In the backyard of my house in Accra, Ghana, there are plantain, papaya and mango trees, each giving fruit at their particular times of the year. I’m excited as the dry season ends — the beginning of spring in the U.S. — when our avocados ripen and become ready to eat! Read more »
June 16, 2020
Trade and tariff systems prevent cocoa processing in West Africa
In the backyard of my house in Accra, Ghana, there are plantain, papaya and mango trees, each giving fruit at their particular times of the year. I’m excited as the dry season ends — the beginning of spring in the U.S. — when our avocados ripen and become ready to eat! Read more »
Using Ezekiel’s stark vision of the Valley of Dry Bones, the Rev. Dr. David Gambrell elicited any number of innovative ideas from about 70 pastors and other church leaders during a recent videoconference on Spirit-inspired worship, one of the Seven Marks of Vital Congregations. 
Despite the challenges created by COVID-19, the Young Adult Volunteer (YAV) program is committed to responding to the call to serve in creative ways. 
The Presbyterian Church of Colombia is reaching out to its siblings around the world, sending greetings of “solidarity in God’s call that invites us to do everything in our power to protect the life of the people in our congregations and neighboring communities through pastoral and humanitarian care.” 
Presbyterians do mission in partnership and the mutual support has been strong as the U.S. fights pandemics on two fronts, COVID-19 and systemic racism.
Below are excerpts of letters, messages, sermons and poems that have been sent to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) They contain messages of love, solidarity and prayer from partners around the world. 
Some symptoms of racism might be obliterated with a wrecking ball approach, but a new Synod of the Sun network aims to help dismantle the structure and proactively remember grim events of the past, including the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921. 
Calling it “a step toward transforming policing in America,” the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Office of Public Witness in Washington, D.C., is urging support of the Justice in Policing Act of 2020. 
I was about to launch into my public service announcement about the need to stay home, especially as the COVID-19 virus began making itself known to our rural community, but I was interrupted. 
Many of a certain age can fondly harken back to loading into the family station wagon and visiting the local drive-in movie theater. Finding just the right spot to get a great view of the screen, attaching the scratchy metal speaker to the partially rolled-down window, and sitting in the back seat with blankets, pillows, a big tub of popcorn and a drink were integral parts of the outdoor movie experience. 
It was a week of mission at Manokin Presbyterian Church in Princess Anne, Maryland, along the state’s Eastern Shore. That’s because the 30-some members of this congregation, first organized in 1672, continue to stay in touch with each other, even though they have not gathered for worship since March 8 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.