The following is a sermon preached by Rev. Nathan Dell based on the text of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” by James
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Reflections on Robert D. Putnam and David E. Campbell’s American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us An Unbound editorial by Chris Iosso View and print as PDF Robert D. Putnam, the Bowling Alone author and social scientist, spoke
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Editor’s Note: The following article was originally published as the lead article in the September/October 2008 issue of The Progressive Christian and later appeared as the lead article in Faith & the Common Good: The Best of Zion’s Herald and The Progressive Christian, 200-2011, A Limited Collectors’ Edition (ed. Stephen
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This post was originally published as part of the Presbyterian Outlook’s coverage of the Foothills overtures at https://pres-outlook.org/2015/11/social-witness-of-the-church-commentary-on-foothills-overture-1/ We live in times of tremendous cultural change. We also live in times of high anxiety as a church, having lost so many congregations over the past two years. During these times,
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Interview with Stated Clerk Gradye Parsons As part of the finale to our discussion on race, white privilege, and the church, Rev. Molly Casteel – Assistant Stated Clerk and Manager for Representation, Inclusiveness, and Ruling Elder Training – sat down with Stated Clerk of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Gradye Parsons
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Ruminations on Institutional Ecumenism Picture this: Gathered in the headquarters of a labor union are about 40 persons who want to make it easier for ex-felons to regain the vote as part of re-entering society. The participants’ average age is about 35. Almost half are ex-felons. The rest are from
MoreLessons from Harry Emerson Fosdick On May 21, 1922, Rev. Harry Emerson Fosdick climbed into the pulpit of First Presbyterian Church in New York City. It was a precarious time for the denomination. Congregations were battling each other. Members were chastising members. Conflict seemed the order of the day. The
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Ark of Escape or Community of Reconciliation? When I teach the Reformed Confessions to students at Union Presbyterian Seminary, I like to point out that one of the benefits of belonging to our communion is belonging to a tradition with a dynamic understanding of confessionalism. Unlike the Lutheran tradition, which
MoreClergy and faith leaders are successfully flexing their political muscle with lawmakers in Washington, DC, to end mass incarceration. Last month the new chairman of the Senate’s Judiciary Committee, Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), was confronted by three Iowa bishops — a United Methodist, a Catholic and a Lutheran — who
MoreWalking the Church/School Boundary It’s a daily parade. Every morning as the sun rises over Mount Rainier, children leave the back door of Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Tacoma and walk 2 blocks up I street to Lowell elementary school. The parade reverses direction in the afternoon. The 40 or so
MoreA longer version of this article originally appeared in Doing Justice, Loving Kindness, and Walking Humbly: The Witness of Some Southern Presbyterian Pastors for the Cause of Racial Harmony in the 1950s and 1960s, compiled by James S. Currie. All rights remain with the original publisher. In 1953, the Little
MoreFrom Admiration to Action Five children (4 girls and 1 boy, who departs in the opposite direction halfway down) are walking down steps of the 16th Street Baptist Church. They are discussing typical girlish things. “I got my hair pressed that morning, and it was wasted when I hit the
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