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Copy of Prospect Hunger Program July 2026 Food Drive


On Saturday, July 11, 2026, 10:00 AM - 12:00pm there will be an outdoor food drive in front of Prospect Presbyterian Church collecting non-perishable food items. Early drop-offs can be placed in the shopping cart under the stairs. To learn more about this program visit: 

The donated food will be then taken to one of the Maplewood/South Orange Meeting Essential Needs with Dignity (MEND) food pantries.

 



 





 
 
 

Presbytery of Northeastern New Jersey Updates

Updated: 5 days ago

The Presbytery of Northeast New Jersey


From the Tartan Army in Boston to team Algerian being adopted by a small town in Kansas, my favorite stories to emerge from the FIFA World Cup have nothing to do with the matches themselves.


It has been so much fun to see the stories of visitors from around the world expressing surprise at what they experienced in the United States. Many arrived expecting a nation divided, hostile, and suspicious of outsiders. Instead, they found strangers offering directions, restaurant recommendations (from BBQ to Costco hotdogs), conversations on trains, and warm welcomes in cities across the country.


It is a reminder of an important truth, headlines rarely tell the whole story and the loudest voices are not always the most representative. We know the algorithms behind our news feeds and social media prioritize conflict because it attracts attention. In the same way that the media can shape the way people view the US by the stories they choose to tell, the same can be true of the church.


Many people's perceptions of Christianity have been shaped by headlines, scandals, political arguments, or painful personal experiences. Before they ever meet a follower of Jesus, they may already believe they know what Christians are like. Let's wait and see what stories get highlighted from our own General Assembly this week. In light of this reality, what if our response is not to complain about being misunderstood but choosing to live so faithfully that people's experience of us and the church challenges their assumptions. Peter urged believers to "live such good lives among the nations" that even those who misunderstood them would eventually see the reality of God's work (1 Peter 2:12).


Reputations are not changed by verbal arguments nearly as much as they are by lived encounters. Every conversation, every act of hospitality, every moment of grace becomes an opportunity for someone to say, "This isn't what I expected."


Perhaps that is one of the church's greatest reminders today. We are not called simply to defend the gospel, but to embody it. To become communities where preconceived ideas give way to unexpected grace, where fear is replaced by welcome, and where people discover that Jesus is far more beautiful than the caricatures they have come to believe.

In the end, the most powerful witness is not proving the headlines wrong. It is giving people a better story to tell.

 

Steve Huston

Organizing Co-Leader/ Resource Presbyter



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