2025 Path of Peace reflections - Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025

Ben and Carol Weir

Matthew 8:18–27

When the storm overtakes their boat, the disciples panic. Waves crash, wind howls and Jesus sleeps. “Save us, Lord! We are perishing!” they cry. But Jesus responds not with alarm but authority: “Why are you afraid, you of little faith?” Then he calms the sea, and they marvel, “What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?”

Ben and Carol Weir knew what it meant to live through storms. As Presbyterian missionaries in Lebanon for nearly 30 years, they bore witness to both the beauty and the brokenness of the Middle East. Their work as educators and bridge-builders across religious and cultural divides was rooted in a deep commitment to Christ’s peace and justice.

But the storm came in 1984, when Ben was kidnapped at gunpoint in Beirut by Islamic Jihad, a Hezbollah-linked group. For 16 months, he was held in captivity, often in solitary confinement, never knowing when or if he’d be released. During this time, Carol and their children remained in Lebanon, advocating for his release, sustaining their community and trusting in God’s presence through uncertainty.

Remarkably, Ben emerged from captivity not with bitterness, but with a call to deepen the Church’s commitment to peacemaking. In 1986, he was elected Moderator of the 198th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), using his platform to encourage understanding, justice and dialogue — especially around U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. Both he and Carol became tireless advocates for reconciliation, educating congregations and international leaders alike on the complexity of peace.

Like the disciples on the sea, the Weirs cried out to God in their storm. But they also bore witness to the One who stills the winds — not always by preventing the storm, but by giving strength within it. Their faith did not rest on safety but on the call of Christ to go where he goes, even into troubled waters.

Prayer: God of wind and wave, thank you for faithful servants like Ben and Carol Weir. When storms rage around us, give us courage to follow you, trust you and work for peace in every land. Amen.

The Rev. Katie Day loves Waffle House and live theater and serves as pastor of Pleasant Hill Presbyterian Church in Duluth, Georgia. She shares a home with her husband, Kevin, and their child, Elijah, and everyone answers to the cats, Magnificat and Fatty Pancakes.

2025 Path of Peace reflections - Friday, Oct. 3, 2025

Charlie Scott

Matthew 8:1–3 (NIV)

Jesus touched the untouchable person. Later, he offered to come to the home of a Roman military occupier to help his slave. And that evening, he brought shalom to the demonized. In just a few lines of narrative action, Matthew tells us the Divine Blessing, apparently, recognizes no boundaries.

While still a Presbyterian seminary student (at Columbia Seminary in Decatur, Georgia), the Rev. Charlie Scott grasped that truth. The weekend of the big annual church picnic was fast approaching, and with it, a crisis of unprecedented scope. In this early autumn of 1966, the new class of students at Columbia were to be the special guests at the picnic. But there was a problem. One of the new students was an African American. The church’s solution to “the problem”: Welcome all the students but require the “Negro” to dress as one of the cooks.

Scott could not abide. He organized his fellow students and let the church know that they all would be coming to the picnic … dressed as cooks! At the last moment, the church rescinded its “special dress code.”

From his days as a basketball star at the University of Tennessee in the late ’50s, through the tumultuous ’60s in Atlanta, to his decades leading Young Life in Florida, Scott understood and embodied the inclusiveness and justice of the Gospel. He led the establishment of youth ministries for all kinds of youth: Black, brown and white; rich and poor; differently abled and gifted. He founded the Good Shepherd School in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. He and his wife, Mary, advocated for women and minorities to have major leadership positions in Young Life long before it was popular (safe). He refused to use church camps that did not welcome “every kid.” In short, Scott was willing — willing to risk status, security and success in order to follow Christ’s example of offering inclusive grace. In the process, he influenced thousands of teenagers and adults to see faith as more than merely a private matter but through the lens of generosity, racial reconciliation and justice.

Prayer:

Holy One, in this season of Advent opening, of touching the unclean, of seeing new truth, may we set aside all the ways we condition your grace. Help us to welcome the arrival of radical love that changes relationships. Amen.

The Rev. Bill Hoff lives with his family in Jacksonville, Florida, where his small intentional community has sustained life over decades. Bill blended a career in Young Life, the Presbyterian Church and community engagement.

2025 Path of Peace reflections - Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025

The Presbyterian Historical Society

Matthew 7:22–29

In the final verses of Matthew 7, Jesus compares those who say they follow him and those who act upon his teachings. He makes it abundantly clear that it is not enough to simply acknowledge him as “Lord,” but one must actually obey his teachings. Genuine discipleship is evidenced through actions, choices, sacrifices and consistent faith.

The Presbyterian Historical Society, through its heritage preservation efforts, offers us so much more than antiquated records, photographs and documentation — it provides us with living, tangible proof of what faith in action looks like. Each preserved letter, each volunteer logbook and every member’s story paints a robust picture exemplifying what it is to live in Christ.

Organizations like the Presbyterian Historical Society teach us an important lesson: History will always hold us accountable. Our legacy, what we build in Christ, becomes part of the testimony we leave behind for others to grow from. While our words will fade from the memories of our community members, family and loved ones, our actions will not.

Our Christian actions can live, thrive, grow, and even work to prove what it means to live with the love and discipline that Jesus urges us to show. The tombstone of the Rev. Bruce Klunder shows his sacrifice to end segregation in 1964, when his life was taken while protesting for the safety and respect of all of God’s children. There are the arrest warrants of countless European Christians who were punished greatly for aiding and housing disabled individuals and Jewish children during the reign of the Third Reich. The crumpled receipts and bank statements from the public school teacher who used her own meager salary to pay for kids' field trip expenses in 2008, not wanting anyone to feel left out. The pay stubs of the struggling recent college graduate, entering the workforce during a global pandemic, employed by the church to highlight and digitize these records, hopefully shedding light on even more lessons and examples of those who came before us and those even with us today.

