BLOGS

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Gracious Dismissals

by Cheryl Galan

A letter from the Transitional Leader April 7, 2015 Dear Friends in Christ, On Good Friday evening, as you may have done, I sat in a darkened sanctuary with the faithful who had gathered to commemorate the death of Jesus.  The service, a Tenebrae, led us more and more deeply into darkness, through words of []

New Beginnings

by Cheryl Galan
New Beginnings Banner

One of my favorite stories in all of Scripture is the story of the birth of Moses, as recorded in Exodus 1:8-2:10. I love this story, not because of the baby of the bulrushes, but because of all who labored to let him live, and because of the surprising and mysterious providence of God, moving []

Lets Go! (Sermon by Rev. Fred Black)

by admin
step into water

LETS GO! Text: Joshua 1:10-11; 3:1-9; 13-17 I am disappointed as I grow older that I have not advanced further in mastering the fruit of the Spirit called patience. I have improved some, but I am certainly a work in progress. I may be at a red stop light and fret that it does not []

First Year Reflections from The Transitional Leader

by Cheryl Galan
Cheryl giving report

As I reflect on my first year as Transitional Leader in Elizabeth Presbytery, I am grateful for the sense of community and trust we are building together: Thank you.For digging into the learning modules weve offered at each presbytery meeting, and for taking the conversation home to your sessions and colleagues. We are becoming a []

PCUSA General Assembly 221 + Day Eight (Saturday)

by admin
Presbyterian-assembly

Reconsider? The Saturday session is usually somewhat perfunctory. There are a lot of thank yous to the hosting city and the Committee on Local Arrangements, and other groups and individuals that worked hard on putting the GA on. And usually they approve the budget that has been mandated by the Assembly’s actions all week. And []

PCUSA General Assembly 221 + Day Seven (Friday)

by admin
Drone

Synods. For years, the denomination has been debating/discussing the function and purpose of synods.  Synods are regional councils, made up of several presbyteries.  At one time, at the height of the corporate/bureaucratic era in the church, they were very powerful.  That was when we went to larger and fewer synods.  But for the last 30 years they have been []

Cheryls General Assembly Summary

by Cheryl Galan
Spirit of GA

The 221st General Assembly of the PC(USA) has completed its business and all who gathered in Detroit have returned home. I write to offer a brief summary of the actions taken. We’ll say a bit more at our presbytery meeting this Tuesday, June 24, beginning at 5:45 p.m. at the Metuchen Church. A more comprehensive []

A Message To The Presbytery

by Cheryl Galan
You are loved long size

 Once in a far away and lovely place, where every stone was a teacher and every breeze a language, a truth falls from the sky and breaks in half before it lands.  Thus begins the story of Old Turtle and the Broken Truth.  When human beings pick up one shiny half of the shiny truth []

PCUSA General Assembly 221 + Day Six (Thursday)

by admin
plenary-VII

Marriage. The big thing today was the approval of two measures intended to allow teaching elders serving in States where it is legal to celebrate same-sex marriages. The first was an Authoritative Interpretation (AI).  Some close friends of mine whom I deeply respect and admire worked on this, and I understand the reasoning. However, I do get a []

Breakfasts, Lunches, and Dinners, Oh My!

by Cheryl Galan
Elizabeth Representatives in GA with Detroit Background

A major part of my GA experience has been attending special meal presentations on various topics. Every morning Ive awakened at the crack of dawn to attend breakfast meetings that begin at 7:00 a.m. It has been well worth the effort. On Day #1 my soul resonated with this statement of Lilian Daniels, who said,If []