As staff members at the Presbyterian Historical Society (PHS) further familiarize ourselves with the contents of the Religious News Service Photograph Collection, we have discovered powerful photos that speak to the experiences of African American Christians. These images, these moments captured by a lens, allow us to time travel, revisiting the tumultuous and varied history of the mid-20th century, as the collection spans the years 1945 to 1982.
This month, in celebration of Black History Month, we want to share some of the images that grabbed our attention and pulled at our heartstrings. We encourage you to browse digitized RNS images and our African American History Digital Collection in Pearl Digital Collections to find your own.
Who’s in and who’s out? That’s the question from the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) this week. The Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II reflects on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
In this week’s devotional, Nelson focuses on the struggles faced by millions in this country, including poverty, health care, and education.
On Jan. 17, the Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), issued a statement commemorating Martin Luther King Jr. Day. In that statement, Nelson asserted that the U.S. is still a divided nation racially and economically.
In response to questions and comments members of the Committee on the Office of the General Assembly have received about the Stated Clerk’s statement on the observance of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, we offer our understanding of the authorities and responsibilities given to the Clerk and COGA by the General Assembly.
The Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), recently delivered the keynote address during Luminis Health’s 2022 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Annual Honor Program.
The address was part of Nelson’s ongoing effort to shine light on the contributions of America’s health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
On this special day, we pause to reflect on the life of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I wish we could say today that his dream has finally become a reality. However, we find ourselves still struggling with the ravages of racism, sexism, and militarism. As a matter of faith, we are more entrenched today than we were at the time of his assassination.
The committee’s entire evening session was devoted to Item 14-05, “On Adopting the ‘Letter from Birmingham City Jail,’ written by the Rev. Dr. MLK Jr., as a Contemporary Statement of Faith (But not with Constitutional Standing).”
During the open meeting, the Rev. Dean Seal, overture advocate from the Presbytery of Twin Cities, said that the 50th anniversary of the assassination of MLK Jr. is “a timely opportunity to affirm him,” and noted that the letter has “efficacy for motivating young people to learn about the Civil Rights Movement,” a point affirmed by several other speakers.
For three days in the mountains of North Carolina, nearly 1,000 Presbyterians and members of other denominations reflected on the historic 1965 appearance of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the Montreat Conference Center. In fact as many as a dozen attendees were present 50 years ago when King preached in Anderson Auditorium.
In a scene in the movie “Selma,” the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. sits in a jail cell wondering where the civil rights movement is headed. His cellmate, the Rev. Ralph Abernathy Sr., responds with a lesson from the Gospel of Matthew about the futility of worrying.
Fifty years after the signing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, staff from across all six agencies of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) came together Wednesday during a special worship service to witness to the love of God in the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a martyr to the faith, in the cause of justice, whose birthday is being celebrated today in a national holiday honoring King.