World Mission

Progress is made when we share

He looked no more than 14 as he came forward to welcome me with a hearty handshake. Assuming he was a primary school pupil, I asked about his teacher. He responded, “Hello, ma’am. I am the teacher.” Still skeptical, I began a full-scale inquisition: How old are you? How long have you been a teacher? Which class are you teaching? And finally, are you really the teacher?

Lord, prepare me to be a sanctuary

Tucson’s Southside Presbyterian Church is known for being a sanctuary church and for its joyous Sunday worship.

A captivating talk on captivity

Rocio Calderon kept a Presbyterian Mission Agency delegation spellbound Monday just by telling her story.

A devotion for the fifth Sunday in Lent

About 25 Taiwanese pastors and several Guatemalan pastors would be arriving the next day to live together in a big old house at the PC(USA) conference center Montreat in Western North Carolina. I had visited the house shortly after the male collegiate summer staff had vacated. It looked pretty grim, with mildew in the bathrooms and carpets that had seen better days. So, when I went back to see how the house looked on Sunday afternoon, I was delighted that two folks were just beginning to clean the house.

‘Education is the vehicle of hope in Guatemala’

Drawn to the ruggedness, remoteness and greenness of rural Guatemala, Richard and Debbie Welch have, for the past six years, worked with that country’s indigenous population to build literacy and educational attainment in a country increasingly in the news because of the Trump administration’s concerns over the number of immigrants entering the United States from Central America’s Northern Triangle, which also includes Honduras and El Salvador.

Mission possible

The most direct way to find out the church’s calling in World Mission is to ask Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) partners and constituents, the top World Mission strategist told a Presbyterian Mission Agency committee last week.

B’Tselem works toward a future of justice and equality in Israel-Palestine

As the Israeli bombing of Gaza continues, the words of B’Tselem Director Hagai El Ad are ringing in the ears of the members of the PC(USA) delegation that visited Israel-Palestine two weeks ago — perpetual occupation and zero international consequences. He has taken that message to the United Nations General Assembly several times, most recently last fall, and delivered the same words to the delegation.

A devotion for the fourth Sunday in Lent

It was dark; our only illumination came from the stars and the faint light of electric candles. Frogs and crickets serenaded us, and it struck me as a beautiful and holy space. The labyrinth was in a small clearing, surrounded by trees, under the open sky, so I stopped and looked up at the stars every so often as I walked.

Using his talents to serve the church is a dream come true

In late January, Daniel Pappas was riding in a van with his video equipment traveling toward the border of Burma (Myanmar). Most people don’t get that kind of opportunity, but to him it’s just another happy step on a path he didn’t know he was taking.