After reading “How to Speak Presbyterian” by P.J. Southam I was inspired to write my own handy-handy word and phrase dictionary but based on the dialect of Young Adult Presbyterian. So I sent out the call on Facebook and Twitter for what people would want defined. This list is incomplete, and I welcome your feedback as to what else could be included.
Speaking Young Adult Presbyterian
Any word or phrase surrounded by *stars* after it means the word or phrase is also defined in the list.
Baptism: a ritual act of initiation into a *Christian* community, usually done as part of a *liturgy*, involves most commonly the sprinkling or pouring of water by a *teaching elder* onto the head of an infant or adult along with the promise of the community to support the one being baptized, older youth and adults declare their personal faith, parent/s or caretakers of infants affirm their faith and promise to raise their child within the Christian community, one of the *sacraments*
Clergy: a group term for *ordained* *teaching elders*
Christian: a person intentionally trying to follow the ways of and find meaning in the life of *Jesus* of Nazareth, many Christians (though not all) express God through the *Trinity*
Contemporary: a term to describe a worship service that uses *contemporary-style music*, incorporates lots of communal singing, keeps *liturgical elements* to a minimum, often has a band and music leader who functions as a lead singer, and is usually informal
Contemporary-Style Music: popular styles of music including rock, pop, and country with *Christian*-themed lyrics
Creator: an expression of the first partner of the *Trinity,* other names include Father, Mother, Nurturer, and Life-Giver
Deacon: the title given to an *ordained* church leader whose main job is to help take care of church members and other members of the community spiritually and emotionally
Decently and in Order: a phrase used to describe when *Presbyterians* like things to go in a certain sequence and following proper etiquette
Discernment: the act of seeking God’s desire for a personal life or community through prayer and *Spirit*-led conversation
Emergent: a loose grouping of communities centered on following Jesus within *post-modern* cultures, known for holistic worship practices that involve the 5 senses and using *Christian* prayers and spiritual practices from multiple *Christian* traditions
Gospel, the: translated also as “Good News,” can refer to the 4 books in the New Testament which describe *Jesus’* life or to message Jesus preached and *Christians* try to *live into*
Hope-filled: the state of being filled (mind, body, and soul) with hope believing that with the *Spirit’s* help the future will be better
Jesus: a Palestinian Jew who lived during the first half of the first century CE, many *Christians* worship Jesus as the Second Person of the *Trinity* and was God incarnated on earth, often referred to as Christ, *Presbyterians* also look to his life as recorded and discussed in the New Testament for inspiration about how we live our lives
Joy-filled: the state of being filled (mind, body, and soul) with the knowledge that God loves us
Liminal Space: A place in-between two solid states of identity (such as teenager and adult) but also in-between two situations (such as leaving one job but not having another to start)
Liturgical Elements: individual parts of a *liturgy* (such as the Call to Worship and Assurance of Confession) that often involve a part for a worship leader and a part for the community
Liturgy: the outline of a worship service including spoken words, readings, and actions such as lighting candles; often printed in a folded pamphlet called a bulletin
Live Into: a phrase used to describe something a person desires to be or do but is still working on (Example: I’m trying to live into my *baptism*)
Lord’s Supper: also called communion; is a ritual act based on the final meal *Jesus* had with his disciples where he instructed them to eat bread and drink wine together in remembrance of him; the many meanings of the Lord’s Supper include being sustained for the life of faith, being sealed in God’s covenant of grace, being empowered by the memory of *Jesus’* life and death and resurrection; always done in a worship service where *preaching* takes place
Modern: the era of history beginning at the Enlightenment and ending after World War II with emphasis of facts, observations, logic and scientific methods, absolute and objective truths, individualistic thinking
Ordained: the term used for church leaders (*ruling elders*, *teaching elders*, and *deacons*) who have recognized by the larger church for their gifts, the ordination ceremony takes place as part of a *liturgy*
Peace: used in Presbyterian e-mails instead of “sincerely”
