While the White House and the courts battle over the legality of the travel ban on refugees and travelers from seven countries, Presbyterian churches across the U.S. are still hopeful for a quick resolution. The executive order banning refugees and travelers from the predominantly Muslim countries has drawn strong reaction on both sides of the issue.
A decision by the U.S. House of Representatives to roll back a signature bi-partisan anti-corruption law has Presbyterians and other ecumenical groups concerned about the impact on poverty-stricken countries. Under the anti-corruption rule known as “Section 1504,” or the “Cardin-Lugar Anti-Corruption Provision,” oil and mining companies would be required to publish the payments they make to governments around the world.
Un grupo de líderes religiosos cristianos, judíos y musulmanes se unieron el miércoles por la tarde para expresar su oposición a las órdenes ejecutivas del Presidente Trump sobre inmigrantes y refugiados. El nuevo presidente emitió las órdenes de detener la inmigración aumentando la seguridad fronteriza y restringiendo la aceptación de refugiados de otros países como Siria, Sudán, Somalia, Irak, Irán, Libia y Yemen.
A group of Christian, Jewish and Muslim faith leaders joined together on Wednesday afternoon to express opposition to President Trump’s executive orders on immigration and refugees. The new president issued the orders to curb immigration by increasing border security and curtailing the acceptance of refugees from other countries such as Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Iraq, Iran, Libya and Yemen.
Residents along the deep south and Gulf Coast have begun to dig out from the damage left behind following an outbreak of tornadoes over the weekend. From January 21 through the 23, as many as 29 tornadoes swept across six states, leaving as many as 20 people dead, hundreds of homes and businesses destroyed and scattered power outages through out.
In an apparent random act of violence, the education wing of St. Stephen Presbyterian Church in Fort Worth, Texas was extensively vandalized last Saturday evening. Officials believe the vandals gained entry to the building by breaking windows around 8:00pm and then continued their rampage until 4:20am Sunday when a church steward arrived and startled them away.
Presbyterian churches located within a few miles of the Fort Lauderdale – Hollywood International Airport are still trying to wrap their minds around last Friday’s shootings that left five people dead and several injured. The suspect, Esteban Santiago, 26, appeared before a federal magistrate judge on Monday and could possibly face the death penalty.
It’s been over a month since fire broke out in an Oakland, California warehouse, known as Ghost Ship, killing 36 people. Just before Christmas, members of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance’s National Response Team, were invited to visit the community and meet with faith leaders.
The past year has been a challenging one for communities dealing with contaminated water supplies. Flint, Michigan has garnered national attention for nearly three years after improper source treatment caused lead from aging pipes to leach into the water. Between 6,000 and 12,000 residents have experienced a series of health problems including high levels of lead in the blood.
If you talk with people living along the coastline of North and South Carolina, they will be quick to tell you, they’ve had enough rain to last a lifetime. Hurricane Matthew and 2015’s “one-thousand-year rain” have caused some significant problems for many, especially in the Charleston area.
