Matthew 25 tells us to feed the hungry, provide water to the thirsty, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, care for the sick and welcome the stranger. These basic tenants of Christianity aren’t limited to adults, though. Start with the children.
As the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for work and life became clear, it was obvious they would fundamentally change the way the Compassion, Peace & Justice (CPJ) ministries of the Presbyterian Mission Agency operated.
Established this summer by what is now the Moving Forward Special Committee, the Coordinating Table hit a snag Wednesday as members debated what changes the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s Office of the General Assembly, Presbyterian Mission Agency and Administrative Services Group ought to consider to better serve Presbyterian congregations, their leaders and mid councils.
If “Zoom fatigue” is really a thing, the nearly 200 participants in the second day of the Mid Council Financial Network’s (MCFN) virtual conference showed no traces of this pandemic phenomenon.
In a year of unforeseen changes and challenges, the Matthew 25 vision to actively engage congregations in the world and community around them has taken on new meaning. Launched in April 2019, the Matthew 25 invitation has received its 700th congregation to make the commitment to radical and fearless discipleship.
Public health officials urge people to wear masks. Workplaces and businesses adjust hours to prevent crowding. Several cities impose quarantines or ban public gatherings. This sounds like something people see and hear as they go online or watch the news every night, but this was December 1918 when the world struggled with the impact of a global flu pandemic.
You may be startled to learn that 25% of children under 6 now live in poverty, nearly 23% of the American population can’t afford a medication they need and 17 out of every 10,000 people in the United States were experiencing homelessness on a single night. The Presbyterian Mission Agency has created a short video designed to raise awareness of the systemic poverty facing people in all walks of life, especially with the additional impact of the pandemic. The video is available to download and share across social media and websites.
Ever since discovering their church was built a century ago partly through funds donated “for the white race only,” the 1,200 or so members and the leadership of Knox Presbyterian Church in Cincinnati, Ohio, have worked hard not to duck the church’s history, but to learn from it and to, in tangible ways, reach out and make connections that make it clear where the church is headed during the next 100 years: ending the sin of systemic racism.
The four-week Matthew 25 course “Civil Initiative and the Engaged Church” concluded Monday with a presentation on being more aware of and reducing the destructive damage done by hate groups and the intolerance they help to foster.
