In its first grant cycle of 2022, on behalf of the Presbyterian Mission Agency, the Mission Development Resources Committee awarded 19 Mission Program Grant to worshiping communities — including $10,000 Seed Grants to nine communities who are just getting started.
The Rev. James Phillips Noble, a distinguished Presbyterian minister and civil rights activist who helped guide The Board of Pensions of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) through the Presbyterian reunion, died March 12, 2022, in Decatur, Georgia. He was 100 years old.
To celebrate the gifts of women, worshipers gathered online Wednesday to hear a Sprit-filled sermon from the Rev. Dr. Terrlyn L. Curry Avery, pastor of the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Presbyterian Church in Springfield, Massachusetts. Watch the entire service here.
In the final of three forums celebrating Black History Month last week, the Rev. Dr. Alonzo Johnson, coordinator of the Presbyterian Committee on the Self-Development of People (SDOP); the Rev. Carlton Johnson, coordinator of Vital Congregations; and Christian Brooks, the representative for domestic issues at the PC(USA)’s Office of Public Witness, addressed the 2022 theme “Resiliency to Recovery.”
The theme for the 2022 Celebrate the Gifts of Women Sunday is “And a Sword Will Pierce Your Own Soul.” The theme reflects on the circumstances of Jesus’ birth and childhood, focusing especially on young Mary, who heard Simeon’s prophetic words about the opposition Jesus would endure and that Mary would also feel.
Health care inequities that sicken and kill people of color undermine communities. Reducing those inequities will require working together to improve health care quality, accessibility and affordability for everyone.
Just outside of the town of Blacksburg, which is located about 40 miles southwest of Charlotte, North Carolina, sits a church with a unique rock exterior. It sits on a plot of land along Highway 5 across the street from its cemetery. There is perhaps no other church like it in the area, at least none that could match its solid-rock edifice that was built by Black men who left a permanent symbol in honor of God and their place of worship for future generations.
“Consider this a time when you’re able to just sit down and talk with a doctor about anything. We’re going to focus on the topic of holistic health in the African American community and why it’s so vitally important,” was the opening statement from Dr. Giavonne Rondo as she addressed participants of the second of three forums to be hosted by the African American Intercultural Congregational Support Ministry during Black History Month.
Wednesday’s online forum Race, Science and the Church uncovered some surprising facts, including this one: Eugenics, which had its heyday between 1880 and 1930 and may be returning in new forms today with genetic engineering techniques like CRISPR, received support from, among others, religious progressives.
“How Long, Not Long” is the popular name given to the speech delivered by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the steps of the Alabama state Capitol in Montgomery on March 25, 1965. King delivered this speech after the completion of the march from Selma to Montgomery. When asked how long it would take to see social justice, King replied, “How long? Not long, because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
