Minute for Mission: Reformation Sunday

October 27, 2024

Photo credit: (provided)

Forty years ago, the Dutch Reformed Mission Church (DRMC) in South Africa adopted Belydenis van Belhar — the Confession of Belhar — in its first reading. Belhar was an outgrowth of the DRMC’s effort to grapple with the church’s participation in and defense of apartheid and touches prominently on themes of unity, reconciliation and justice. The DRMC adopted Belhar in its final form in 1986.

Although the Confession of Belhar is inextricably connected to its South African context, its message extends far beyond. The PC(USA) describes Belhar as a powerful statement of belief for the Christian faith that, in part, bears witness to the gift of unity and the church’s obligation to it. Interest in Belhar grew internationally around 2006, including among reformed traditions in the United States, where the PC(USA) established the Special Committee on the Confession of Belhar. On the recommendation of this Special Committee, the 222nd General Assembly (2016) approved the inclusion of Belhar in the Book of Confessions because of the clarity of its witness and its capacity to serve as a model for the PC(USA) to “speak and act with similar clarity at a time when it faces division, racism and injustice.”

The Confession of Belhar is a unique voice among the predominantly European and North American confessions. It elevates the witness of Reformed Christians living under different circumstances and serves, even now, as a springboard to discuss its key themes of unity, reconciliation and justice within a wide range of current issues.

For more on the Reformation, visit history.pcusa.org/rs.

Kristen Gaydos, Director of Communications, Presbyterian Historical Society

Today’s Focus: Reformation Sunday

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Tonia Trice, HR Generalist, Human Resources, Administrative Services Group (A Corp) 
Kate Trigger Duffert, Director for General Assembly Planning, Office of the General Assembly 

Let us pray

Gracious and loving God, help us listen deeply to all our siblings in Christ as we strive toward unity and justice. On this day, we give thanks for the Belhar Confession as one important source of your reconciling light in this world. Amen.

Today in the Mission Yearbook - Commemorating an LGBTQIA+ advocate in the PC(USA)

David Sindt’s contributions remembered

July 8, 2024

David Sindt Pearl 153434

Fifty years ago, at the 1974 General Assembly of the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. (UPCUSA), David Sindt rose from his seat and bravely and hopefully held up a sign with a single question: “Is Anyone Else Out There Gay?”

Sindt, whose call to Lincoln Park Presbyterian Church in Chicago is believed to be the first issued to an openly gay man by a Presbyterian church, helped form and lead the Presbyterian Gay Caucus (PGC). While Sindt’s call was rejected by the Presbytery of Chicago, his impact lives on through the movement he helped bring attention to and through the work of More Light Presbyterians — a successor of PGC.

The Presbyterian Historical Society (PHS) honored Sindt’s courageous act at the 1974 General Assembly, which served as a turning point in the movement for LGBTQIA+ inclusion in the PC(USA), in this year’s Heritage Sunday bulletin insert.

Each year, Presbyterians across the globe acknowledge Heritage Sunday, a day to reflect on and celebrate their rich history of the faith. Heritage Sunday always falls on the Sunday closest to May 21 — the opening date of the inaugural General Assembly in the United States in 1789. This year, Heritage Sunday fell on May 19.

PHS assembles bulletin inserts to commemorate Heritage Sunday, with a new topic or theme for each year. In 2023, PHS looked back at Presbyterian Reunion in 1983. The year before, the society shared the Rev. Fahed Abu-Akel, Moderator of the 214th General Assembly.

Visitors to history.pcusa.org/hs can access this year’s free insert commemorating David Sindt’s actions, along with related blogs and webinars. Included on the list of related materials is the digitized sermon Sindt delivered to Lincoln Park Presbyterian Church in 1972 — a historic recording PHS archivists recovered from the congregation as part of their effort to document LGBTQIA+ inclusion in the church.

Kristen Gaydos, Presbyterian Historical Society

Today’s Focus: Heritage Sunday – Commemorating David Sindt, an LGBTQIA+ advocate

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Sandy Lucas, Receptionist, Presbyterian Foundation 
Kathy Lueckert, President, Administrative Services Group (A Corp) 

Let us pray

Loving God, we are mindful that you have called your people to sit together in the kingdom of God. We are thankful for the new ministries within our midst that give witness to that calling. Amen.

