Mission Yearbook

A cause ‘worth protecting’

Conserving energy and caring for the environment are not new tasks for Fairmount Presbyterian Church in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Since the mid-1990s, the congregation has been committed to finding ways to cut energy costs while improving the environment in its own community.

Striving to be ‘Better Together’

Mission Presbytery, a mid council of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), awarded “Better Together” grants at its recent gathering to strengthen ties between Presbyterians. At a time when some congregations have chosen to leave the denomination, the presbytery awarded the grants to reaffirm its belief that the presbytery and its member congregations are “better together.” With funds received from the recent settlement agreement with First Presbyterian Church of San Antonio, the presbytery elected to strengthen the bonds between those who have chosen to stay and witness together to the grace and love of God in Jesus Christ.

First Arab woman ordained as Presbyterian minister of Word and sacrament

Though we often hear only the dark and disturbing stories coming out of the Middle East, Presbyterians there recently celebrated a historic milestone. The Presbyterian Church in Tripoli and the National Evangelical (Presbyterian) Synod of Syria and Lebanon (NESSL) have ordained the Rev. Rola Sleiman as the first Arab woman to serve as a minister of Word and sacrament.

California congregation commits to democracy, peace and human rights in Central Africa

Five representatives of the Congo Mission Team at Lafayette-Orinda Presbyterian Church (LOPC) recently traveled to Sacramento for a meeting with the staff of Kamala Harris, California’s new junior senator and former attorney general. They were joined by two members of Congo Prosperity Catalyst, a Bay Area organization for Congolese nationals in diaspora.

Presbyterians advocate for rights of Roma

Amid the growing refugee crisis, the Presbyterian Mission Agency is working with its partners to draw attention to discrimination against the Roma and to advocate for their human rights.

First woman installed as senior minister of Vietnamese congregation

The Rev. Huong Dang, best known as “Cedar,” has been installed as pastor of the Vietnamese Presbyterian Church (VPC) in Garden Grove, California. She is the first woman to be installed as senior minister of a Vietnamese-language congregation in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

Presbyterian leaders react to executive order on clean power

President Trump’s recent decision to revive the coal industry and closely scrutinize the previous administration’s Clean Power Act has been met with strong opposition among leaders in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). While the president has promised that the action will create jobs, many say the executive order will set the country back years in environmental progress.

A witness to resurrection hope

While violence and fear pervade war-torn Syria, Presbyterians across the United States are helping those displaced by the conflict rebuild their lives. Since the war began in 2011, at least 13.5 million people have had to leave their homes and seek safety in Lebanon, Europe and the United States. More than 250,000 others have been killed.

Korea

  Prayer’s message of harmony and unity in Christ offers hope in a time of strife June 20, 2017 Friends in mission, On March 22, I visited the Korean Christian… Read more »