Recent Posts

This week, Carol Bechtel, the executive director of the American Waldensian Society, shares the third part of what she said at the February 17th celebration in Valdese, North Carolina. You can read her entire talk on the American Waldensian Society website.  Carol’s remarks are based in large part on the fourth and final volume of a … Continue reading The Relationship Between History and Vocation

Waldensians and their supporters and friends in the United States were profoundly affected by the ministry of the late Pope Francis. This tribute was written by Kevin Frederick, the president of the American Waldensian Society. Shortly after the election of Jorge Bergoglio as the new pope in 2013, I had a conversation with my friend … Continue reading An American Tribute to Pope Francis

Jesus’ words about “Welcoming the stranger” have a special resonance for Italian Waldensians. In centuries gone by, their spiritual ancestors were themselves refugees from religious and political oppression. Now Waldensians are engaged in a special effort to welcome sisters and brothers who are attempting to flee various forms of oppression in their homelands. This article … Continue reading How good it is and how lovely to live together in unity: Fiona Kendall Reports

Never before March 13, 2013, had a newly-elected pope dared to choose the name Francis for his pontificate. So, when the newly elected pope, Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina, chose the name Francis, many people were very much struck by the new pope’s chosen name. For many, but especially for Italian Waldensians, the new pope’s choice of namesclearly recalled Francis of Assisi, whose story of conversion in … Continue reading A Pope Named Francis

A Reflection by Paolo Naso In this time of egregious government overreach in many parts of the world, Italian Waldensians, like Christians everywhere, still cherish the memory of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the great theologian of resistance to Nazism and Hitler. Less than a month before Hitler’s suicide and the collapse of the Nazi regime, Bonhoeffer was … Continue reading 80 Years After Bonhoeffer’s Martyrdom

The health and happiness of children is never a gift but the result of the actions of an entire community. Jorge Barudy With these words of Jorge Barudy, Dr. Magdalena García Trovero, a child and adolescent psychiatrist, concluded her speech on the evening of March 26 at the Waldensian church in Montevideo, Uruguay. These words of … Continue reading Mental Health: A Community Challenge

This week, Carol Bechtel, the executive director of the American Waldensian Society, shares the second part of what she said at the February 17th celebration at Old Rock School in Valdese, North Carolina. Part one of her remarks was featured in March. Part three of her remarks will be shared in the near future. Carol’s remarks are … Continue reading New Takes on An Old Story: The Relationship Between History and Memory

Monica Natali, a Waldensian deacon, reports from Calabria and Messina on the beginning of her new ministry. If I had to use a few words to describe the beginning of my diaconal ministry in the area of Calabria and Messina after my experience in Palermo, I would say: discoveries, relationships, surprises, and projects. I didn’t … Continue reading My Ministry is Just Beginning

The Waldensian Presbyterian Church in Valdese, North Carolina, has at last installed its new co-pastors. In the article below, Matt Matthews, one of the two new co-pastors, describes the installation service. Rachel and I were officially installed as co-pastors of Waldensian Presbyterian Church in Valdese, NC, Sunday afternoon March 2. We had waited almost five-months … Continue reading Waldensian Presbyterian Church Co-Pastors Are Officially (and Finally) Installed

J. Javier Pioli (pictured), a member of the ecotheology team at the Emmanuel Center in Colonia Valdense, Uruguay, wrote this reflection following a recent youth camp sponsored by the Evangelical Waldensian Church in the Rio de la Plata. “There are two small coves between those rocks. Take off your clothes and enter its waters. The salinity … Continue reading As If It Were the Sea