Amen.

Today in the Mission Yearbook - Presbyterian churches in Louisville take the plowshares approach toward halting gun violence

Guns to Gardens event results in the disabling of 28 weapons

January 28, 2023

A recent Guns to Gardens event in Louisville resulted in 28 guns being dismantled. (Photo by Mike Ferguson)

It took a village for churches and other organizations in Louisville to pull off a recent Guns to Gardens event, including the village blacksmith.

Craig Kaviar, a Louisville blacksmith who owns Craig Kaviar Forge, was among the dozen or so volunteers to accept unwanted weapons and cut them into manageable sizes. It’s now Kaviar’s task to take the parts from the 28 disabled weapons and forge them into garden tools and jewelry.

“It’s amazing the group got this organized,” Kaviar said during the two-hour event held at Douglass Boulevard Christian Church, noting that state laws in Kentucky “are not favorable for this kind of event.”

“I like the idea of turning swords into plowshares,” said Kaviar, who worships at The Temple, a Jewish synagogue in Louisville. In his shop, Kaviar utilizes several tools originally designed for warfare, including a power hammer that was once part of a battleship and a press from an ammunition plant.

During the event, volunteers greeted people in their vehicles, explaining the process and answering questions.

“Any opportunity to offer people a safe way to surrender their weapons is definitely important,” said Ashia Stoess, director of Family Ministry and Community Engagement at Pewee Valley Presbyterian Church. “It’s inspiring to see a group of people from different churches make that happen.”

Early on during the event, Stoess said the event could benefit people who inherited a gun or perhaps those who once used a weapon for hunting but no longer had a safe way to store it.

Crescent Hill Presbyterian Church’s Eva Stimson, one of the organizers, said churches contributed both volunteers and financial resources toward the event. Mid-Kentucky Presbytery also provided a financial donation. A group formed in a Crescent Hill Sunday school class expanded to include members of Baptist and Unitarian congregations. Douglass Boulevard Christian Church, a Disciples of Christ congregation, hosted the Guns to Gardens event.

Craig Kaviar, a Louisville blacksmith, plans to turn the gun parts into garden tools and jewelry. (Photo by Mike Ferguson)

“We have tried to earn the reputation as a place that says, ‘Sure. Let’s figure it out,’” said Douglass Boulevard’s pastor, the Rev. Dr. Derek Penwell. He called gun violence “among the most visible and scary issues” that residents face.

Presbyterian Peace Fellowship has been spearheading Guns to Gardens events across the country. “Guns to Gardens is an outdoor drive-through event,” said PPF’s the Rev. Jan Orr-Harter.

Another event in Tulsa resulted in 57 guns, including an assault-style weapon, being dismantled. More events were planned, said PPF’s the Rev. Deanna Hollas.

Chartrael Hall, a minister at Quinn Chapel AME Church in Louisville and a former GOP candidate for Louisville mayor, called the event “a productive way to get weapons off the streets.”

He’d just been talking to a man who turned in two rifles he’d inherited from his father because the man’s children didn’t want to learn to shoot them. The man figured he could sell the rifles or pawn them, “and then he heard about this and thought it was a good cause,” Hall said.

In his neighborhood and around Louisville, “there is a numbness” about gun violence, Hall said. “You expect to hear shots. … Parents are fearful of letting their children walk to the store. It’s not in just one area — it’s a city problem,” Hall said. “I don’t know how to fix this except through power and presence and continuing to spread the message.”

During his mayoral campaign, Hall said he heard from a number of Louisville Metro Police Department officers that being routinely shorthanded has given officers an additional workload which has increased their concerns about mental health. “A lot of officers expressed [those] frustrations when I was running for mayor,” Hall said.

When Leon Lewis and Kita Rodriguez worship, it’s at Grace Hope Presbyterian Church in Louisville. “Gun use is situational,” Lewis said. “People get into an argument, the conflict escalates, and pride and ego can get in the way,” after which weapons are sometimes displayed or, tragically, used.

Rodriguez said she’s had family members both killed and injured by gun violence. “People’s lack of knowledge makes them foolish with guns,” she said. “I think that lack of knowledge is a reason for some of the violence.”

Mike Ferguson, Editor, Presbyterian News Service

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Tracy Pou, Vice president of Marketing & Communications, Board of Pensions
Sonia Prescott, Reference & Outreach Archivist, Presbyterian Historical Society

Let us pray

Almighty God, give us grace that your knowledge may become ours. May we grow in faith and bear fruit worthy of your people, living and growing in the Holy Spirit, both now and forevermore. Amen!