Preaching: the act of speaking and proclamation during a worship service; often done by a *teaching elder* or church leader; usually based on one or two passages from the Bible; done in multiple ways including exegetical (explaining a story from the Bible), topical (centered on one topic), narrative (from a first-person point of view), and dialogue (a conversation or question-and-answer between the leader and the gathered community)
Post-Modern: the era of history from about the end of WWII and forward with emphasis on questioning the absolute-ness of modern ideas, multiple ways of knowing, and a distrust of power structures
PC(USA): the largest *Presbyterian* *Christian* denomination in the United States, formed in 1983 from the merging of two other Presbyterian denominations
Presbycostal: either a *Presbyterian* who really loves the Holy *Spirit* or a Pentecostal who is *decently and in order*
Presbymergent: a group of self-proclaimed “loyal radicals” who combine the best of being *Emergent* and the best of being *Presbyterian*
Presbyterian: a person or church nested in the *Reformed tradition* as evolved through John Knox and the Scottish Reformation
Reformed Tradition, The: any church or denomination with an emphasis in their theological understandings based in John Calvin’s writings
Reformed and Always Reforming: translation of ecclesia reformata, semper reformanda; used to remind us that that no denomination, individual church, or person has the entire answer and that we always need to be *discerning* God’s will for us and changing accordingly
Ruling Elder: an *ordained* church leader who is responsible for exercising church government and help *discern* what and who the congregation needs to be
Sacraments: the two *Presbyterian* sacraments are the *Lord’s Supper* and *baptism* both of which *Jesus* told his followers to do and have been practiced for all of *Christian* history, also signs of the real presence of *Jesus* and symbols of God’s actions in the world
Social Justice: a catch-all phrase for the multiple ways churches and individuals are involved in changing the world (particularly in the public sphere) as led by the *Spirit* and often based on *Jesus’* words and actions
Spirit, Holy: the third expression of the *Trinity*; the expression of God actively within, around, and with us today; inspires and empowers people to live and act as God would have us live and act; also called Dove, Holy Fire, Comforter, Advocate
Teaching Elder: also called minister of Word and Sacrament; an *ordained* church leader whose main job is to empower other church members to live and do God’s work in the world; in the congregation the teaching elders preach, preside over *sacraments*, care for people spiritually, moderate the session, help govern the church, and is the supervisor for the other church employees; can also work as hospital chaplains, college ministers, military chaplains, and counselors
Traditional: a type of worship service that includes a stable *liturgy* and music from a wide variety of sources (occasionally including *contemporary-style music*) but focused on communal singing through hymns
Trinity, the: the traditional understanding of the mystery of the one eternal God expressed in three united yet distinct partners described traditionally as the Father (see *Creator*), Son (see *Jesus*), and Holy *Spirit*–other descriptions include Lover, Beloved, and the Love between Them; Begetter, Begotten, and Breathed Forth; Mother, Child, and Womb; Cloud, Rain, and Rainbow
YAV: the shorthand for people who served communities in the United States and in throughout the world through *PC(USA)’s* Young Adult Volunteer Program, usually YAVs serve for a year or two
Young Adult: human beings from about the age of 18 until about 30 who are establishing life patterns with an emphasis on identity formation
Nurturing God, who gathers us up like a mother hen, today we give thanks for those who make Mothers’ Day a happy day, and we pray for those whom Mothers’ Day is not a happy day–
The question came rather innocently in an e-mail from a college friend. “So, what are you reading lately?” I was sitting on my futon with my laptop on my lap desk, and I looked around at the various materials that had been cast off in multiple piles due to finals. Thick hardback and paperback books with multicolored flags sticking out of them, folders filled with notes and outlines, four translations of the Bible, worship planning stuff, an empathy labyrinth… all tools of the seminary student’s life. (Ok, maybe not every seminary student has a empathy labyrinth.) But no books that I would consider I was “reading.”
Sunday April 22nd is Earth Day! Check out Presbyterians for Earth Care .jpg "Palm Sunday Hosanna")
