By Rev. Eugenia Gamble I am not naturally good at letting go. I am good at denial, running, rewriting history,burying pain, putting on a brave face, and clinging for dear life to whatever and whoever Ilove or value. I am not nearly as good at letting go. Letting go often feels like defeat to me,or …
Making Space for Grace – Daily Devotionals for Lent 2025 Read More »
Our theme for this issue is Recovery, Restoration and Rebirth. Our synod has been buffeted by natural disasters from hurricanes to floods to 100-year snow falls and 100-year heat waves. Stories of recovery and rebirth are not limited to these disasters however. We all find ourselves in changing times in which old ways and structures …
By Susan Sumrall, Stated Clerk, Presbytery of Mississippi March 24, 2023 – It was a dark and stormy night… NO, it wasn’t; the high school prom was that night. People had gathered for Friday night dinner at Chuck’s Dairy Bar. It was life as usual until about 8:00 P.M. when the heavens opened and the …
By Hardie Frankel, Winward Committee Member Today I received the 2025 Presbyterian Women Birthday Offering brochure. One of the annual recipients is the Presbyterian Disaster (PDA) Volunteer Host Site, Windward, the housing facility at the Leland Presbyterian Church in Leland, Mississippi. This project almost didn’t get funded, but God had other plans. You see, Windward …
By Rev. Karen Russell The initial panic of having a hurricane come to the Appalachian Mountains has subsided a bit. Since the arrival of Helene in our midst, Holston Presbytery, with the generous help from Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA), churches and presbyteries within the Synod of Living Waters, and individuals and churches from around the …
By Rev. Joshua Henry Narcisse, Idlewild Presbyterian Church One year ago, I was given the privilege of publicly sharing my thoughts about Memphis, faith and how I see God at work in this city by writing this monthly column. A terror lingers concerning what folks will think about the thoughts I share. Indeed, at times …
The Office of Theology and Worship By Rev. Karen Russell The law of unintended consequences seems absolute. The recent unification of the Office of General Assembly and the Presbyterian Mission Agency has, like most things, both positive and negative consequences. One of the losses in the unification process is the Office of Theology and Worship …
By Rev. Eugenia Gamble Change, personal, societal, systemic, is not easy for many of us. This is often true even of change that we think we want, or find necessary. Even if we are moving into our dream home, we can find ourselves frustrated and complaining when we can’t remember where we put our socks …
By Kendall Cox Over the past 30 years, God has brought dozens of communities around the world alongside churches here in the Synod of Living Waters, knitting us together as water partners through Living Waters for the World (LWW). From families in eastern Kentucky and Tennessee, to Cuba, Madagascar, and more than a dozen other …
By Rev. Eugenia A. Gamble Drawing from the powerful themes of releasing and receiving that mark our Lent and Easter seasons, this issue of the Virtual Voice of the Synod of Living Waters offers information and inspiration for you from colleagues and friends across the synod. Greg Goodwiller, Synod Executive gives a recap of our …
