Closing off the two-day Ecumenical Advocacy Days Spring Summit on Saturday, the Rev. Dr. E. Michelle Ledder, assistant minister of the Metropolitan AME Church in Washington, D.C., used the Exodus account of a pair of faithful Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, and Hamilton’s “The Room Where it Happens” to weave a powerful and insightful sermon that brought the 80 or so participants to their feet, wanting even more. Read more »
May 22, 2024
Shiphrah and Puah in the room where it happens
Closing off the two-day Ecumenical Advocacy Days Spring Summit on Saturday, the Rev. Dr. E. Michelle Ledder, assistant minister of the Metropolitan AME Church in Washington, D.C., used the Exodus account of a pair of faithful Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, and Hamilton’s “The Room Where it Happens” to weave a powerful and insightful sermon that brought the 80 or so participants to their feet, wanting even more. Read more »
Walking north from their conference center to the Pentagon during a heavy rainfall on Saturday, Ecumenical Advocacy Days Spring Summit attendees held a prayer vigil seeking God’s help bringing peace to people and places across the world that need it the most. 
More than two years after Russia began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) continues to provide aid and support to organizations serving Ukrainians who’ve fled to neighboring countries. 
Dr. Anne Nelson and the Rev. Dr. Alvin O’Neal Jackson poured passion and scholarly analysis into a workshop at last week’s Ecumenical Advocacy Days 2024 Spring Summit called “God and Country: The Rise of Christian Nationalism.” 
During an Ecumenical Advocacy Days Spring Summit workshop entitled “Voting Matters,” representatives from two entities devoted to promoting the civic good — Sojourners magazine and the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA — shared their thoughts on saving both our vote and our democracy. 
Since April, protests in support of Palestine and pro-Israel counter-demonstrations have occupied college campuses across the nation as a new generation of students finds ways to speak and act in accordance with their conscience. According to The New York Times, more than 2,900 people have been arrested or detained on campuses across the country. 
On Saturday, the Unification Commission introduced Kelly Beeland, a consultant with nearly three decades of experience helping companies and organizations with, among other tasks, change management and understanding culture. Beeland took commissioners through a half-hour presentation on the work she’s already begun. Her contract ends Dec. 31. 
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) videographers, communicators and writers received seven awards Friday during the Associated Church Press “Best of the Church Press” awards. 
Gathered in person for the first time since 2019, Ecumenical Advocacy Days’ 2024 Spring Summit got off to an inspired start Friday courtesy of the Rev. Teresa “Terri” Hord Owens, General Minister and President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada. 
As college students and others protest the war in Gaza and urge divestment from companies that profit from violations of the rights of Palestinians — and call for an end to U.S. military support for those human rights violations — the PC(USA)’s Office of Public Witness is asking Presbyterians to oppose a pair of bills already passed in the U.S. House of Representatives that OPW says will limit free speech and advocacy rights in this country.