Today in the Mission Yearbook - First Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia commemorates 325 years

Santana-Grace, Carter help ‘First Church’ remember its enduring history

December 14, 2023

The Rev. Ruth Faith Santana-Grace is at First Presbyterian Church 

of Philadelphia. Courtesy of fpcphila.org worship stream.

The Rev. Ruth Faith Santana-Grace, Co-Moderator of the 225th General Assembly, is also executive presbyter of the Presbytery of Philadelphia. On Oct. 8, she traveled to the heart of the mid council and a congregational cornerstone of the denomination to preach about First Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia turning 325.

The Rev. Dr. Baron Mullis, pastor of “First Church,” welcomed Santana-Grace to the pulpit during the congregation’s 11 a.m. Sunday service.

Santana-Grace brought greetings on behalf of the presbytery and the General Assembly, adding that First Church has “a special place in my heart” because it was among the first congregations to welcome her to Philadelphia when she began her call with the presbytery 10 years earlier.

“Three hundred and twenty-five years. Can you imagine the excitement and joy of your spiritual ancestors as they began to formally give shape to what they prayed would be a sanctuary of faith and religious expression?” she asked.

“What did it mean to be a church then? What does it mean today?”

The Co-Moderator’s preaching was one of the special fall events planned for the 325th anniversary by the church’s commemoration committee, including “minutes for history” and lectures by the Rev. Jesse Garner, retired pastor, on “First Church in the Community” and “First Church and Social Change.”

The 325th anniversary banner in front of First Presbyterian 

Church of Philadelphia. Photo by Fred Tangeman.

In September, the commemoration committee hosted a reception at the Presbyterian Historical Society (PHS) featuring a talk by Dr. Heath W. Carter, associate professor of American Christianity at Princeton Theological Seminary and senior co-editor of The Journal of Presbyterian History.

During “Steadfast Through the Storms: A Lecture on the 325th Anniversary of Philadelphia’s First Presbyterian Church,” Carter told First Church members that the congregation, referred to as the “mother church” of American Presbyterianism, “played a vital role in the story of American Presbyterianism.”

He explored the congregation’s beginnings as part of an ecumenical gathering on the corner of Second and Chestnut Streets in the heart of colonial Philadelphia. From vandalism at the hands of British soldiers during the Revolution to financial strife during the Great Depression, First Church’s history reflected the ebb and flow of American history. The congregation was at the center of complicated divisions that arose in American Presbyterianism, including the Old Side-New Side controversy in the mid-1700s and the debate over slavery a century later. Albert Barnes, First Church pastor from 1830 to 1868, was a vocal critic of slavery but did not call for immediate abolition.

From left: Ruth Faith Santana-Grace, Baron Mullis, Laura Colee 

at First Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia. Photo by Fred 

Tangeman.

Carter also talked about recent history. In 1990, seven members of the church started delivering meals to neighbors dying of AIDS, an effort that evolved into MANNA, a Philadelphia nonprofit that has now provided over 21 million meals to Philadelphians in need.

“I think of the small ecumenical band that first gathered in the Barbados store in the modest colonial village that was 1690s Philadelphia,” Carter told the PHS audience. “They could never have imagined all that was to come in the life of their church and city.”

William Lake Leonard, co-chair of the commemoration committee, wrote about the event in the church’s newsletter, calling PHS “a perfect place for a celebration of history, specifically the celebration of the 325th anniversary of the founding of The First Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia.”

Santana-Grace touched on the congregation’s long history during her sermon, connecting it with ministry in 2023.

“Identifying as a people of faith can be exhausting, and at times even discouraging,” she said. That’s true today, just as it was during the first three centuries of the Philadelphia congregation and the first century of the Common Era, when the Scripture Santana-Grace preached about was written: “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9).”

Kristen Gaydos and Fred Tangeman, Office of the General Assembly

Today’s Focus: First Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia commemorates 325 years

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Champaka Srinivasan, Associate, Finance, Young Adult & National Volunteers, Presbyterian Mission Agency
David Staniunas, Records Archivist, Presbyterian Historical Society, Office of the General Assembly

Let us pray

Creator God, we pray for discernment and guidance as we try to walk the narrow path that has been put before us. We know that it will be difficult but that the rewards will be great. It is in your Son’s name that we pray. Amen.

