The cautious optimism that characterized the popular mood in Zimbabwe at the beginning of 2018 had largely dissipated by the beginning of this year. In January 2019, a huge fuel price increase triggered widespread protests that were brutally suppressed by security forces, prompting concerns that Zimbabwe is returning to the repression that marked the Mugabe era. In the midst of this turmoil, the Church is working to foster national dialogue that emphasizes the sanctity of the 2013 Constitution and unity in diversity. Read more »
February 21, 2019
Churches seek dialogue amidst Zimbabwe’s turmoil
The cautious optimism that characterized the popular mood in Zimbabwe at the beginning of 2018 had largely dissipated by the beginning of this year. In January 2019, a huge fuel price increase triggered widespread protests that were brutally suppressed by security forces, prompting concerns that Zimbabwe is returning to the repression that marked the Mugabe era. In the midst of this turmoil, the Church is working to foster national dialogue that emphasizes the sanctity of the 2013 Constitution and unity in diversity. Read more »
Each year, on a Sunday during Lent, Presbyterian churches across the denomination turn their attention to people and communities in need — and take a day to celebrate the mission and ministry of the Presbyterian Committee on the Self-Development of People (SDOP). April 7 is Self-Development of People (SDOP) Sunday, an opportunity for congregations to focus on work to help disadvantaged people and low-income community groups. 
In a rousing call to worship with African drums and “Fanga,” a traditional dance and rhythm of welcome in various West African cultures, employees and guests celebrated Black History Month during the Wednesday morning worship service at the Presbyterian Center. 
Compassion fatigue — that malady that many pastors, first responders and others in helping professions suffer that can leave them feeling isolated, tired, trapped or worse — can be overcome, and there’s help for those who, as the Rev. Dr. Dana Sutton put it, “are healing the world and need to heal themselves.” 
I told that to myself many times as I took three arduous 2 ½-hour tests, as well as a black belt practice test, all leading up to a final exam. This was over and above four years of rigorous classes, color belt tests and a binder full of requirements toward the rank of “1st dan,” the first-degree black belt in tae kwon do, a Korean martial art that emphasizes kicking techniques. 
The Presbyterian Committee on the Self-Development of People (SDOP) has approved grants totaling $155,000 to fund 10 self-help projects in the United States and abroad. 
Looking around the Linda Vista neighborhood in San Diego, one might see poverty and deficits. But what Noel Musicha sees — what gets him out of bed every morning — is the potential that is there among the neighborhood’s young people and the homeless friends he’s made who are beginning to get jobs. 
Baby Boomer Pat Baker has been working in the field of aging for 45 years — mainly with the federally funded Older Americans Act programs, which have been providing seniors with services such as meals, caregiver support and transportation since 1965. When she first started, she was seeing people in their 60s and 70s participating in the senior programs. But now, as she herself retires, she has noticed a change. Participants are now in their 80s and 90s. 
Young adults in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) ages 18–30 can now apply to serve during a Young Adults in Mission (YAM) Work Camp July 23-31 on the island of Curaçao in the eastern Caribbean Sea. 
If Luis Ramos Salgado had tried to ride the storm out in his home, he wouldn’t be able to walk down his street today.
“I’d be dead,” he says through a translator, standing in the kitchen of the only home he’s ever known in San Juan’s Caño Martín Peña area.