Weekly Outlook - Eve: the original brat 🍏

Dear readers, "You're simply the best! Better than all the rest..."  I have not been able to stop singing "The Best," famously covered by Tina Turner, since reading Katherine Douglass' article about her experience with Pub Choir — a local, live art installation where choir director Astrid Jorgenson directed 250 participants in a three-part harmony performance of the song. And now, I'm gifting the earworm to you! Douglass weaves together her experience of joyfully, exuberantly singing in a crowd with the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic that we are all still negotiating. It was medicine for her soul to be in a community like Pub Choir. The church is uniquely positioned to foster similar, communal experiences, she writes. How can we live into that calling? That's not a hypothetical question. I'm asking you: how can we live into that calling? How do you (or y'all, to make the plural explicit)? Send me a note, and I'll write up a collection of joyful celebrations in next week's newsletter! In the meantime, I'll be here humming along. "I'm stuck on your heart. I hang on every word you say..." Peace, Rose Schrott Taylor Digital Content Editor

When preaching becomes performance: Confronting the ‘preachies’ by Whitney Wilkinson Arreche Pub choir: Healing community in a fragmented world by Katherine M. Douglass Eve is the original brat by Olivia Bardo Meet Gen Z’s proselytizing Presbyterian reformer by Fiona Murphy In case you missed it... Five powerful faith moments at the Paris Olympics Athletes have long attributed faith to their success on the field. Paris was no exception. — Ellie Davis Finishing the making of a book Cynthia Jarvis writes about how a book is made by both author and reader. The co-moderator of the 226th General Assembly preaches on the language of love The Rev. CeCe Armstrong turns to a familiar text during closing worship at the 2024 Churchwide Gathering of Presbyterian Women. —  Mike Ferguson Unification Commission votes to establish a Unification Management Office The new office will help commissioners implement their decisions, set up a program plan, and develop a change management and communication strategy. — Mike Ferguson Decommissioned: The elimination of Missionary Advisory Delegates and the transformation of PC(USA) World Mission Jonathan A. Seitz, who has served as a mission co-worker for 15 years, reflects on GA's decision to end the role of mission advisory delegates. Overcoming burnout Aaron Stauffer explores a new path to sustainable leadership in the church. Five faith facts about Harris pick Tim Walz, a ‘Minnesota Lutheran’ Dad If elected, Walz would be either the first or second Lutheran vice president of the United States, depending on how you count it. — Jack Jenkins