Matthew

A Sunday (2) in the Life of a Pastor/Mother: Epiphany

“When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” (Matthew 2.10-11) Epiphany for me always feels like the…

January 8, 2012

Theresa Cho

Church, Epiphany, Matthew, Pastor/Mothers, Scripture, Women in Ministry

Epiphany, Pastor/Mother
Interactive Prayer Stations on Hunger Awareness

“The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. 9 Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.’” (Matthew 22.8-9) The parable of the Wedding Banquet speaks of a wedding reception that was fit for a king and yet all those typically considered unworthy were invited to…

October 9, 2011

Theresa Cho

Interactive Prayer Stations, Intergenerational, Matthew, Scripture, Worship

Bread, Children, Coin Boxes, Forks, hunger, Intergenerational, Knives, Plates, Spoons, St. John’s Presbyterian Church, Stone Soup, Worship
Chronicles of an Old Urban Church

17 Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.” (Matthew 9.17) The church I serve is one of the few successful revitalized churches that…

October 5, 2011

Theresa Cho

Church, Dying Churches, Matthew, Scripture, Urban Ministry

Change, PCUSA, St. John’s Presbyterian Church, Urban Ministry
Here I am!

8The Lord called Samuel again, a third time. And he got up and went to Eli, and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.’ Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. 9Therefore Eli said to Samuel, ‘Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” (1 Samuel 3.8-9)…

August 16, 2011

Theresa Cho

1 Samuel, GLBTQ, Matthew, Scripture, Sense of Call

Canaanite Woman, GLBTQ, PCUSA, Samuel, Sense of Call
Interactive Prayer Stations on the Parable of the Sower

. . . the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. (Matthew 13.23) The parable of the sower is an opportunity to examine how we respond to the Word…

July 12, 2011

Theresa Cho

Interactive Prayer Stations, Intergenerational, Matthew, Scripture, Worship

Bean Seeds, Children, Corn Seeds, Crayons, Glass Blocks, Intergenerational, Markers, Pumpkin Seeds, Sand, Soil, Sower & Seeds, St. John’s Presbyterian Church, Water, Worship
Interactive Prayer Stations on Evangelism, Discipleship, Servanthood, and Diversity

15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. (Ephesians 4.15-16) This interactive…

July 5, 2011

Theresa Cho

1 John, Big Tent, Ephesians, Interactive Prayer Stations, Intergenerational, Luke, Mark, Matthew, Scripture, Worship

Cocoa, Discipleship, Diversity, Embossing, Evangelism, Feathers, Heat Tool, Intergenerational, Kool-Aid, Love, Markers, Paper Dolls, PCUSA, Pom Poms, Poster Board, Projector, Servanthood, Spices, Stamps, Tissue Paper, Video Camera, Wiggly Eyes, Worship, Yarn, Youth
How to Shape Conversations in the 21st Century? Part II

20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” (Matthew 18.20) Back in February, I led a process sponsored by the six agencies of the General Assembly (GA) of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. (Office of General Assembly, Board of Pensions, Presbyterian Publishing Corporation, Presbyterian Church Foundation, Investment and Loan…

June 19, 2011

Theresa Cho

Church, Dying Churches, Leadership, Matthew, PCUSA, Presbytery of San Francisco, Racial Ethnic, Scripture, Urban Legacy Convocation

Change, Leadership, PCUSA
Ten Observations of a Dying Church

6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. (Matthew 13.6) I recently wrote a blog about how to kill a dying church, asking questions about what to do with so many churches dying. I think the challenge is recognizing the signs that a church…

June 13, 2011

Theresa Cho

Church, Dying Churches, Matthew, PCUSA, Presbytery of San Francisco, Scripture

Change, Leadership, PCUSA, St. John’s Presbyterian Church
Interactive Prayer Stations on Easter & Resurrection

5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. (Matthew 28.5-6) Typically, the Sunday after Easter, my church sets up interactive prayer stations. After the hoopla of Easter service…

May 1, 2011

Theresa Cho

Interactive Prayer Stations, Intergenerational, Matthew, Scripture, Worship

Bread, Butterflies, Children, Color Wonder, Craft Sticks, Crosses, Easter, Easter Eggs, Easter Grass, Easter Lily, Hummus, Intergenerational, Juice, Long Sticks, Markers, Matzo, Nesting Dolls, St. John’s Presbyterian Church, Worship
He Said, She Said: a Personal Journey through the Use of Inclusive Language

9 ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, . . . ” (Matthew 6.9) Growing up, the use of inclusive language was a foreign concept. Although I grew up in diverse church settings — Korean Presbyterian, Southern Baptist, Vineyard, and Pentecostal — one thing they all had in common was the heavy use of masculine…

January 7, 2011

Theresa Cho

Inclusive Language, Matthew, Scripture, Theology

Inclusive Language