“Love is in the air, everywhere I look around.” That line comes from a song by Australian singer John Paul Young, which was recorded back in 1977. It spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart and was his only US Top 40 hit. (You can find a version on YouTube if your memory or your curiosity gets the best of you.) For some reason, that song comes to mind as I think about the pending sale of the Presbytery office building. It makes more sense when you replace the word “love” with “change.” Change is in the air, everywhere I look around. It’s in emails, in phone calls, in Zoom meetings. It pops up in conversation with random church members and with the staff. Sometimes, it wakes me up at night. 

At the Seven Loaves Food Pantry at St. Andrew’s United Methodist Church in Plano, Texas, volunteers have been serving 800 to 1,200 families a week since the COVID-19 pandemic began — about four times the weekly traffic in 2019.

“We are busier than ever right now,” said Shannon Cameron, executive director of the Aurora Area Interfaith Food Pantry in Aurora, Illinois, where, after a slight dip around tax return season, between 30 and 60 new families are registering every week.

The inflation that has loomed over the economy and restricted many Americans’ purchasing power of late has doubly affected low-income people who already struggle to get by. A recent survey by the anti-hunger organization Feeding America has shown that increased demand has affected nearly 80% of U.S. food banks, as higher prices cause more families to seek assistance.

Rachel McNeel, a senior at West Virginia University majoring in chemistry and minoring in biology and business, will represent all West Virginia Presbyterian Young Adults at the National General Assembly in Louisville, Ky., June 20-24.

A member of the Presbyterian Student Fellowship, McNeel has excelled in blending her faith and major fields of study in chemistry and biology.

On Sunday, July 10, Enslow Park Presbyterian Church and Full Gospel Assembly hosted a pulpit exchange, with Enslow Park Commissioned Pastor John Yeager preaching at Full Gospel Assembly and its pastor, Bishop Samuel Moore, preaching at Enslow Park. After services, the two churches held a time of fellowship at Ritter Park. Though this was the first pulpit exchange between the churches, it was part of their ongoing collaboration, designed to solidify the relationship between the congregations.

The Rev. Wayne Yost will retire from the position of Stated Clerk of the Synod of the Trinity at the end of the year. The search for the next person to serve as the Stated Clerk of the Synod is underway. Although a part-time position, the person fulfilling this role is important in ecclesiastical matters and in support of the ministry and mission of the Synod. Here is a link to the position description in CLC. Interested candidates should submit a PIF to the contact included.