The Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Togo, known by its French acronym EEPT, is the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) partner in this small West Africa nation, which is about half the size of Ohio. The church trains its pastors in the city of Atakpame at a beautiful setting atop one of the hills in town. Mountainous Atakpame is where the southern rain forests of Togo give way to the country’s central savanna. Read more »
September 18, 2017
Learning English in a French-speaking country
The Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Togo, known by its French acronym EEPT, is the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) partner in this small West Africa nation, which is about half the size of Ohio. The church trains its pastors in the city of Atakpame at a beautiful setting atop one of the hills in town. Mountainous Atakpame is where the southern rain forests of Togo give way to the country’s central savanna. Read more »
Churches across the U.S. have proven to be a major source of income for a handful of communities in Guatemala through the celebration of Palm Sunday. The annual purchase of palm branches through the Eco-Palms program is helping residents who live in the Maya Biosphere Reserve. 
Presbyterian women from across the country gathered this summer in Daytona Beach, Florida, in study, prayer, community and worship as they celebrated the 2017 Women of Color Consultation. 
For many years, the youth programs within the Presbytery of the Inland Northwest have taken a group of middle and high school students on a weekend retreat to Camp Spalding, north of Spokane, Washington.
The middle school retreat usually takes place in October while the high school retreat is the week before or after Thanksgiving. The middle school retreat has been consistent with its numbers, but over the past two years, the high school retreat has pushed the limits at Camp Spalding. Each ministry continues to grow within the churches that attend, and each year more and more high school students are eager to gather for a weekend of worship, community-building and faith-seeking. 
The Rev. Delia Leal is the regional coordinator for the Women’s Ministry program in Mexico and Central America with the Protestant Center for Pastoral Studies in Central America (CEDEPCA). Currently a pastor for a Baptist congregation, Leal will speak to U.S. congregations and organizations this fall as part of the 2017 International Peacemakers with the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program. This is her second visit as an International Peacemaker; she also participated in the program in 2009. 
Like millions of people around the world, Presbyterian elder Bill Campbell was moved by the heartbreaking image of a drowned Syrian boy whose body washed up on a Turkish beach in 2015. Three-year-old Aylan Kurdi was among thousands of Syrians who drowned while trying to escape the violence gripping their country. 
The denomination’s Office of Public Witness (OPW) hosted a day of advocacy on September 12, interceding on behalf of a “Faithful Budget” as highly contentious budget negotiations continue on the Hill. 
After changing its annual meeting location from Houston to Chicago due to the devastation of Hurricane Harvey in Texas, members of the Cuba Partners Network found themselves listening to reports from their Cuban friends recounting Hurricane Irma’s slow, spinning assault on their beloved Cuba on Sept. 8. 
Hurricane Irma may be gone, but the aftermath of its path across Florida is still being felt by residents, businesses and churches. FLAPDAN (Florida Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Network) held a conference call with the state’s six presbyteries and Presbyterian Disaster Assistance on Wednesday to get a general assessment of the needs in each area. 
Meeting for coffee is a Presbyterian tradition. Whether it’s in a fellowship hall, a Sunday school room or a hip espresso shop, coffee and community are often connected. First Presbyterian Church in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, is hoping that a new coffee shop will help connect college students from the University of Alabama with Christ. Named UPerk, the venture is an outreach of the UKirk program, a ministry that seeks to empower members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) engaged in campus ministry.