Columbia Connections

Someone once asked an imaginative question: “What if some day scientists discovered a differentiation gene?” It was a fun question to ponder, but, genes don’t work the way most of us imagine. Bowen’s Scale of Differentiation posits that one characteristic...

As the conversation around Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE’s), trauma, and trauma informed care grows, practitioners and policy stakeholders recognize the impact of trauma and transition. This is especially true among some of the most vulnerable populations: young adult women and...

Interacting with seminarians typically raises two affections in me. The first is hope. God is still calling people to participate in the redemptive mission of the Kingdom, and people are still answering that call. The second, is a bit of...

It’s no secret that congregations experience times of increased anxiety. Those periods of acute anxiety can be triggered by any number of events, conditions, or situations. Here are the 15 most common triggers to anxiety in a congregation (in no...

November 2, 2019—“The twentieth-century history of Presbyterian women’s organizations is a rich and varied one, and it is a history that has been well documented by women themselves. There are stories of prayer groups and sewing circles, building programs and...

Three people were recognized for completing the coursework required to earn a Certificate in Older Adult Ministry (OAM) at the annual meeting of the Presbyterian Older Adult Ministries Network (POAMN) in Louisville, KY.

This program is a partnership between POAMN...

I counseled a parishioner who was dissatisfied with his work for a religious agency.

“I can do the work,” he said, “but my heart is not in it.”

Meanwhile, he was pondering the possibility of a new job that was...

“Why are you still moving?” the kids around me in the elementary school lunch line instructed.

“Stop moving!”

We had just finished some kind of movement class and I was still practicing the moves while in the line.

 In a...

During periods of societal regression, people may feel more entitled to even their bad behavior.

They may feel they have legitimate “excuses” for behaving as they do and that this should be understood and accepted no matter what the negative...