Read Any Good Blogs Lately?

Author: Anne Vial
September 01, 2020

Blogging is a popular way for organizations to shape their message and personality. For readers, they are a way to hear thoughtful voices expressing shared concerns. What are the blogs – or podcasts – that are meaningful to you? Share any you recommend by emailing Anne Vial (avial@haddonfieldpres.org). We’ll send a round-up of suggestions in a few weeks.

In the meantime, here are some Presbyterian-connected blogs (in no particular order) that may be worth your attention:

Presbyterian Women does a wonderful job publishing resources, and their blog covers a range of issues and study topics. Currently they are offering a series called “Into the Light, which begins with lessons on lament – something that feels extra relevant in this moment. Author P. Lynn Miller writes: “real life includes a wide range of emotions and actions and opportunities and dangers. If we are singing in the key of life, we are singing in major and minor keys. We are singing songs in major keys with minor accidentals showing up occasionally. We are singing in minor keys that resolve to a major key at the end…As children of God, we need to have lament as a response option. Because we seldom lament, either individually or communally, we need to relearn to lament, just as our ancestors in faith did.” Find the full blog post here.

Presbyterian Outlook is a periodical published by the Presbyterian Foundation. Their blog tends toward personal spirituality, often in relation to current issues. This week, Rebecca Gresham-Kesner reflects on taking communion in the time of COVID-19 in a post called “The Gift of a Communion Sip of Juice”: “in these difficult times we need small reminders of God’s grace everywhere we can get them. This tiny meal sustains us on the journey. We embrace taking what we have in our homes and use a variety of elements to break bread together virtually. Goldfish crackers, pancakes, orange juice, water and so much more have become our communion elements around our dining room tables, on our back porches, at the desk.” Read the blog post here.

The Presbyterian Historical Society functions as a repository for historical papers and artifacts related to the Presbyterian Church as a whole and to congregations individually. In fact First Presbyterian Haddonfield as sent many of our own historical documents to be preserved there. (Ask member David Stedman for more detailed information about his and FPCH’s relationship to the PHS.) The PHS blog describes aspects of their collections, news and events. One of their ongoing projects is to collect the history of Black congregations: “PHS is collecting historical materials of the Black Presbyterian experience through our African American Leaders and Congregations collecting initiative. By gathering personal records of leaders and original records of Black congregations, we seek to document the integral presence of African Americans throughout the history of the PC(USA) and its predecessor denominations.” A recent post tells the story of a rich trove of documents and artifacts given to PHS by the families of two Black Presbyterian pastors. Find the overview here. The records shed light on one interesting controversy from the 1970s that occurred when the PC(USA) Council on Church and Race donated to Angela Davis’s defense fund to the dismay of many. Read that story here.

The blogs of Presbyterians Today and Eco-Journey, both publications of Presbyterian Mission Agency, complete our partial and somewhat random list. This week in Presbyterians Today, N. Graham Standish writes about the “Hopeful Church” and how not to get derailed by expectations. Eco-Journey covers many topics related to the environment and the stewardship of God’s creation. In a recent post called “Lessons from the Wilderness,” William P. Brown brings Psalm 91 and other biblical passages together with observations of the natural world and current events to make the point that “We must be patient…with ourselves as we improvise and experiment our way through this wilderness. Let this liminal time be the occasion to cultivate new ways of ministry without succumbing to nostalgia. The Israelites never went back to Egypt, despite their yearnings to do so” (Brown’s emphasis). Read full post here.

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