Iglesia Presbiteriana Puerto Nuevo

The church is alive in San Juan, Puerto Rico! Today’s submission comes from Jose Rosa of the Iglesia Presbiteriana Puerto Nuevo. The Iglesia Presbiteriana Puerto Nuevo sees the living church in their mission group Ministerio Vida Abundante, or Abundant Life Ministry. This video is a collection of video clips and pictures that demonstrate the activities of the group during the Maratón de Paz, or Peace Marathon. The music in the background is Daniel Calveti’s “En Paz.” I’m going to include my best shot at a rudimentary translation (*not exact*) so you can reflect on the lyrics while you watch the video. Jose Rosa mentioned that there is more to come from the Iglesia Presbiteriana Puerto Nuevo – we can’t wait to see what else they have going on!

Daniel Calveti - En Paz

En paz me acostaré y asi mismo dormiré
(peacefully I will lie down and peacefully I will sleep)
Porque solo tu señor me haces vivir confiado
(because only you Lord make me live in confidence)
Quien me libra del temor
(who frees me from fear)
Quien me quita la ansiedad
(who takes away my anxiety)
Sino eres tú
(if not you)
Quien me Abraza con su Amor
(who embraces me with love)
Quien me da de su perdón
(who pardons me)
Sino eres tú
(if not you)

Laura Mendenhall @ Columbia Seminary

Today's submission comes from Laura Mendenhall, President of Columbia Seminary. Laura has served Christ through the Presbyterian Church USA in many ways, as pastor, educator, speaker, and now as President of Columbia Seminary. Laura has been President of Columbia Seminary since 2000, and in August will retire from her position and move back to Texas. Those who have had the honor to work and know Laura, know her as a kind and selfless leader, who's deep love of Christ is made known in her loving and caring manner. She has been a true visionary and leader of the Church, and we are thankful to hear her perspective on how the Church is alive.

Columbia Seminary Website

The Church is Alive in the Dominican Republic!

We got a pretty amazing submission the other day: This one comes from Michael Fagans on behalf of the Self-Development of People initiative from the PC(USA).

To Michael, the church is alive in service to others and in bettering the lives of those in need. He says this about his submission:

A ministry of the Presbyterian Church (USA), Self Development of People is a partnership of love, justice and empowerment reflecting the image of God who stands with all people.

To each of us is given a gift for the building of a community of caring,
where we can learn to embrace our pain and overcome those oppressive
structures that would keep us in bondage and make us anxious.
-- Elizabeth O'Connor

This is why the church is alive!

This is a truly remarkable project, and one that everyone should check out.

For more information on how to get connected to this project, check the links below:

The Self-Development of People Website.

The SDOP YouTube Channel.

The SDOP facebook page.

The Church is ALIVE At Union-PSCE!

Dr. Brian Blount is the president of Union Theological Seminary and Presbyterian School of Christian Education in Richmond, Virginia.

On May 7, 2008, during his Inauguration sermon, he asked us a simple question, "Are You Ready?" Drawing upon the story of Lazarus, Dr. Blount expressed how easy the temptation is to be "dead." We tend to get too comfortable with the condition of stagnancy. However, Christ is calling us OUT of this condition of stagnant death and into a life where we do what God requires of us! Here's an excerpt from his sermon:

"But are we ready to respond? Jesus expects response. Notice, Jesus doesn’t go in the tomb and get Lazarus. Lazarus has to get up and come out. It must be hard if you’re dead to get up. It’s hard for me to get up from a nap on a cold, rainy day. Imagine trying to get up after you’ve been dead for four days. I’m sure you’d want to pull the covers of creation all around you and sleep on into eternity.

