Young Adults: Showing Up For Purpose

Many young adults in our church and in our culture are filled with purpose.  They have a vibrant sense of meaning for their lives and a desire to benefit others.
At times, however, young adults go through seasons where they lose connection to identity, mission, and meaning.

Dr. David White, C. Ellis and Nancy Gribble Nelson Associate Professor for Christian Education at Austin Seminary, has recently written an article about feelings of purposelessness in teenagers and young adults.  How are we called to be witnesses and mirrors for young people, so that they can recognize their worth and purpose?

Here is a quote from David White:

"Purposelessness in young people represents, in a sense, a failure of the Christian church to communicate a robust gospel.  We are guilty of attaching God like a paper-clip to a forgotten corner of our unreflective, middle-class lives, reducing God to brief of dreary table graces rather than the revolutionary love that changes us utterly, lifting us from mourning into dancing, from silence to joy, from purposelessness to purpose.  The domestication of God inevitably leaves Christians adrift, without purpose, in a life collapsed in upon itself.  Yet, the Christian tradition, at its best, insists that every Christian has a call to participate in God's purposes.  The theological notion of vocation frames human purpose as subject to God's call upon our lives."

-"Finding Purpose: Igniting Sparks in the Lives of Young People" in Windows:Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Spring 2012

Storycorps: Remembering John and Joe, Two Sons

Becoming An Innovative Church!

We believe that Pasadena Presbyterian Church is in a season of dreaming. Who are we?  Where have we been together, and how are we called to move forward now?  How is God stirring our hearts and minds?

As part of our ongoing mission and call, we want to be Sacred Space for the City.  And in that posture toward the people and neighborhoods around us, we are curious about innovative forms of ministry and mission that are happening within our larger Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) denomination and in other churches and community groups.  We are also interested in questions being asked around us - by those who have a faith commitment and by those who do not.  

We have much to learn from everyone!

Here are some news stories and blog posts.  We hope that they will call us anew to be an innovative, creative church that meets the needs of people around us!


Pastor Who Lived on Motel Roof Has New Vision: Raising Awareness About Gun Violence
Church Works to Turn Old Orlando Motel Into Faith Arts Village
More Churches Turning to High-Tech Outreach

PPC: Pasadena Portal Central!

Portals!  Portals!  Everywhere!  Portals!

Portals. . .?   What’s this all about?

Portal -- It’s a word that has seemed to stick around Pasadena Presbyterian Church these days.  We’ve used other words too: Doors, Hot Spots, Gateways, Grace Margins. . . But somehow the word ‘Portal’ has stuck with us.

And the word has emerged from a set of questions.  How does a church become accessible to its neighborhood?  What are the tangible ministries (read: Portals!) that exist now or could exist in the future which allow current members and friends of PPC. . .

1) . . . to get outside in the community where we can serve, love, and learn from our neighbors?

And provide spaces where. . .

2) . . . newcomers, who feel like outsiders, can start to feel like insiders?

How do portals get us outside and create safe spaces where people can come inside the life of this church, so that they can deepen a relationship with Jesus and find community for themselves?

Pasadena Presbyterian Church is quickly becoming Pasadena Portal Central!  God is currently using you and your gifts to make this a reality. 

How do I know this?  I can see it everywhere.

You're breathing new life into old ministries (portals!) and you're beginning new ministries (portals!) Groups of people are informally gathering around portals by pouring their energy, imagination, and love into this congregation and this neighborhood.  I will name just a few below:

-- Sunday Night Dream Team: A group of people is currently discerning ways to plan an Evening Worship Service for PPC.

-- Green Team: A group of people is exploring ways to care for our local and global environment by inviting our neighborhood into projects and discussion.

-- Mission Plan Team: A group of people has created a vibrant five-year Mission Plan for Spanish Language ministry.  

-- Sacred Space for Children Team: A group of people is exploring how we can create a visible, colorful area for children and caregivers in our sanctuary.