Faith and love in God, and living as Jesus urges us to in Matthew 7, cannot be forever remembered in proclamations but can be immortalized in preservation. It is difficult to sacrifice the comfort and stability that come with deviating from the apathetic homogeneity of our current culture. Today, we are challenged to ask, what kind of foundation are we building? Will someone looking back see evidence that we truly lived as followers of Jesus? Are we just wearing the cross necklace and speaking our faith, or are we actively practicing it through love, justice, mercy and empathy?

Prayer:

Loving God, help us to build our lives on the solid rock of your Word. Let us be not only healers, but doers — living lives that honor you. Thank you for the gift of faithful witnesses before us and the work of those preserving their stories at the Presbyterian Historical Society. May our actions speak louder than our words, and may we leave legacies of kindness and love as taught by Jesus. Amen.

Virginia Zeigler grew up at Riverside Presbyterian Church in Jacksonville, Florida. She has always loved spending time in nature, especially in the mountains. She works as an oceanographic physicist, where she gets to explore the science behind God’s Creation.

2025 Path of Peace reflections - Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025

Mary Ann Lundy

Matthew 7:13–21

This passage reminds me of Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken,” where two roads diverge in this wooden forest, with one chosen by many and another not as commonly trodden. It can also serve as a faith illustration for us. Do we want to live a faith that is comfortable and a bit easier, or rather a faith that is active and more challenging?

Having an active faith often seems like the road not taken. The world frequently views Christianity through a negative lens and sees it as a religion that hurts people and judges, and that typically consists of people who don’t practice what they preach. Choosing to live an active faith flips this perception on its head. It’s humble, just and kind; it uses us as a vessel for God’s will. An active faith can challenge us not to remain stagnant but to strengthen our faith and step outside ourselves to create the world that God wants for our neighbors.

A notable example of someone actively engaged in their faith is Mary Ann Lundy. She bore visible fruit in the form of advocacy, justice and inclusiveness in her ministry and can be seen as good fruit growing from a deep-rooted and active faith. Throughout her life, she accomplished much, including leading the Women’s Ministry Unit in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), helping to organize the Reimagining conference in 1993, serving as deputy general secretary of the World Council of Churches, and dedicating time to an interfaith center.

Lundy was someone the world needed, and she left a significant impact on the communities she was a part of. Living out an active faith led her to participate in and be a part of many different things throughout her life. Rather than living with a bare minimum faith mindset (which is where much of the negative thought about Christianity originates), she spent her life being challenged and moving to where God called her.

We, too, can answer the call. To live out our faith each day as people who love their neighbor and emulate God’s goodness in the world. Some days, actively living out our faith may be simple, while other days may seem impossible. This is the faith that this passage speaks of and the one that God seeks from us.

Prayer:

God, challenge us to blaze the path of active faith in our lives and to live as a vessel of your light and love in the world each day. Amen.

Isabella Giles is a senior studying Public Relations at Florida State University with the hopes of working in the faith nonprofit sector when she graduates. In her free time, she enjoys volunteering, savoring copious amounts of coffee, spending time outdoors and engaging with various faith communities. 

2025 Path of Peace reflections - Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025

The Harrisburg Seven

Psalm 7:6–11

During the Vietnam War, as bombs fell abroad and unrest simmered at home, a group of religious activists took a stand against what they saw as a moral and spiritual catastrophe. Among them were the Revs. Neil McLaughlin and Joseph Wenderoth, two Presbyterian pastors who joined priests, nuns, and peace advocates to challenge the systems that sustained war and injustice. Together, they became known as the Harrisburg Seven, indicted in 1971 under false charges of conspiracy, including a fabricated plot to kidnap Henry Kissinger and blow up the U.S. Capitol.

Their real offense? Bold and nonviolent protest: pouring blood on draft files, burning records and speaking out as people of conscience. For these activists, their faith was not separate from their resistance. It was at the very root of it. Like the psalmist, they trusted in God as the righteous judge, crying out not in hatred, but in a deep yearning for justice and peace.

Psalm 7 is the prayer of someone unjustly accused, crying to God for help, for the wickedness of the violent to be stopped and for the righteous to be upheld. The Harrisburg defendants placed their hope not in acquittal alone, but in a higher moral order born out of reverence.

Ultimately, they were found not guilty of the fabricated conspiracy. But their true vindication was deeper: a public testimony that peace rooted in faith has the power to confront empires. Their legacy reminds us that God’s judgment is not about wrath but about righteousness. Conscience matters, and sometimes to follow Christ is to disturb the peace of the world for the peace of God.

Prayer:

Come, Holy Spirit, into our tattered hearts and minds. Fill us with your divine imagination, strength and hope, as we shoulder the burdens of our struggling world. Amen.

Optional resource: time.com/archive/6639341/trials-battle-in-harrisburg

Alex Pickell is a candidate for ordination in the PC(USA). Born and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas, Alex received her B.A. in History and French from the University of Arkansas before attending Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, where she graduated with a Master of Divinity degree in 2024. This summer, Alex is serving as a Peacemaking Fellow in the Office of Public Witness.