Minute for Mission: Reformation Sunday

October 29, 2023

Photo credit: (provided)

Forty years ago, the Dutch Reformed Mission Church (DRMC) in South Africa adopted Belydenis van Belhar — the Confession of Belhar — in its first reading. Belhar was an outgrowth of the DRMC’s effort to grapple with the church’s participation in and defense of apartheid and touches prominently on themes of unity, reconciliation and justice. The DRMC adopted Belhar in its final form in 1986.

Although the Confession of Belhar is inextricably connected to its South African context, its message extends far beyond. The PC(USA) describes Belhar as a powerful statement of belief for the Christian faith that, in part, bears witness to the gift of unity and the church’s obligation to it. Interest in Belhar grew internationally around 2006, including among reformed traditions in the United States, where the PC(USA) established the Special Committee on the Confession of Belhar. On the recommendation of this Special Committee, the 222nd General Assembly (2016) approved the inclusion of Belhar in the Book of Confessions because of the clarity of its witness and its capacity to serve as a model for the PC(USA) to “speak and act with similar clarity at a time when it faces division, racism and injustice.”

The Confession of Belhar is a unique voice among the predominantly European and North American confessions. It elevates the witness of Reformed Christians living under different circumstances and serves, even now, as a springboard to discuss its key themes of unity, reconciliation and justice within a wide range of current issues.

For more on the Reformation, visit history.pcusa.org/rs.

Kristen Gaydos, Director of Communications, Presbyterian Historical Society

Today’s Focus: Reformation Sunday

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Tabatha Peach, Trust Administrative Assistant, Presbyterian Foundation
Charlene Peacock, Reference Archivist, Presbyterian Historical Society

Let us pray

Gracious and loving God, help us listen deeply to all our siblings in Christ as we strive toward unity and justice. On this day, we give thanks for the Belhar Confession as one important source of your reconciling light in this world. Amen.

Today in the Mission Yearbook - Presbyterian Historical Society

PHS celebrates the Katie Geneva Cannon Digital Collection

July 28, 2023

Katie Geneva Cannon, 1983 (left) and 1995. From the 

Katie Geneva Cannon Digital Collection at PHS.

In 1987, the Rev. Dr. Katie Geneva Cannon, the first Black woman ordained in the United Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), used the term “Womanist” to explore an interpretation of the Bible connected to Black women’s liberation. Her book that followed one year later, “Black Womanist Ethics,” helped launch the field of womanist ethics.

The Presbyterian Historical Society (PHS) is thrilled to announce that this year, 35 years after the publication of that groundbreaking work, the entirety of Cannon’s personal papers has been digitized and made freely accessible through Pearl Digital Collections.

In 2021, PHS partnered with the Center for Womanist Leadership at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond and The Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary (Columbia University Libraries) to unite the records Cannon distributed across the three institutions. Over a two-year period, PHS staff members scanned and digitized over 450 of Cannon’s sermons, lectures and writings.

The result — the Katie Geneva Cannon Digital Collection — can now be accessed from anywhere in the world for free.

Thumbnail from Calling for the order of the day: 

lessons of liberation for the 21st century, 2012. 

From the Katie Geneva Cannon Digital Collection at 

PHS.

The digital collection was funded by PHS’s African American Leaders and Congregations Collecting Initiative. The AALC redoubles PHS’s efforts to document Black lives, work and witness in an increasingly multicultural church — from the organization of the First African Presbyterian Church in 1807 to the election of the first African American Stated Clerk of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in 2016. Click here to learn more about the African American Leaders and Congregations Collecting Initiative.

PHS shared about the collection in its Spring 2023 issue of Presbyterian Heritage, the society’s biannual newsletter. Along with the Katie Geneva Cannon Digital Collection, the issue also highlighted incoming collection items including recently digitized records from the Rev. Dr. Edler Hawkins, the first Black moderator of the General Assembly of the United Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), and U-matic videotapes that document More Light Presbyterians’ history.

