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Matthew 25
Just two blocks north of our home in Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico, is a 40-block-long linear park that straddles the U.S.-Mexico border. My family and I enjoy walking there in the evening and relish the spectacular sunsets that don’t respect borders. In this time of pandemic, we are glad to see families and friends walking dogs and getting exercise along the 14-foot-wide park.
At its heart, the Reweaving the Ecological Mat initiative, now coordinated by the Pacific Conference of Churches, is about reclaiming the Pacific identity, an identity intimately interwoven with the land, seas and skies, but stolen by a racist gospel.
Three PC(USA) pastors who serve congregations that have made significant strides helping to provide their neighbors with safe and affordable housing formed the centerpiece of Wednesday’s national Matthew 25 webinar. Nearly 250 people participated.
What did you do on Mr. Rogers’ Day?
Saturday, March 20 would have been the 93rd birthday of Fred Rogers (1928–2003), remembered perhaps as the greatest virtual teacher of all time and a beloved ordained minister of word and sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
After COVID-19 forced the cancelation of planned projects and in-person worship, Coastland Commons, a 1001 New Worshiping Community in Seattle Presbytery, moved to Zoom discussions about their city’s history of land use by Black, Indigenous and people of color communities. After about six months of Zoom gatherings, they figured out a safe way to see Seattle anew through socially distanced community walks. They reached out to the Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI), which organizes redlining tours in Seattle’s Capitol Hill and Central District neighborhoods.
As of Feb. 5, the Presbyterian Publishing Corporation has named itself a Matthew 25 agency, joining the rest of the Church in the important work of building congregational vitality, dismantling structural racism and eradicating systemic poverty.
The Presbyterian Office of Public Witness is calling on Congress to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour to help lift low-wage workers out of poverty.
As we begin the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, there are reasons for hope, including vaccines approved for emergency use authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Yet even 95% efficacy for a vaccinated individual means that, statistically, 19 out of 20 people are effectively covered against becoming seriously ill from coronavirus, but 1 in 20 is not.
Originating high atop Elk Mountain, the Gallinas River flows southeast through upper Gallinas Canyon past Montezuma’s hot springs straight through the heart of Las Vegas, New Mexico as it courses toward the Pecos River, luring expert fishers along its winding path.
Not to mention great pastors.
Since the Matthew 25 vision was introduced at the 222nd General Assembly (2016) and adopted at the 223rd General Assembly (2018), the Judgment of the Nations has provided the biblical foundation to urge the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to act boldly and compassionately to serve people who are hungry, oppressed, imprisoned or poor.