2025 Path of Peace reflections - Monday, Sept. 29, 2025

Hunger

Matthew 6:25–26

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

As Jesus speaks, he places in the hearts and minds of those listening an alternative vision of life that trusts that God is actively involved in all things, as seen in the birds of the air. Sometimes we claim that we are God’s hands and feet in this world — which we are in many ways. Ultimately, though, God is actively summoning us to clasp hands in community with those known and unknown, visible to us and invisible, to join God in God’s unfolding plan for Creation.

For several years I served as an associate pastor at Palms Presbyterian Church in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. During my time there, we had the opportunity to partner with a group of churches in Cité Soleil and Port-au-Prince, Haiti. As our relationship grew, we were very aware of the food shortage evident in so many Haitian communities. When World Communion Sunday approached, our leadership began considering how we might extend Christ’s Table to our sisters and brothers in those churches. The Palms congregation invited other churches in the Beaches area to join in making food packets to be shipped to Haiti. The nearby Episcopal church and the synagogue joined in. Thousands of packets were made and shipped, beginning a many-year tradition of Extending the Table.

War, natural disasters and the climate crisis have brought incredible worldwide need for nourishing food. May we join others on the path of extending God’s generous table set before us to those who hunger and thirst.

Prayer:

Gracious and loving God, through Christ, you set a table before us that reminds us that you are present in and among all Creation. Guide us and lead us to extend your generosity in nourishing ways to those who hunger to be seen, heard, restored, and fed by the nourishing of their bodies and souls. Amen.

The Rev. Dr. Carol DiGiusto is honorably retired and living in Jacksonville, Florida, following pastoral calls to several churches in the Presbytery of St. Augustine.

2025 Path of Peace reflections - Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025

Timothy F. Simpson

Matthew 6:19–24

I remember what he told me like a memory caught in amber, its DNA, its full body preserved, though it was nearly 20 years ago, and he died 10 years ago. It was a Wednesday evening at church, and I was free of youth ministry duties that night, so I sat in on a class on Revelation with the Rev. Dr. Timothy F. Simpson. On that night, he was pontificating, as he did, but in a way that you found spellbinding, on the dangers of the Left Behind video game, which extended the universe of the books and movies to something children and teens could participate in. And it was participation in messianic violence, redemptive violence, and religion-soaked and sanctioned violence. Because I was the resident youth minister, Simpson zeroed in on me and said, “You have to speak up about this with youth and for youth. If you don’t, who will? And there will come a time when it might cost you. You’ll have to make a choice.”

Simpson understood the cost of peace, and it was clearly his treasure. He had a towering intellect and mesmerizing charisma, which he could have employed for any master. He had left the service of his fundamentalist upbringing and pastorate. He could have crossed over to milquetoast, profitable liberalism. He could have crossed over to moderate, inoffensive, big-salaried ministry. Instead, you could find him, for instance, being arrested outside the White House in March 2007 while protesting the Iraq War through song and prayer alongside voices of conscience like now Sen. Raphael Warnock (Ga.). From the time he was my college professor, Simpson showed me, every step of the way, that we had to choose between peace and violence, justice and Mammon.

I have remembered those words as I made choices about my faith, how I raise my children, how I am involved in my church and community, and how I direct my career. Simpson helped me light the lamp; the inner eye lit up by the peace and justice of Christ. Sometimes I can only see a couple of paces ahead, but my heart and my treasure are in each step.

Prayer:

O God, your justice and peace are our joy. Help us to trust Christ’s light to guide our way, even when it is unpopular and unprofitable. Show us the treasure that is worth our hearts. Gird us up through your Spirit to make the difficult choices to serve you, that your kingdom may come more fully in our lives and your world. Amen.

Matt Hartley is the community coordinator for the Young Adult Transformation Collective. He has served in Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) youth ministry and camp and conference ministry roles for 20 years. He lives in Jacksonville, Florida.

2025 Path of Peace reflections - Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025

Lois Stair

2 Kings 9:17–37 (NIV)

When Joram saw Jehu, he asked, “Have you come in peace, Jehu?”

“How can there be peace,” Jehu replied, “as long as all the idolatry and witchcraft of your mother Jezebel abound?”

As we journey through this Season of Peace, we reflect not only on peace as a promise but also as a calling born from the midst of conflict and driven by courage. Today, we are reminded of the legacy of the Presbyterians who have come before us, who not only demanded peace but acted on it, whose faithful lives point us toward justice, courage and reconciliation. Today, we reflect on the life of Lois Stair, a visionary of racial and gender justice, who in 1971 became the first woman elected Moderator of the Presbyterian General Assembly. Her leadership and devotion modeled what it means to be a steward of justice.

Peace is not always clean-cut and comfortable. In today’s Scripture, Jehu was commanded to confront the corruption caused by King Joram’s rule. The king asked if Jehu came in peace — a question typically asked of any traveler, prophet or messenger — but the king had let evil run rampant, and Jehu could no longer stand by complacently. His defiant response and actions, although violent, underscore a biblical truth: Real peace is not passive. It is not a veil of silence that disguises inequality and injustice. Peace demands we confront the injustices that disrupt it. Peace demands truth. Peace demands holy discontentment.

Stair bravely navigated the tension between peace and confrontation at a time when the Church navigated challenges of justice during a period of uncertainty and political change.

She once proclaimed,

“If we are to be peacemakers as Christ calls us to do, we must see hope in facing conflict, in letting our differences show, in being honest about hurts that haunt us in the world … about prisons that are inhumane, about racism that is ruling our world.”

Like Jehu, she knew that peace could not be obtained through complacency or ignorance but rather earned through honest struggle and transformation. As Moderator, Stair challenged congregations to move beyond their comfort zones, confront the systemic inequalities that divide our communities, and reimagine the Church as a place that embraces diversity and embodies God’s call for justice.