-- Outdoors for the Neighborhood Team: A group of people is considering ways to make our church building and landscaping more inviting to newcomers.

These are only a few portals.  Others keep popping up all around, and they are creating the spaces that 1) get us outside and 2) invite people inside.

What's your dream for PPC?  What's your dream for this neighborhood?  How can you use your gifts to portal-ize our church?

Keep thinking.  Keep dreaming.  Keep watching this happen!

Renee Roederer, Associate Pastor, Pasadena Presbyterian Church

Homeless Teens in America

Young Adults in the News!

As a young adult community, we want to stay aware of the particular gifts that young adults bring to our world as well as the particular challenges that young adults face.  We are curious to learn about culture and trends among young adults.


Here are some recent news stories and blog posts that concern young adults:


Huffington Post: Young People Are Not Invincible
Prime Time TV Loses Viewers, Especially Young Adults
New Report: Melanoma Increases Among Young Adults

The Problems With Peacemongering

Merrit Martin is a blogger who lives in Washington, D.C.  With her permission, we've requested to repost her recent blog entry from Waiting For Morning. She raises some interesting questions here, and we invite you to join the conversation in comments below.

Thanks to my good friend Renee, who keeps me plugged in to all things Presbyterian (and blogs here), I have just discovered that the PC(USA) is considering becoming a peace church—i.e. officially opposing wars and violence out of principle, regardless of the circumstances. For generations, the Presbyterian Church, like most American mainline denominations, has operated under Just War theory, a theological framework that offers a number of criteria under which fighting is justifiable, in order to make faithful folk feel less terrible about going to war.

Because let’s face it: war is terrible. It destroys countries, depletes natural resources, disrupts governments, and devastates local economies. It stirs up hatred of one group for another, which can perpetuate conflict for generations. It ends lives, violently. In our modern warfare, which takes place less and less on isolated battlefields, it often results in the deaths of women and children and innocent civilians. And the soldiers who come home may face PTSD, substance abuse issues, loss of limb, and other physical and mental health struggles. War is not a good thing.

On the surface, then, “Just War” sounds absurd and somewhat revolting. Why should we try to justify violence of any kind? Of course we should embrace nonviolence! It’s the job of the church to be a witness to peace and justice in the world! And other such platitudes.

On the other hand, a move to become a “peace church” is a total cop-out. It is a more of a witness to our desire for purity than for peace, as if we don’t want the PCUSA to be ‘defiled’ by any association with violence or any appearance to condone war.

But the fact of the matter is, we live in a broken world, and war and violence are a part of that world. We can—and should—lament violence without ending the conversation completely. Rather, I think we have a responsibility to struggle with each new conflict that arises. It is a way to remember what we believe and to renew our commitment to our faith. Besides, the theory defines “just wars” fairly narrowly. I believe that abandoning Just War theory would be a theological overreach, and there are two main problems I’m afraid that the decision would create:

1)    There would essentially be no place in our church for members of the military and their families—and if anyone can teach us about self-sacrifice, it’s them. If anyone needs healing and love, it’s them. Military families should feel welcomed in our congregations, without the tacit understanding that the PC(USA) thinks their whole careers are ‘wrong.’ After all, Jesus didn’t do that. He just healed the centurion’s servant, no questions asked.

2)    There is something politically meaningful in a church opposing a war that it has carefully considered. There is very little meaning in opposing every war, without consideration. If the PC(USA) makes an official declaration opposing a given war, as the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta did recently, it may serve as somewhat of a deterrent to policymakers. But if we oppose the idea of war itself, we are essentially abdicating our ability to have that kind of impact.

Violence is a deplorable part of our world. But I don’t think it is the place of the church to say it is an unforgivable, irredeemable part. We should be working to offer more creative solutions to conflict than military intervention. Opposition to all military intervention, though, is not creative enough. It’s not a plausible solution, and it’s not helpful to military families, policymakers, or those affected by conflict.

Merrit Martin
Waiting For Morning