On the evening of Oct. 12 from 5 through 7 p.m. Eastern Time, PHS will host an event in Philadelphia to honor Cannon’s legacy and celebrate the completion of the project. Guests will hear about the impact of her work and explore records digitized as part of the project. Click here to register for this free event.

Kristen Gaydos, Presbyterian Historical Society

Today’s Focus: Katie Geneva Cannon Digital Collection

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Carissa Herold, July 28 Marketing Associate, Presbyterian Women
Nell Herring, July 28 Mission Specialist for Volunteer Ministries, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us pray

We praise you, God, for the bountiful harvest and pray that the fruit of this harvest will remain and grow. Amen.

Minute for Mission: Reformation Sunday

October 30, 2022

Forty years ago, the Dutch Reformed Mission Church (DRMC) in South Africa adopted Belydenis van Belhar — the Confession of Belhar — in its first reading. Belhar was an outgrowth of the DRMC’s effort to grapple with the church’s participation in and defense of apartheid and touches prominently on themes of unity, reconciliation and justice. The DRMC adopted Belhar in its final form in 1986.

Although the Confession of Belhar is inextricably connected to its South African context, its message extends far beyond. The PC(USA) describes Belhar as a powerful statement of belief for the Christian faith that, in part, bears witness to the gift of unity and the church’s obligation to it. Interest in Belhar grew internationally around 2006, including among reformed traditions in the United States, where the PC(USA) established the Special Committee on the Confession of Belhar. On the recommendation of this Special Committee, the 222nd General Assembly (2016) approved the inclusion of Belhar in the Book of Confessions because of the clarity of its witness and its capacity to serve as a model for the PC(USA) to “speak and act with similar clarity at a time when it faces division, racism and injustice.”

The Confession of Belhar is a unique voice among the predominantly European and North American confessions. It elevates the witness of Reformed Christians living under different circumstances and serves, even now, as a springboard to discuss its key themes of unity, reconciliation and justice within a wide range of current issues.

For more on the Reformation, visit history.pcusa.org/rs.

Kristen Gaydos, Director of Communications, Presbyterian Historical Society

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff

Sy Hughes, Mission Engagement Advisor, Mission Engagement & Support, Presbyterian Mission Agency
Lacey Hunter, Manager, Finance & Administration, Director’s Office, Compassion, Peace & Justice, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us pray

Gracious and loving God, help us listen deeply to all our siblings in Christ as we strive toward unity and justice. On this day, we give thanks for the Belhar Confession as one important source of your reconciling light in this world. Amen.

Minute for Mission: Reformation Sunday

October 31, 2021

Image of Martin Luther from Pearl Digital Collections. Courtesy of the Presbyterian Historical Society

Up until 1521, it had been relatively safe to show an interest in the writings and teachings of Martin Luther (1483–1546). When Luther refused to recant his writings in opposition to various doctrines and practices of the Roman Catholic Church, the Edict of Worms was signed by Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, on May 25, 1521, officially declaring Luther a heretic and an outlaw.

The decree “forbid anyone from this time forward to dare, either by words or by deeds, to receive, defend, sustain, or favor the said Martin Luther.” The Edict declared Luther to be an obstinate heretic and banned the reading or possession of his writings. It further called for his capture.

Luther escaped to safety at the Wartburg Castle under the protection of Frederick the Wise, Elector of Saxony, where he proceeded to translate the New Testament into German. Luther had become a prolific writer, fully embracing the new technology of the printing press to widely disseminate his teachings. Attempts to carry out the Edict were largely unsuccessful and the movement for Reform swept across much of Northern Europe, forever changing the face of Christianity. We owe a debt of gratitude to all who have fought for their convictions and beliefs at any cost as we continue the work of building the Kingdom of God. 

For more on the Reformation, visit history.pcusa.org/rs.

Kristen Gaydos, Communications and Development Associate, Presbyterian Historical Society

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Cherrie Burch, Senior Accounting Clerk, Presbyterian Foundation
Becky Burton, Data Representative, Relationship & Development Operations, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us pray

God of grace, support us in the work of reform you call us to. Enhance our abilities to listen and care for each other. Strengthen our commitment to re-form our human world in the way of your son Jesus Christ. Amen.