Prayer:

God of peace and purpose,

You call on us to confront the injustice that hurts the world, as you called on Jehu.

You call on us to lead with love and truth, as you called on Lois Stair.

Lord, I pray you give us the courage to seek justice in a world that expects us to be complicit.

Help us look to you to carry out your vision of love, justice and peace on Earth, and help us believe that peace is possible, even now. Amen.

Originally from Wilmington, North Carolina, Grace Kromke (she/they) is a rising senior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill studying Women’s & Gender Studies and Public Policy. Grace has served as a young adult delegate for PC(USA) at the United Nations’ 69th Commission on the Status of Women and the U.N. High Level Political Forum. As a Peacemaking Fellow in the Office of Public Witness, Grace is engaging in ministry, advocacy and public witness while working on issues such as gun violence prevention, gender justice and gender-based violence, and anti-war and peace.

2025 Path of Peace reflections - Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025

James Foster Reese

Matthew 6:1–6, 16–18

The Rev. Dr. James Foster Reese is widely remembered for his dedication to justice, education, community and faith. While pastoring a church on the campus of Knoxville College, he was actively engaged in the Civil Rights Movement. He participated in the 1960 Knoxville sit-ins and mentored student activists. In 1964, he aided two white ministers who had been attacked while on a trip visiting Black churches in Alabama.

Though he was the only Black seminarian who attended Pittsburgh-Xenia Seminary from 1946–49, Reese was a student leader. His time at Pittsburgh helped cement his confidence and sense of calling in a country where Jim Crow still ruled.

After attending seminary, he accepted a call to be a pastor in Alabama, a state still in the throes of segregation. In a 2015 interview with the Presbyterian Historical Society, Reese shared his story of being denied a voter registration form from the county courthouse. One Sunday morning, he received a call from the Civil Rights Commission, which requested that he make a secret statement about the incident. “To this day, I have no idea how they found out … that I was the only African American who tried to register in Wilcox County,” he said.

Reese’s advocacy for civil rights was not boisterous. It came from his desire to live a full life and to ensure that others could do so as well. “Sometimes there are some things that you really feel will make you feel more human,” he said, “and whoever is denying you of these privileges, they are keeping you away from being a total human being.”

Ultimately, his commitment to justice was rooted in his faith. Throughout his long career in ministry, which spanned seven decades, Reese held many distinguished titles: pastor, professor, consultant and presbyter, to name just a few. But no matter where he was or what his work entailed at any given time, his commitment to following Christ showed through. Reese modeled discipleship — the kind of faith that makes you go out on a limb to love your neighbor when nobody is watching.

Prayer:

Holy God, you invite us to bear witness to the good news of Jesus Christ in everything we do. Grant us courage to follow you with courageous hearts as we work toward your kingdom of justice and peace. Amen.

Alex Pickell is a candidate for ordination in the PC(USA). Born and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas, Alex received her B.A. in History and French from the University of Arkansas before attending Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, where she graduated with a Master of Divinity degree in 2024. This summer, Alex is serving as a Peacemaking Fellow in the Office of Public Witness.

2025 Path of Peace reflections - Wenesday, Sept. 24, 2025

Fred Rogers

Matthew 5:38–48

The lectionary text for the day is located within Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. This particular chunk of text is known for its “you have heard it said … but I say …” statements. Jesus is looking to the wisdom in Hebrew Scriptures that are already calling for equity and acts of mercy, and is then calling his listeners to take it even further with radical generosity and acts of gentleness.

The Bible Project sums up this part of the Sermon on the Mount by saying, “Jesus is calling us to be people who value peace more than getting even,” which requires us to see the true humanity of those around us.

When I think about my own childhood and who best taught me about the humanity of others, I can think of few public figures who were more pivotal in this area than the Rev. Fred McFeely Rogers — best known to us as Mister Rogers.

The call in Matthew 5:38–48 is sometimes misinterpreted as calling us to be quiet, keep our heads down and be passive. But the truth is what is required of us is generosity, nonviolence, mercy and integrity — all of which require bravery and boldness.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed just four years before the first episode of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” aired. Despite the law’s passing, segregation continued in many ways. One of those ways was at swimming pools, where Black folks were often still excluded, even violently.

On May 9, 1969, just over a month after the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Mister Rogers invites the character Officer Clemmons, a Black man, to cool down by putting his feet in a children’s wading pool with him. Initially, Officer Clemmons declines because he does not have a towel, but Mister Rogers encourages him, promising that Officer Clemmons can share Mister Rogers’ towel. The two men sit side by side with their feet in the pool. Afterward, Officer Clemmons dries off his feet with Mister Rogers’ towel, and in an extra act of intimacy, Mister Rogers dries his own feet with the same towel.

Nonviolent. Gentle. Merciful. Humanizing.

Prayer:

God of all people, may we see the humanity in each person so that we might live a life of mercy, nonviolence and gentleness. Amen.

The Rev. Rachael McNeal is the associate pastor of Youth and Outreach at Memorial Presbyterian Church in St. Augustine, Florida. She is a proud graduate of Flagler College and Princeton Theological Seminary. Rachael loves to take walks on the beach; make pottery; read novels; drink coffee; and spend time with her husband, Kevin; two children; four chickens; and dog, Fred Rogers McNeal.

2025 Path of Peace reflections - Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025

Elenora Giddings Ivory

Psalm 54

But surely, God is my helper; the Lord is the upholder of my life.

