A delegation from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s Office of the General Assembly visited Puerto Rico this past fall and came away surprised and encouraged by what they saw. The six-member group met with presbytery leaders and pastors to share information and to look at ways the national church can help local churches move forward. Read more »
December 10, 2018
OGA delegation finds resilience and hope among church leaders in Puerto Rico
A delegation from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s Office of the General Assembly visited Puerto Rico this past fall and came away surprised and encouraged by what they saw. The six-member group met with presbytery leaders and pastors to share information and to look at ways the national church can help local churches move forward. Read more »
Presbyterian churches now have a new tool to energize and educate congregations around global issues such as poverty alleviation and climate change. The Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations (PMUN) has produced a new Educational Resource Guide that highlights what the PC(USA) and its global church partners are doing to address the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. 
One day last week the Rev. Irvin Porter invited about four dozen staff working at the Presbyterian Center to stand on the blanket of their choosing among about 20 covering a conference room floor. 
The scene was not unfamiliar to Greg Smith, a member of the National Response team for Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, as he assessed damage in Taylorville, Ill. early in December. 
In just a little more than a decade, the Presbyterian Church of Okemos, a suburb of Lansing, Michigan, has gone from being a congregation that rarely talked about money to a church where even younger members understand the power of pledges, bequests and endowments to multiply mission and as a means to commit their life to being a part of a faith community. 
When urban design consultant Joshua Poe showed me a redlining map of Louisville, Kentucky, I saw how the intersections of racism and poverty are interwoven. More about the map, which was recently recognized by Harvard University, is available at insiderlouisville.com/government/redlining-louisville-map-wins-harvard-university-honor. 
A representative from a Kenya-based church organization visited the Presbyterian Mission Agency this past fall to discuss the plight facing South Sudanese refugees. The Rev. Nicta M. Lubaale, general secretary of the Organization of African Instituted Churches (OAIC), was hosted by Presbyterian Disaster Assistance. 
For Dr. Su Yon Pak, the “personal” is not only political but also profoundly pastoral, prophetic and pedagogical.
“My personal always informs my professional, and vice versa,” says Pak, senior director and associate professor for Integrative and Field-Based Education at Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York. “The way I do my teaching and research is to start by saying, ‘If I’m asking myself certain questions in response to a life experience I’m going through, what does it mean for us to train today’s religious leaders in that area?’ Going through an experience helps me to teach about it.” 
Marking its 65th year, this year’s iteration of Synod School, the midsummer ministry of the Synod of Lakes and Prairies, drew more than 600 for a week of worship, classes, fun and fellowship on the campus of Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa.