Each year, Presbyterians across the globe acknowledge Heritage Sunday, a day to reflect on and celebrate the vast and lengthy history of the faith. Heritage Sunday always falls on the Sunday closest to May 21—the opening date of the inaugural General Assembly in the United States in 1789. This year, Heritage Sunday will fall on the same date: May 21, 2023.
Fresh off his appearance in a 12-minute video explaining the historical importance of Catawba Presbytery, the Rev. Dr. Ed Newberry told “Leading Theologically” host the Rev. Dr. Lee Hinson-Hasty he’s been enjoying his retirement in part “to have the leisure time to explore what I’ve been curious about.”
Libby McAliley served for 23 years as a Presbyterian Church in the U.S. (PCUS) missionary in the Belgian Congo. She completed a Masters of Christian Education in 1959 and received a Master of Divinity degree from Columbia Theological Seminary in 1973. That same year, McAliley became the first woman in South Carolina to be ordained as a minister of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.
For three days this summer, more than 150 women and men from across the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) came together to reflect on and celebrate the rich history of the Catawba Synod and the impact it has had on the life of the church.