Psalm 54 is a cry for deliverance. The psalmist writes from a place of hurt, betrayal and persecution. Rather than succumb to their despair, the psalmist looks to the heavens for guidance. They clutch onto the goodness of the Lord and the promise that the Lord, our God, is a helper, a sustainer. In a world where silence feels easier than truth, in a world that pushes justice-seekers to the margins, Psalm 54 offers strength to those who endure in the name of justice.

Few embodied this steadfast faith and education as the Rev. Elenora Giddings Ivory did. Ivory encountered racial hatred early in life — born and raised in rural New Jersey, where the KKK’s roots ran deep. Her voice rang out with courage and conviction in Howell Township, New Jersey, where she demanded that African American history be taught in schools despite radical opposition from white supremacists. As the third ordained Black woman in the Presbyterian Church, she carved out a path where few had walked before but inspired many to follow. She continued to serve nearly two decades in the PC(USA)’s Washington office, where she spoke of the power of truth. Across the globe, from the Caucasus to Congo, she called people toward a shared vision of peace rooted in equity, truth and faithful endurance through her work with the World Council of Churches.

She prayed, “Lead us from public deceptions that weaken trust / Lead us from divisions among us based on class, race, gender or sexuality / Lead us from wealth that will not share.”

May we, too, look to God in our despair for the injustice of the world, have the endurance to speak truth in God’s name, and trust that we will be sustained by the love of our Lord and Savior.

Prayer:

God of truth, of light, of hope,
When despair overwhelms, comfort us.
When injustice persists, sustain us.
When the truth is hard, strengthen us.
Let endurance in our path to peace be a reflection of your steadfast love.
Amen.

Originally from Wilmington, North Carolina, Grace Kromke (she/they) is a rising senior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill studying Women’s & Gender Studies and Public Policy. Grace has served as a young adult delegate for the PC(USA) at the United Nations’ 69th Commission on the Status of Women and the U.N. High Level Political Forum. As a Peacemaking Fellow in the Office of Public Witness, Grace is engaging in ministry, advocacy and public witness while working on issues such as gun violence prevention, gender justice and gender-based violence, and anti-war and peace.

2025 Path of Peace reflections - Monday, Sept. 22, 2025

Myles Horton and the Highlander Folk School

1 Corinthians 4:8–13

Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! Quite apart from us you have become kings! If only you had become kings, so that we might be kings with you! For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, as though sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels and to humans. We are fools for the sake of Christ, but you are sensible people in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are honored, but we are dishonored. To the present hour we are hungry and thirsty, we are naked and beaten and homeless, and we grow weary from the work of our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we speak kindly. We have become like the rubbish of the world, the dregs of all things, to this very day.

Paul was not one to mince words when writing to churches he had poured blood, sweat and tears into. He had high expectations and did not hide them. This is reflected in his words to the believers in Corinth. He calls out the comfort and self-assurance of some believers in contrast to the suffering and vulnerability that marked the lives of the apostles. Paul reminds the church that the call of Christ is not marked by status or acclaim but by sacrificial service, even when it looks like foolishness to the world.

The idea of power in weakness and wisdom in foolishness was lived out in the life and work of Myles Horton. Born poor in the Appalachian South, Horton rejected the exploitation of workers and the comfort of neutrality. His life’s work, especially through the Highlander Folk School, focused on equipping others to lead. His approach to education and organizing was radical: not telling people what to think but helping them discover their voice and power. This spirit of empowerment led him into the work of the Civil Rights Movement.

Attendees of the Folk School found a method rooted in respect, humility and mutual discovery. Horton reminded them that transformation doesn’t begin with loud declarations but with quiet presence — eating with people, speaking their language, respecting their fears. As one attendee put it, “Go to their homes, eat with them, talk the language they talk … (only) then go into your talk about the vote.” In doing this training and work, they embodied the “fools for Christ” Paul described — mocked by the powerful, yet builders of a just world.

There are those around us in the world who are trying to convince everyone that power and domination are the tools that “win the day.” As followers of God, we are called not to dominate, but to serve. Not to be above others, but beside them. Faithful discipleship requires us to sometimes resist the call of comfort and instead embrace the cross-shaped path of solidarity.

Prayer: God of the lowly and the lifted, thank you for the witness of Paul, Myles Horton and countless others. Teach us to live with humility, to organize with respect, and to speak with courage. May we occasionally be fools in the world’s eyes but faithful in yours. Amen.

The Rev. Todd Davidson is the pastor at Sandston Presbyterian Church in Richmond, Virginia. He has worked in and for the church for almost all of his adult life. He enjoys reading, movies, music, any and all sports, and most of all being a dad to Caleb and Isaac.

2025 Path of Peace reflections - Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025

Rachel Henderlite

Luke 16:1–13

When I was little, I was obsessed with “The Borrowers” — a movie about a tiny family living under floorboards who survive by “borrowing” what humans won’t miss. Inspired, I began borrowing from my older sister. One T-shirt here. A sweatshirt there. The scrunchie she just got for Christmas? All fair game — as long as I returned things intact and unnoticed. I told myself I was living out the spirit of “The Borrowers” — taking what was “technically hers” and making it temporarily mine.

I thought I’d grow out of that habit. But the older I get, the more I see adulthood as an extended game of borrowing. A cup of sugar here. A line of credit there. Parenting advice that just went viral? All fair game. So much of adult life is about being someone who can be trusted to borrow — and better yet, to use what’s been borrowed for the good of others. In church language, that’s called “stewarding.”

