Now that they’re both about three years into their work leading, respectively, the Office of Public Witness in Washington, D.C., and the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations in New York City, the Rev. Jimmie Hawkins and Ryan Smith say they’ve found ways to work around a White House that often doesn’t welcome their input.
Nearly nine years ago, the Presbyterian Committee on the Self-Development of People selected Belize as a focus country as a part of the new international funding strategy. After the first visits to the country, in 2011 it was decided to work mainly with grassroots communities in the southern part of the country because of the precarious poverty conditions in the region.
When Doug Beach’s son suffered a mental breakdown on an overseas trip, he didn’t know what to do.
“We could have used a lot more help,” Beach said, recalling the event.
His church was supportive, but staff and clergy weren’t familiar with the resources available to help people with mental health issues and their loved ones. Last week, Beach was part of a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) initiative working to change that.
Each year, on a Sunday during Lent, Presbyterian churches across the denomination turn their attention to people and communities in need — and take a day to celebrate the mission and ministry of the Presbyterian Committee on the Self-Development of People (SDOP). April 7 is Self-Development of People (SDOP) Sunday, an opportunity for congregations to focus on work to help disadvantaged people and low-income community groups.
The Presbyterian Committee on the Self-Development of People (SDOP) has approved grants totaling $155,000 to fund 10 self-help projects in the United States and abroad.
The Rev. Dr. Emilie Townes brought last week’s Migration and Border Crossings conference at Columbia Theological Seminary to a close, summarizing what attendees had been hearing the past two days.
You probably wouldn’t expect to see people throwing mulch in a modern dance performance any more than you’d expect to see a modern dance performance at a migration conference.
A $350,000 gift from an anonymous donor is inspiring congregations and community partners to work together to put their faith into action through new and existing mission initiatives in communities across the Presbytery of Detroit.
With issues such as racism, gender equality, LGBTQ rights, immigration, national security and more roiling the United States, the nation finds itself in one of its most turbulent political and social eras since the Civil Rights movement.