When we think about it that way, it’s almost good to be dead, isn’t it? There in the tomb there are no worries, no frustrations, no life to live under the duress of grand expectations, no midterms and final exams, no faculty meetings, no financial issues, no building maintenance problems, no fundraising to be obsessed with. It’s almost good to be dead. Maybe that’s why institutions so often don’t wait for nature to bind them up in death; we kill off ourselves, then bind ourselves up in tombs of lethargy, tombs of tradition, tombs of doing things the same way we’ve always done them because there’s peace in that even if there is no transformation in that. The idea is to get comfortable with being dead, so you don’t hear those voices calling you out into the struggles of mission, worship, and theological education life. Actually, the best thing to do is to figure out the most lively way to be dead. I think that’s my fear for the church and for the seminaries that educate its leaders, that we’ll get too used to being ill and dying, that we’ll get seduced by the calm and peace of the tomb, that we’ll start decorating in there, make ourselves at home with our own decay, ignore the stench of stale approaches, and ignore the call to get up from that deadness and come out because, in the end, to be dead is at the very least to be comfortable. But let us remind ourselves about Jesus’ love. Because Jesus loves us, Jesus is not going to come to Union-PSCE or to the churches we serve and sit in the decay with us. Jesus is going to call...us...out! The question is, are we ready to come out?"

In Dr. Blount's video post, he reminds us of the excitement found in God's call. Christ calls his disciples to follow him, and this is where the church begins!

The church is ALIVE because of the number of people taking this call seriously in whatever vocation they pursue. The church is ALIVE because of seminary students who are committing to serving the church and spreading excitement of the wonderful ways God is working in this world. The church is ALIVE because of YOU!

Connect to this video:

Union-PSCE website

The Church is alive in East Tennessee!

This submission comes from Bryce Elliot and the Presbytery of East Tennessee Youth Council, based out of Knoxville, TN.

To them, the church is alive when we reach out and connect with one another and with God.

Bryce says this about his video:

"Hope for the Future."

Speaking of connections, check the links below:

First Presbyterian Knoxville, TN

Bryce Elliot on Facebook

Adam Copeland and Congregational Song

Adam is in his third year at Columbia Seminary, in Decatur, GA. Adam has deep interest the music of the Church throughout history, and in the present. He spent last year in Scotland doing an internship with the Church of Scotland. He has this to say about his video:

The Church is Alive in its Congregational Song
"Did you know the church is in the midst of deep and wide interest in congregational song? Compilers of a recently-published hymnal considered over 10,000 texts and tunes for publication. As the church claims its heritage in the songs of the past, and as the Spirit moves us to sing a new song to the Lord, we sing the confession: Christ is alive; all praise be to God!"


You can check out Adam's blog and/or follow him on Twitter:
Adam Copeland blogs at http://adamjcopeland.com
Follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ajc123

Other sites Adam recommends:
http://www.hymnary.org/
http://presbyterianhymnal.org/HymnalSplash.asp

Welcome to the churchisalive.com!

Hello and welcome to thechurchisalive.com, where our mission is to exhibit, connect and inspire!

Firstly, make sure you take a gander at our invitation video above (it’s a good one).

Secondly, we know what you’re thinking – so what is thechurchisalive.com? In a nutshell, The Church is Alive project stems from an idea that the Church is more than what some currently believe. We have heard the worries and anxieties that say that the church is "dying" or "already dead", but instead we believe that the church is alive, vibrant, and a powerful force for good in the world. We believe that the Holy Spirit is breathing new life into all corners of our denomination, and that our body of believers is rich with stories of giving back, exploring fresh approaches to community, and discovering new ways to worship God.

So why have a website? Well, In order to capture how the church is alive, we thought it best to go to the source: YOU! We want to hear your stories, so we are asking you to submit your own videos of how you think the church is alive. These could be examples of service projects, new forms of worship, new attempts at community, or other ways people are bringing life and vibrancy into the church. We only ask that you keep these videos to about a minute and a half in length. Once we receive these submissions, we will select some to exhibit on this website, along with a brief description of the project and the people involved – so keep checking this blog!

For more info on what we do and why we do it, check out our About page.

Now, if you’ve already got a video that you think exhibits how the church is alive, then simply follow the instructions on our Submit page and then shoot it our way!

To connect to other thechurchisalive.com visitors, pay a visit to our Connect page (it’s pretty barren now, but there will be more soon!)

Otherwise, take some time to explore the videos we already have on our front page. If you like the content, make sure you click the links underneath each video. Think we’re missing something? Make something on your own!

We know that there isn’t a lot on this website right now – we’re leaving that up to YOU. YOU are living congregants of a new age. YOU are the creative force that will forge a new, brighter era within the church. YOU are what keeps the church alive today – show us how!

This project cannot be a success without you. Speak up. Film it. Be heard.

The Church is ALIVE.