That question — how to borrow well — also shaped the life of the Rev. Dr. Rachel Henderlite, the first woman ordained in the Presbyterian Church of the United States. Prior to her ordination, she taught at Montreat College, Charlotte Technical High School and Harding High School. After graduating from Yale Divinity School and then being ordained (1965), Henderlite taught at Austin Theological Seminary. Henderlite was the first woman to hold a full-time position at the seminary. She saw teaching as a sacred trust, something passed down and passed on. Through her borrowed gifts, others learned to live — really live — too.

I wonder if that’s what Jesus is getting at in Luke 16, one of his more perplexing parables.

A dishonest manager is about to be fired for taking what was “technically his boss’s” and making it permanently his (read: stealing). But then he repents — stewards what he’s stolen. Somehow, Jesus praises him — not for being right, but for trying to get it right.

Eugene Peterson paraphrases Jesus this way:

“Be smart in the same way — but for what is right … concentrate your attention on the bare essentials, so you’ll live, really live.”

Prayer:

Faithful God, teach us not to own more, but to borrow wisely. To live not for preservation, but for peace. Amen.

Nikki Zimmermann serves as pastoral resident at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. This is her first call out of seminary that has been primarily focused on doing life alongside unhoused people in Charlotte.

2025 Path of Peace reflections - Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025

Margaret Towner

2 Kings 2:1–18

When the prophet Elijah is taken up into heaven, Elisha watches in awe, crying out in grief and wonder. Then, something surprising happens: Elisha picks up Elijah’s fallen mantle. He carries it to the Jordan River, strikes the water as Elijah once did, and crosses over. The prophetic legacy is not simply observed — it is claimed, continued and embodied.

Margaret Towner knows something of this kind of legacy. In 1956, she became the first woman ordained as a minister of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s predecessor denomination, the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America. Though many faithful women had long been leading in Christian education, mission, and diaconal ministry, Towner was the first to cross this official threshold. She picked up the mantle.

Yet her journey was not just about a title or a “first.” Towner served congregations in Michigan, Indiana and Wisconsin. She taught Sunday school, served as a hospital chaplain, faced discrimination, and even changed her own mind on what ordination for women might look like, mentoring other women in the same career path. She became a visible sign that peace — true shalom — requires the full inclusion of all God’s people in the life of the Church.

Her presence broke barriers, but more importantly, she built bridges. She showed that peacemaking is not always loud or combative; sometimes it is as steady as preaching the gospel week after week in word and deed, as quiet as supporting a struggling parishioner, or as bold as standing where you were once told you didn’t belong.

Like Elisha, Towner responded to the call, walking forward into a new chapter of prophetic ministry, paving the way for generations of women to serve God’s people with courage and conviction.

Today, as we discern our own place in the long line of peacemakers, may we look to her story and ask, what mantle lies before us? What river are we called to cross, not alone, but alongside the Spirit who leads and empowers us all?

Prayer: God of the prophets, thank you for those who go before us. Give us courage to pick up the mantle of peace and to walk faithfully in your calling. Amen.

The Rev. Katie Day loves Waffle House and live theater and serves as pastor of Pleasant Hill Presbyterian Church in Duluth, Georgia. She shares a home with her husband, Kevin, and their child, Elijah, and everyone answers to the cats, Magnificat and Fatty Pancakes.

2025 Path of Peace reflections - Friday, Sept. 19, 2025

William H. Sheppard

Matthew 5:14–16

When reading this passage, I imagine those listening to Jesus’ words pictured the light emanating from Jerusalem, a city built on a hill whose light can be seen from miles away. The call to be that light amid such darkness can be intimidating for anyone striving to follow Jesus. When feeling inadequate, I try to remember how many it took to shine the light Jesus illustrated. Some built torches while others provided the oil to be lit. Some lit the torch and handed it to another, who placed it on the lampstand so its light could be seen. Then, it is the light that illuminates what was once consumed by darkness. The collaboration necessary to be Christ’s light reminds us that each of us must do our part to participate in the ongoing restorative work with which Christ trusts us.

William H. Sheppard was a Presbyterian pastor and missionary sent to the Congo who played a role in shining Christ’s light. After witnessing the atrocities committed against the Congolese people by Belgium’s King Leopold II, Sheppard wrote a report detailing his experience that was published in the American Presbyterian Congo Mission newsletter. In response, those loyal to King Leopold II sued Sheppard for libel. The ensuing trial not only resulted in Sheppard’s acquittal but also brought international attention to the abuses inflicted on the people of Congo. Eventually, public outcry led to reforms that improved the lives of those who were being oppressed. Even though Sheppard did not single-handedly bring down the oppressive rule of King Leopold II, he played his part in shining Christ’s light into an area of the world that was consumed by darkness.

Christ does not call us to be the light of the world on our own, but rather to participate with those who commit to letting that light shine in this world’s darkness. Some of us will be called to travel abroad to serve people in need of relief. Others may join organizations that offer comfort and aid to the oppressed. Few will be called to use their wealth and influence to encourage our leaders to prioritize those who are most marginalized. Wherever God leads us, our collective work will enable Christ’s light to shine where it’s needed most. Like Sheppard, may we do our part to let that light shine.

Prayer:

Lord, may your Spirit lead me to shine Christ’s light to the world. Give me the wisdom to hear you clearly and the courage to follow you boldly. May your Son’s light shine through my thoughts, words and actions. Amen.

The Rev. Dan Commerford serves as the senior pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Gastonia, North Carolina. He's been happily married to his wife, Rachel, for 14 years, and together they have two beautiful children, Hannah and Micah. In his free time, Dan loves to play golf and strum the guitar.

