The Rev. Cheryl Barnes, recently named the Presbyterian Mission Agency’s (PMA) World Mission African Area Coordinator, was honored last week with the Maria Fearing award at the National Black Presbyterian Caucus (NBPC) conference held in North Charleston, South Carolina. Read more »
June 27, 2023
Presbyterian World Mission’s the Rev. Cheryl Barnes is given the Maria Fearing award
The Rev. Cheryl Barnes, recently named the Presbyterian Mission Agency’s (PMA) World Mission African Area Coordinator, was honored last week with the Maria Fearing award at the National Black Presbyterian Caucus (NBPC) conference held in North Charleston, South Carolina. Read more »
When she sat for a recent interview, the Rev. Sarah Hegar, who directs congregational ministries at First Presbyterian Church in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, was still basking in the glow of having welcomed six confirmands into membership the previous weekend. They got there in part by studying Matthew 25 confirmation materials that asked the youth: How do you change the world? 
The term “the road to war” is defined as the long and complicated process where various factors, actions and decisions lead to an outcome. This term can be applied to the events leading up to our own nation’s decision to fight for independence. On this “road to war,” two divergent visions of rights, freedom, governance, control and status clashed: the American vision and the British vision. And it was not until 1783, nearly eight years after the events in 1775 at Lexington and Concord, that a peace treaty would be signed in Paris. 
“Our church’s commitment to Matthew 25 is important to us,” says Ashlynn Beauchamp, a 15-year-old member of First Presbyterian Church in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. “It gives us the opportunity not just to better ourselves and follow Jesus, but to branch out and work in the world to improve others’ lives, not just our own.” 
“We still have more to offer,” said Stevanie, a young-adult DACA recipient and member of Marturia Presbyterian Church. As the Supreme Court deliberates on how protections under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program will continue, we are reminded of the millions of people who are in the United States under temporary immigration statuses. The temporary statuses provide relief from deportation orders and provide access to work authorization but are precarious. They must be renewed every year to every two years, and individuals must put their lives on hold during each renewal process. Regardless of the amount of time someone has been a recipient of these temporary statuses and vetted for renewal, there are no pathways to permanent residency or citizenship. These protections can also be revoked with the change in presidential administrations. Life is precarious. 
Marcy Stroud, the warden at the minimum-security Mt. Pleasant Correctional Facility in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, remembers very well the day she received a cold call from the Rev. Trey Hegar, pastor of First Presbyterian Church. 
2023년 6월 22일부터 24일까지 개최된 미국 장로교 연금국 이사회 연례 회의에서는 미국 장로교의 복리후생 제도 및 교육 프로그램과 재정 지원 프로그램을 통해 기관의 지속적인 추진력을 더하여 교회를 더욱 성심껏, 효과적으로… 
With the final work by artist-in-residence Steve Prince and his students welcoming everyone gathered in Anderson Auditorium at Montreat Conference Center to “come unto me,” Friday’s worship at the Presbyterian Association of Musicians’ Worship & Music Conference capped a week of thoughtful, prayerful, community-building worship that put glorious music by people of all ages front and center.