Today in the Mission Yearbook - First Presbyterian Church in Gainesville, Florida, shares a concert and the Good News

Songs are sung and stories are told of a Matthew 25 church reaching others

January 27, 2023

First Presbyterian Church’s “Love in Action” special service shared stories of the Holy Spirit at work in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo courtesy of First Presbyterian Church)

Sunday morning worship was long over with, yet the sanctuary at First Presbyterian Church in Gainesville, Florida, was filled with activity. Musicians setting their music stands at the right height. Singers warming up their vocal cords. Ushers greeting those who came for what would be an inspiring afternoon of a community showing their “Love in Action.”

For some time now, the congregation of First Presbyterian has been living out Matthew 25 — challenging themselves to see Jesus in the needs of the community and then boldly acting on them. But Matthew 25 isn’t relegated to just mission committees. Matthew 25 is for all.

Inspired by the generous hearts eager to lend their time and talent, First Presbyterian’s music director, Mitch Rorick, wanted to do his part.

That’s when the idea to craft a special service, which would share the inspiring stories of the Holy Spirit working within the community and bring alive the songs of faith that echoed the Matthew 25 vision, came to him.

Those in the congregation were excited.

“Mitch wanted to combine missions and music into a concert,” member M. Violet “Vi” Asmuth recalled.

Rorick reached out to the church’s missions committee, where a small group began tossing around ideas. It became apparent that in addition to the songs of faith that melodiously capture Matthew 25, including “Lord, Make Me an Instrument” and “Here I Am, Lord” — an ecumenical favorite that is sung with gusto no matter what the denomination of the church is — having those engaging in the work share their testimonies would be a vital part of the program. Weaving together music and mission soon led to the perfect name for the concert: “Love in Action.”

A Matthew 25 concert put on by First Presbyterian Church in Gainesville, Florida, “Love in Action,” also featured interviews of those in the community serving others. (Photo courtesy of First Presbyterian Church)

With so many stories to share, Asmuth was tasked with drafting a script “so as to keep the time from getting out of control.”

“I talked to each interviewee to get the main points of what each wanted to say and then wrote the final script,” she said.

Asmuth’s task in gathering the stories proved to be a spiritual moment as she heard a common thread of God’s redeeming love connecting them all together. Among the stories was one from the director of a local organization, Gainesville Community Ministry, who shared with those attending the concert that at age 16 he ran away from an abusive foster care home and spent the next two years homeless. With the help of others and local churches, he found the strength and the resources needed to not only make a life for himself, but a life that would help others.

In addition to music and powerful stories, an offering was also part of the “Love in Action” concert. “The offering, though, was not your typical call for money,” said Asmuth. This “offering,” she says, was the blank cards that were included in the bulletins, allowing those attending “to write an inspired action that they planned to do.”

“We wanted to inspire others to go now and ‘do likewise’ in reaching out to neighbor and stranger alike,” she said. Of course, the organizers of “Love in Action” knew there would be those who wanted to give monetary gifts as well.

“There were places in the sanctuary to deposit money,” said Asmuth, adding that funds collected were divided among the agencies that spoke during the “Love in Action” concert.

Donna Frischknecht Jackson, Editor, Presbyterians Today

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Irv Porter, Associate, Native American Intercultural Congregational Support, Presbyterian Mission Agency
Doug Portz, Senior Church Consultant, Pittsburgh, Board of Pensions

Let us pray

Lord God, grant us the humility and wisdom to follow the leadership that you have appointed. Grant us the willingness to perform the tasks that you have commanded for us to do. Let us be constantly reminded of your sovereignty and protect us from those who put stumbling blocks in our way. Amen.

Today in the Mission Yearbook - Keynoter at the PC(USA)’s ‘The Immersion’ conference takes attendees through trying different kinds of prayer and building caring relationships

The Rev. Dr. Gary Neal Hansen literally wrote the book on prayer with his ‘Kneeling with Giants’

January 26, 2023

The Rev. Dr. Gary Neal Hansen, an author and historian, spoke Wednesday during The Immersion conference at Montreat Conference Center. (Photo by Rich Copley)

Author and historian the Rev. Dr. Gary Neal Hansen, the author of the 2012 book “Kneeling with Giants: Learning to Pray with History’s Best Teachers,” used two hourlong keynote slots during The Immersion conference in part to offer attendees “a well-rounded diet of prayer.”

“Who needs this?” Hansen asked. “It’s mostly for the person whose teeth you brush. It’s food for your own journey.”

