How would you celebrate your 50th anniversary?
One of the ways the Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar (FJKM), a partner church of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), celebrated its 50th anniversary recently was by promoting free HIV testing at all of its commemorative events.
Presbyterians living hundreds of miles from the U.S.-Mexico border can help asylum seekers and those facing deportation from the United States in a number of ways, including advocacy and accompaniment.
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (WPCU) was celebrated Jan. 18–25 at the Presbyterian Center of the PC(USA) with the theme: “Justice, Only Justice, You Shall Pursue” (Deut. 16:20). We were invited to share intentional prayers with our ecumenical friends from around the world. The theme this year pointed to the hunger many have for a more just world. This year, our friends from Indonesia invited us to pray for them, for each other and for those suffering around the world. More information is available at geii.org/week_of_prayer_for_christian_unity/welcome/invitation.html.
A declining economy, including a possible downturn in tourism. Threats to water, agriculture, infrastructure and health — and a half-dozen other potential near-term calamities.
“Inbox zero.”
It’s a funny term, often used in professional circles to denote when one’s email inbox has zero messages. As the social media strategist for the Presbyterian Mission Agency, this is one of my most treasured dreams, but not necessarily my reality.
One of the first Presbytery of San Jose meetings the Rev. Sammie Evans attended as the new pastor at Stone Church of Willow Glen was to hear a presentation from the Rev. Dr. Kathryn Threadgill on Presbyterian Mission Agency’s Vital Congregations Initiative, which is designed to help churches live more faithfully as disciples of Jesus Christ.
She arrived in Italy on Feb. 4, 2016. Of the flight that brought her and her husband and their two small children from Beirut to Rome, she remembers only the emotions she felt on the plane, and the flowers and hugs they got when they landed.
The Rev. Paula Cooper describes her leadership style as one that “deliberately works toward developing a culture that values a collaboration of God’s people and their gifts for ministry.” And now she has answered God’s call to help the people of East Central Africa do just that.
In 2017, when representatives from the United Nations toured the Black Belt of Alabama, one commented that the poverty there was unlike any he had seen in the First World. This area across the southern half of Alabama, once famous for its antebellum cotton production, is now well known for its difficult living conditions. These conditions disproportionately affect the African-American descendants of enslaved labor. Yet, many of these black residents also inherited an indomitable work ethic and have made incredible strides for themselves and their children.
For most of last year, I had a lot of health challenges. Surgery, complications from surgery, adverse reactions to medications, and more emergency room visits than I can remember had been an unfortunate fact of life for us as a family. When we’d go to the emergency room, I was always prepared for, yet staggered by, a question the triage nurses are required to ask of everyone: “Are you safe at home?”