2025 Path of Peace reflections - Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025

William H. Sheppard

Matthew 5:14–16

When reading this passage, I imagine those listening to Jesus’ words pictured the light emanating from Jerusalem, a city built on a hill whose light can be seen from miles away. The call to be that light amid such darkness can be intimidating for anyone striving to follow Jesus. When feeling inadequate, I try to remember how many it took to shine the light Jesus illustrated. Some built torches while others provided the oil to be lit. Some lit the torch and handed it to another, who placed it on the lampstand so its light could be seen. Then, it is the light that illuminates what was once consumed by darkness. The collaboration necessary to be Christ’s light reminds us that each of us must do our part to participate in the ongoing restorative work with which Christ trusts us.

William H. Sheppard was a Presbyterian pastor and missionary sent to the Congo who played a role in shining Christ’s light. After witnessing the atrocities committed against the Congolese people by Belgium’s King Leopold II, Sheppard wrote a report detailing his experience that was published in the American Presbyterian Congo Mission newsletter. In response, those loyal to King Leopold II sued Sheppard for libel. The ensuing trial not only resulted in Sheppard’s acquittal but also brought international attention to the abuses inflicted on the people of Congo. Eventually, public outcry led to reforms that improved the lives of those who were being oppressed. Even though Sheppard did not single-handedly bring down the oppressive rule of King Leopold II, he played his part in shining Christ’s light into an area of the world that was consumed by darkness.

Christ does not call us to be the light of the world on our own, but rather to participate with those who commit to letting that light shine in this world’s darkness. Some of us will be called to travel abroad to serve people in need of relief. Others may join organizations that offer comfort and aid to the oppressed. Few will be called to use their wealth and influence to encourage our leaders to prioritize those who are most marginalized. Wherever God leads us, our collective work will enable Christ’s light to shine where it’s needed most. Like Sheppard, may we do our part to let that light shine.

Prayer:

Lord, may your Spirit lead me to shine Christ’s light to the world. Give me the wisdom to hear you clearly and the courage to follow you boldly. May your Son’s light shine through my thoughts, words and actions. Amen.

The Rev. Dan Commerford serves as the senior pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Gastonia, North Carolina. He's been happily married to his wife, Rachel, for 14 years, and together they have two beautiful children, Hannah and Micah. In his free time, Dan loves to play golf and strum the guitar.

2025 Path of Peace reflections - Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025

Dean and Marianne Lewis

Matthew 5:1–10

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God,” Jesus says in today’s text. Two of our denomination’s peacemakers, Dean and Marianne Lewis, embodied this important “beatitude” of Christ both domestically and internationally. From Dean’s work in the 1960s to integrate schools in the American South to his and Marianne’s work in the 1990s to secure back payments from the Board of Pensions to Cuban pastors who had enrolled in the Board of Pensions before the Cuban Embargo, the couple’s peacemaking work has been an important prophetic witness, both within the church and within American society.

Peacemaking isn’t always marked by tranquility. Lewis was known for his fiery, urgent pursuit of justice, for what David Staniunas of the Presbyterian Historical Society calls an “impatient spirit.” Sometimes, working for peace doesn’t mean telling people to calm down, but rather, it requires stirring people up in pursuit of a just cause. “Justice delayed is justice denied,” as the saying goes. Peacemakers may be those who are out in front, rallying for a cause, imbuing a movement with energy and passion.

Other times, however, peacemakers must seek tranquility to stay the course. Dean’s love of Ghost Ranch, New Mexico, was surely a place of retreat and contemplation throughout his life. Peacemakers need to remain centered, too, anchored in their spirituality to be equipped to follow Christ in the world. Every moment doesn’t need to be a battle. Sometimes, peacemaking is leaning into the “peace like a river that attendeth [our] way.”

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice.” Dean and Marianne Lewis understood this on a vocational level and became peacemakers as they pursued justice throughout their lives. And now, unto ages of ages, they are blessed to be called “children of God.”

Prayer:

Gracious God, thank you for the witness of peacemakers who, by your Spirit, confront the powers of injustice in this world. Give us eyes to see where we can help make peace possible and the courage to pursue peace with faith, hope, and love. Amen.

2025 Path of Peace reflections - Thursday, Sept. 17, 2025

John Haskell Shedd

Matthew 4:18–25 (NIV)

“As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. … They were fishermen. ‘Come, follow me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will send you out to fish for people.’ At once they left their nets and followed him. … Jesus went throughout Galilee … teaching … proclaiming … healing. And news about him spread all over.”

In 1859, John Haskell Shedd arrived in the isolated mountain town of Urmia, in northwest Persia. Shedd, along with his son William Ambrose, served as Presbyterian missionaries in the region for over four decades. The Shedds’ presence in Urmia coincided with a turbulent period in the country’s history.

Tribal conflict and foreign invasion brought a humanitarian crisis to Urmia, resulting in thousands of deaths. Under John Haskell Shedd’s leadership, missionaries distributed essential supplies and acted as mediators in the conflict. Their work opened the door for the U.S. government to formally establish a diplomatic relationship with Persia. In ensuing years, a hospital and seminary would be built in Urmia. The younger Shedd sheltered Assyrian, Armenian and Jewish refugees during World War I. His diaries record a time when religious and ethnic groups were able to live in harmony before global war brought displacement to millions.

The Shedd family not only responded to Jesus’ call to “fish for people”; they embodied the good news of God’s peaceable Kingdom. While we are not all called to serve in a foreign country, we live in a time of vast human migrations rooted in injustice and violence. The opportunity to offer shelter and work for harmony among “foreigners” just might be here in our own communities.