The Immersion was a two-day conference put on by the Office of Vital Congregations and held at Montreat Conference Center and online.

Christians of course use all kinds of approaches in their prayer life, some scattershot and others reflecting a “more regular approach,” according to Hansen. It’s amazing, he said, the diversity with which people connect with God.

Prayer helps us speak to God, listen to God and go beyond our words and God’s words to allow us to simply be, Hansen said.

On that first role, Hansen had a few questions that might naturally occur to people. Who am I to talk to the Creator of all? How do I draw close to a God who’s not physically present?

We have the reformer Martin Luther as our guide here, Hansen explained. We’re given the Lord’s Prayer as a primer because “God wants to talk to you about daily bread, the kingdom and forgiveness of sins,” he said.

As for listening, “that still small voice inside your head isn’t always a good voice,” Hansen said. He mentioned St. Ignatius of Loyola’s Examen, a daily examination of conscience, as a helpful guide.

On being with God, Hansen held up Paul’s reminder to pray without ceasing. Any of us can pray at any time the Jesus Prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner,” a prayer that, as Hansen said, “puts us in a contemplative space. We are able to dwell with God with that call for mercy.”

“Try one,” Hansen said of the various kinds of prayers. “Evaluate it, then try another.”

The Rev. Dr. Gary Neal Hansen, left, shares a moment with the coordinator of the Office of Vital Congregations, the Rev. Carlton Johnson, during The Immersion conference. (Photo by Rich Copley)

During the second half of his presentation, Hansen focused on Mark 6 of the 7 Marks of Vital Congregations, Caring Relationships. “We learn how to be Christians together and not alone,” Hansen said. “I was working with a little church that wanted to grow without changing. I commended them for at least getting that out on paper.” One member told Hansen, “You know, we don’t want to get too close to each other.” Hansen told conference-goers, “that fits the way a lot of congregational life happens. I think we’re called to more than that.”

As one who’s done “a lot of pulpit supply” when a church’s pastor is away, “surprisingly often, no one will greet me or tell me where I might hang my robe bag or where the restroom is or even where the pulpit is. I think, when this is the greeting they give to someone they paid to come, what’s it like to come in off the street?”

“The doors are open physically,” Hansen said, “but often not relationally.”

Hansen said his ongoing interest is “looking at ways Christians have formed communities intentionally. They are gospel-shaped things” that “deepen discipleship, forge deeper relationships and end up having a disproportionately large impact on mission.”

“The degree to which we shape community life to the gospel,” Hansen said, “sets the measure of our loving, caring relationships.”

What would happen, he wondered, if we make our life together look like the gospel? “It’s worth pondering for presbyteries and sessions because it will only work well if we work together.”

There’s no single model for community formation, he said. “Make some choices and do some stuff,” Hansen suggested. “What if we decided to make building relationships front and center? Or education, so we can all articulate the faith we are trying to live? Or deep, beautiful worship in intentional ways? Any of those can come out of strong gospel priorities. Over time, you’ll grow as disciples and in your love for one another.”

“You put on a project that matters and you will come to love one another,” Hansen said.

Mike Ferguson, Editor, Presbyterian News Service

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Katherine Pierce, Business Administrator, Church Engagement, Board of Pensions
Cristina Pitts, Mission Specialist, Latin American & the Caribbean office, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us pray

Heavenly Father, grant us grace to live lives of devotion and discipline that reflect your grace and truth. Amen.

Today in the Mission Yearbook - New York Avenue Presbyterian Church hosts Professor Kristin Henning, a lawyer and scholar who wrote about how we are criminalizing Black youth

‘Every single child in this country deserves at least one irrationally caring adult in their life’ Georgetown Law scholar says

January 25, 2023

 

Professor Kristin Henning (Photo courtesy of Georgetown Law)

Professor Kristin Henning, who teaches at Georgetown Law, directs its Juvenile Justice Clinic & Initiative and wrote “The Rage of Innocence: How America Criminalizes Black Youth,” was a recent speaker in New York Avenue Presbyterian Church’s McClendon Scholar Program. More than 500 people from across the country registered to attend the online event.

Henning opened with this surprising statistic: In 26 years representing children accused of a crime or crimes in the District of Columbia — many of those years as the lead attorney in the juvenile unit at the public defender’s office — she represented only four white children. “That’s it. Every other child has been an African American child,” she said. “That statistic should cause every single one of us to gasp in horror.”

“I wanted to understand how these disparities are impacting Black youth. I wanted to know whether disparate policing and criminalization was making America any safer, or are we just hurting ourselves and our children? What can we do about it? The book arises from that set of questions,” Henning said.

