When Phyllis Sanders saw an article in South Carolina’s newspaper, The State, titled Losing Faith, she considered it a godsend.
Within a week, she hosted her first workshop as Trinity Presbytery’s new Vital Congregations coordinator. The article about the decline of churches gave her what she needed to help congregations better understand why the presbytery is participating in a two-year Vital Congregations Revitalization Initiative pilot program. Sponsored by the Presbyterian Mission Agency, the initiative is designed to help churches live more fully into faithful discipleship to Jesus Christ.
The Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II, Stated Clerk of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), issued a letter commemorating the anniversary of the dismantling of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The longstanding immigration policy allowed children of undocumented migrants — also known as DREAMers— to remain in the United States under a process of bi-annual renewals.
One hundred years ago today, at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, fighting in World War 1 came to an end. Kaiser Wilhelm had abdicated on the previous day, and the new government of Germany, eager for peace, immediately concluded an armistice agreement with the Allies.
For Emily Donovan, youth director at Little Chapel on the Boardwalk in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina and co-founder of Clean Cape Fear, the fight to protect and nurture children goes far beyond the walls of the church. She recently testified before the Congressional House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on the Environment on the dangers of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) as a result of local pollution.
A Florida woman who was a lifelong Presbyterian, a savvy investor and a pioneer for women in the Chicago banking industry has left a bequest of more than $1 million to the Presbyterian Foundation. The money is being used to establish a fund for scholarships for students attending colleges and universities affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
Racially charged violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, sent shockwaves of fear and grief across the United States on an August weekend last year.
Like many other Americans, Presbyterian pastor Jon Brown was distraught to the point of numbness, but on the following Monday morning his hope was renewed.
“May I humbly convey appreciation to you for your initiative and sponsorship. … Indeed, to me, it was as if I was dreaming until I realized that it was real. Of course, it was my first time to travel by plane. God is gracious, hallelujah!”
Presbyterian World Mission received this heartfelt message from the Rev. Wickliff Kang’ombe Zulu, chaplain of the Nkhoma Synod prison, as he expressed gratitude for sponsorship of his attendance at the eighth annual International Conference on Human Rights and Prison Reform (CURE).
A national report ranks Louisiana 49th in children’s well-being, but Presbyterian Children’s Homes and Services is working to change that. It is also healing children and preserving families in Texas, which ranks 47th in children’s well-being, and Missouri, which ranks 26th.
The Rev. Alex E. Awad, a peace and justice advocate and former missionary with the United Methodist Church, spoke to U.S. audiences this fall as part of the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program’s International Peacemakers initiative. He’s served in Israel/Palestine as an educator and pastor for more than 30 years and spoke about his experiences in the Holy Land, the conditions faced by Palestinians under occupation, the impact of Israeli settlements, and the role of the church in ending the current injustices found in his homeland.
As we entered each village, people (especially the women) greeted us with singing, dancing, clapping and broad smiles.
During our weeklong mission trip, we visited people and projects in remote villages of the Zomba district in southeastern Malawi assisted by Villages in Partnership (VIP, a nonprofit organization established in 2008 by Presbyterians in New Jersey).
