Southminster Presbyterian Church, Dayton, Ohio

02/03/2026

SOME WAYS TO HELP OUR HAITIAN NEIGHBORS.
(The good news is that a federal district judge on Monday evening issued a ruling that blocks the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from terminating Temporary Protected Status for Haiti, a decision that impacts potentially thousands of Haitian people who live in Springfield and Clark County. It does not mean that the threat is over, but there is at least a pause. Your help is still needed.)

02/02/2026

We had fun making Valentines last night for homebound and nursing home residents!

02/01/2026

CHILI COOK-OFF
We decided to spice up the Annual Meeting a bit this year with a Chili Cook-off. Congratulations to Holly, who received the Chef’s Hat award for the best chili. (Todd had a friendly rivalry going with her for the title.) Daria was 2nd & Art was 3rd. Thanks to Cantus and Jaden for all their hard work and to the 17 people who brought in crock pots full of chili. 🌶️🙂❤️

01/30/2026

At the DAYTON MARTIN LUTHER KING CELEBRATION BANQUET on Jan. 19, among the speakers were an amazingly poised and insightful 12-year-old girl, the Executive Director of CAIR who talked about carrying King’s work forward, and a 100-year-old man, who shared his wisdom after working for civil rights most of his life. At the end of this annual event, the tradition is for hundreds of people to form a large circle and sing, “We Shall Overcome.” In this time of such division in our country, it is heartwarming when people can come together and recognize their potential to be a part of working toward the dream of justice and peace.

01/26/2026

Due to a level 3 snow emergency, no one is supposed to be on the roads, and the church will be closed.

01/24/2026

CHURCH CLOSED THIS SUNDAY, DUE TO WINTER STORM
The Governor has declared a state of emergency for Sunday, when we will have most of the snow. Weather stations are recommending that people stay off the roads. We will miss seeing each other, but it is important to stay safe and warm. See you again on Feb.1 for the Worship Service, Annual Meeting and Chili Cook Off!

01/20/2026

Anyone interested in visiting the International Peace Museum but hasn't yet. Here's your chance. January the price of admission is two non-perishable food items! ✌️Melanie

During the month of January the price of admission to the museum will be 2 non-perishable food items!

This applies to entrance to the museum only. Special events are not included.

Find out the best items to bring here: https://moveforhunger.org/top-items-for-food-banks?

01/14/2026

Check out our new children’s space in the Narthex. A cozy nook for quiet time and discovery. Our Giraffe got a little cleanup too!
❤️Melanie

01/11/2026

Showing tonight in the Southminster Lang Theater. Movie starts at 6:15. Popcorn and snacks available with a donation to the youth group.

Although the Civil Rights Act of 1964 legally desegregated the South, discrimination was still rampant in certain areas, making it very difficult for Blacks to register to vote. In 1965, an Alabama city became the battleground in the fight for suffrage. Despite violent opposition, Dr. Martin Luther....

01/09/2026

EPIPHANY FEAST 2026.
We enjoyed beautiful music, meaningful worship and fellowship. Whoever gets the 3 almonds in the cake become the Magi and journey around the room and to the manger as we sing "We Three Kings." The wood manger is full of hay & tiny lights, and the tables around the room are covered in purple cloth and candlelight from many purple candles surrounded in greenery. Each person gets a star word for the year. At the end of the service, each of us writes down our gift for the Christ child-- gifts like forgiving someone, visiting the lonely, serving in the community, etc. It can be anything that is on your heart. ❤️ We drop the paper in a basket by the manger and the pastors light our candles as a symbol of taking Christ's light out into the world.

01/09/2026

PRAYING AROUND A BULLET HOLE
(by Teri McDowell Ott, published Jan 9 in "The Presbyterian Outlook")

Holy God, we grieve the hole in the windshield — not large, not dramatic, just a small, terrible opening where a life was shattered. A circle of absence. A quiet scream in glass. A single point through which the world split open.

We pray for Renee — for the breath stolen from her body, for the poetry she can no longer write, for the children she can no longer hold. Hold her now where bullets cannot reach, where violence has no authority, where every life is known as precious.

We pray for all the lives ended by a single pull of a trigger — names remembered and names forgotten, stories cut short, love interrupted. Let none of them be lost to statistics or silence.

We pray, too, for the life on the other end of the gun — for the one who shoots before fully seeing and understanding. God of mercy, heal our reflex to control and kill. Unteach the habits that harden the heart. Rewrite the narrative that calls violence “necessary.”

We pray for the witnesses of violence, the scenes they can’t unsee, the shaking hands, the sleepless nights, the question that will not loosen its grip: How could this happen? Gather their trauma with tenderness. Hold what their bodies now carry.

We pray for the community that returned after her Honda Pilot was towed away, standing on ordinary pavement made holy by grief, lighting candles, refusing forgetfulness, holding one another because it is the only thing left to do. Bless this stubborn love. Bless this vigil of lament.

God, this is madness. This is not the world you imagined. Meet us here, we pray, at the broken glass, at the candle flame, at the place where grief insists on being seen. Make us people who grieve honestly, and labor, together, for a world where prayers like this aren’t needed. Amen.

01/05/2026

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