A girl Henning calls Cherise in the book is illustrative. At age 17, she had an argument at school with her boyfriend. Convinced he was cheating on her, she grabbed his cellphone, walked away and started scrolling through his text messages. A school resource officer saw their encounter and arrested Cherise in front of her classmates. The next day she was brought before a judge and prosecuted for robbery. “On paper, she looks like a serious felon,” Henning said. “But really, she’s a normal teenage girl.”

In fact, Henning said, very few people under 18 “are engaged in the violent crimes we are most afraid of. The juvenile courts are populated by children like Cherise. Teenagers are impulsive risk-takers and fairness fanatics. They do what they think their friends are doing. They care more about the immediate rewards than they care about future outcomes.”

“For the most part, we treat white children with tolerance and grace,” Henning noted, while Black children “are criminalized for nearly every feature of adolescence, including talking back to adults, having a party, experimenting with sex and playing with toy guns in the park.”

And when Black children do commit a serious crime, “we are more likely to treat them as if they are beyond redemption, to prosecute them as adults and find them guilty and send them to an adult prison,” she said.

Adults perceive Black girls as older and more mature and less in need of protection, Henning said. As a result of these disparate perceptions, Black girls are 3.5 times more likely to be arrested at school than white girls, while Black boys are 2.4 times more likely.

“Black children are paying attention,” Henning said. “Black and Latino children are aware of the ways they are disparately treated in society.” Most of the distrust of police transfers to other authority figures, including teachers and counselors, she said.

“The criminalization of adolescents breeds delinquent behavior,” she said. “We are doing ourselves a real disservice. I care madly about public safety, but we have to get it right.”

During a question-and-answer session with Madalena Aspiras following her talk, Henning said she relied on a “shock and awe” file to help her write her book, which was published in 2021. The file held police reports and court files “that really caused me shock,” Henning said. “When I went to write the book, I looked at those and experienced some secondary trauma.”

“We should all do this and not become complicit and accept the day-to-day routine of the work we do,” Henning said. “We need to be alert. These are stories that need to be told.”

Asked about the role faith plays, Henning said it’s “100% what sustains me in this work.”

“Treating humans with dignity and respect arises from everything I learned from my faith,” she said. She suggested “getting proximate to the young people who are impacted” by becoming a mentor or tutoring them.

Mike Ferguson, Editor, Presbyterian News Service

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Jason Peterson, Chief Operating Officer, Presbyterian Investment & Loan Program
Jim Phares, Web Systems Developer, IT Application Development, Administrative Services Group (A Corp)

Let us pray

Almighty God, we are thankful for the example set by your Son, Jesus Christ, in reaching others through his preaching, teaching and healing. Undergird our churches as they seek to follow that example faithfully in the places where they serve in his name today. Amen.

Ministry Matters - Stop sitting on your assets | Innovating care in early Christian community

Are we complaining more about what we don't have and missing out on what we do? Stop sitting on your assets by Joe Daniels, Jr. and Christie Latona   Ministry without utilizing assets is like a sports car without a country road. When we don’t utilize our assets, we miss the greater possibilities for ministry, and we are usually consumed by scarcity thinking. Too often our people, churches, and judicatories complain about what they don’t have instead of discovering, celebrating, and using what they do have. Too often our people, churches, and judicatories forget the assets in our communities and our congregations. Read here

How can church-as-institution still be a vital source of life and hope? Innovating care in early Christian community by C. Kavin Rowe   Charities abound in our time. Indeed, they have become so much a part of the fabric of our culture that their existence is taken for granted. No one is surprised after a major hurricane, say, that Samaritan’s Purse shows up on-site passing out water and food and helping to rebuild. No one is shocked when in the checkout line the clerk at the grocery store asks if you want to “round up” to help children with cancer. Charities have made it possible to help people near and far, even those whom we don’t know and never will, with a click of the mouse or a “sure, I’ll round up.” Read here

How are some churches continuing to innovate and thrive, while others seem to be stuck? My church is tired! How do we overcome missional paralysis? by Michael Adam Beck   In this time of liminality, we have to manage the tension of caring for what is, while creating what will be. I used to talk about sustaining the inherited church, while planting fresh expressions in the community. Now we have had to redefine the center and create new ways to care for our people. In addition to cultivating new digital, smaller, and hybrid forms of church. Read here

Plain speaking on justice and mercy in your sermon for Sunday Hearing the call to practice justice with these worship elements this week

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