Racial Justice

Investment group meets Detroit residents living in refinery’s toxic shadow

The siren went off at 3 a.m. Oct. 29. “Anytime you hear the siren, that means there could be an explosion at the refinery,” said Emma Lockridge, whose home is just a few blocks away from the Marathon Petroleum refinery in Southwest Detroit. So, she called Marathon and asked what was going on. “Nothing,” was the reply, though she looked out of her window and saw, “red, billowing smoke.” Lockridge decided to jump into her car and document the event on video, bursts of fire and smoke flaring onto the screen.

What it means as Christians to respond to hate

By grace, Synod of the Trinity staff became involved with the Community Responders Network in Central Pennsylvania last spring to support them in getting three reader’s theater-style skits around bias into video production. By grace, we met Ann Van Dyke, the writer of those skits, and as we got to know her, we learned of her work in civil rights for the state of Pennsylvania for many years. Out of her personal calling, Van Dyke offered to do some work with us around hate.

An American celebration

While not the most widely known or celebrated holiday, Juneteenth is certainly one of the more significant holidays in the history of this nation.

Make a joyful noise

To celebrate Intercultural Church Day, worshipers at the Presbyterian Center in Louisville Wednesday were invited to sing verses of well-known hymns — “How Great Thou Art” and “Blessed Assurance, Jesus is Mine!” among them — in English, Korean and Spanish, as well as in the “language closest to your heart.”

Leaders of color mentoring event concludes with renewed commitment to relationships

On a day that began with a snowstorm and ended with sunny skies, the 18 pastors gathered at Zephyr Point Presbyterian Conference Center on Lake Tahoe for the Mentoring Event for Leaders of Color in Pastoral Ministry found inspiration in training and continued relationship building during Tuesday’s sessions.

Mentoring event for leaders of color gathers at Zephyr Point

Eighteen pastors are gathered at the Zephyr Point Presbyterian Conference Center on Lake Tahoe this week to engage in a program of mentoring that hopes to develop future leaders of the church while improving their skills for professional advancement and self-care.

Strengthening an already solid relationship

Two congregations that worship in the same Louisville, Ky., church are comfortable enough with one another that host church members didn’t even bat an eye recently when the smaller congregation told the larger one that the church has termites.

UN ministry wraps up commission season getting Presbyterians ‘in the room’

Charles Atkins serves as chair of the Justice Committee for the Presbytery of New York City, and late last year, one of his committee members came to him with an opportunity he had never thought of.She was Sue Rheem, whose day job is mission specialist for the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations (PMUN), and she thought Atkins would be a prime candidate to be a Presbyterian delegate to the United Nations Commission for Social Development (CSocD) in February.

Presbyterians address cash bail plight

At age 16, Kalief Browder found himself on New York’s Rikers Island, awaiting trial for a crime he says he didn’t commit. Returning from a party in the Bronx, Browder was accused of stealing a backpack holding a credit card, an iPod Touch, a camera and $700. At his arraignment, he was charged with second-degree robbery. Bail was set at $3,000. Browder didn’t have the ability to “bond out” — pay the fee. He would spend the next three years in jail before being released, with his charges dropped.