Prayer:

Amazing Creator, you come to us offering personal transformation and purpose. As we seek to align ourselves with your healing and reconciling work, grant us courage and endurance to be peacemakers in turbulent times and places. Amen.

2025 Path of Peace reflections - Thursday, Sept. 16, 2025

Sally and Bear Ride

Acts 16:25–28

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was an earthquake, so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were unfastened. When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, since he supposed that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted in a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.”

One sure way to boggle the mind is to read the history of the American space program alongside our history of civil rights. Four years before the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Alan Shepard became the first American to reach space, where he spent just over 15 minutes. Four years after the Voting Rights Act, the U.S. successfully landed an astronaut on the moon.

Two Presbyterian sisters offer us a snapshot of another facet of the relationship between aerospace exploration and civil rights. Born and raised in southern California, Sally and the Rev. Dr. Bear Ride grew up in a devoted Presbyterian family. Their parents were both elders at First Presbyterian Church in Encino. In 1978, Sally was selected by NASA to enter spaceflight training, and Bear was ordained as a Presbyterian minister. Bear would go on to serve as the pastor of Claremont Presbyterian Church for roughly a decade. Sally is best remembered as the first American woman in space for her 1983 flight on the Challenger shuttle. Four years later, the General Assembly of the PC(USA) voted to retain a ban on gay ordination.

Sally and Bear were both queer. Sally briefly married fellow astronaut Steven Hawley before reconnecting with Tam O’Shaughnessy, a childhood friend who would become her lifelong partner of 27 years. In the meantime, Bear served for decades as a lesbian pastor in a denomination that refused to recognize her loves and full humanity. Over those many years, Bear was a vocal critic of the church’s policy, and she actively organized and participated in marches, protests and educational events. In 2000, she was arrested during the Soulforce demonstration at the 212th General Assembly. She has also served as co-moderator of More Light Presbyterians, a nonprofit that fought for the ordination and marriage rights of queer congregants. In 2008, Bear married Susan Craig, her partner of 12 years, who is also an ordained Presbyterian minister. Nearly four years later, the PC(USA) finally recognized the marriage and ordination rights of LGBTQIA+ Presbyterians. Sally died in 2012. Bear is a retired Presbyterian clergyperson.

Prayer:

Loving God, you have given us enormous potential: the potential to race to the heavens to behold the immensity of your universe and the potential to make the simplest differences between people into reasons to brutally mistreat one another. Give us the power and the grace we need to become what you would have us be. Amen.

Dr. Andrew Peterson is the representative for Peacemaking and Gun Violence Prevention for the Office of Public Witness. He advocates for the church’s social witness policies before Congress, the White House and the Supreme Court and helps coordinate the PC(USA)’s advocacy with that of our coalition partners.

2025 Path of Peace reflections - Thursday, Sept. 15, 2025

Presbyterian Neighborhood Houses

Matthew 3:1–11

Not When for Jesus but Where?

To call this a “lectionary devotional” means pairing a specific biblical passage with a season of the church year. As someone who preached in liturgical churches for nearly 40 years, I know how these seasons — Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, Pentecost and Ordinary Time — shaped worship, music, staff meetings and even vacations.

I get it. Preaching from the lectionary holds us accountable to a text greater than our own pet passages or favorite theologies. But I wonder if our focus on who Jesus was and when he will return distracts us from something just as important. As the Bible gives witness, place is primary — so where are the places God seems to show up most?

The theological answer is “everywhere” if we have eyes to see. But for today's witness through the “Presbyterian Neighborhood Houses and Settlement Movement, 1890–1965, God shows up in and through communities of people where Jesus Christ spent most of his time — places for strangers in exile and suffering. Places where you find the last, least, and especially the lost and places where good Samaritans “do unto others. ...”

For 75 years, these Presbyterian Neighborhood Houses offered not just shelter but also a witness to hope for the tired, poor, huddled masses yearning to breathe free. Not everyone welcomed this, but more did than now. These houses reflected part of our national and Presbyterian DNA: gospel-rooted hospitality.

Today, it seems our DNA has changed. We're no longer an America like that. No longer are immigrants allowed into this place, and if we discover they're already here, ICE will come, arrest them, and send them away to whatever country we can pay or coerce to take them off our hands.

Practically, yes, there need to be boundaries. But what do we have now? And at what cost to our mission and ideals? At the cost of turning our back on the good Samaritan parable, or Matthew 25, or everything else Jesus said and did? At the cost of God's will? I shudder to imagine God's justice at the end of this.

In today’s passage, Jesus shows up in the wilderness, one of many migrants from Jerusalem and Judea seeking renewal in baptism. John the Baptist calls them to repent — to turn from the place they’re in and migrate to God’s place. Even the “holy men” came, but John called them out for treating people like dirt.

So, where is God? Right there, in the wilderness. With the seekers, the wanderers, the ones willing to be changed. And Jesus stands with them. With us.

Prayer: O God, who stands in the wilderness with us, give us hope. Grant us the strength to recognize that you are with us. May we go out into the world boldly knowing that you go with us. Amen.

The Rev. Dr. Steve Goyer was born in Birmingham, Alabama; raised and then worked in Charlotte, North Carolina; educated in Chapel Hill, North Carolina; matured in Atlanta; and is hopefully growing wiser in Jacksonville, Florida. Steve served as the pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church in Atlanta for 15 years and then at Riverside Presbyterian Church for 14. Steve retired until Covid hit, then took a 15-month