An undercurrent of fear ran through the celebration for graduates of English as a Second Language classes conducted by the refugee resettlement agency World Relief at Carmichael Presbyterian Church in Carmichael, California, a city 11 miles northeast of Sacramento.
Far from “the peaceful easy feeling we experience when all is well and all is right,” God’s peace is “something really robust and active,” a peace “that is the most present in the presence of pain, in the hardest moments of my life, in situations that feel impossible.”
The Advisory Committee of the Presbyterian Hunger Program (PHP) met last week to pore over grant requests from organizations around the globe that are addressing systemic poverty, climate justice, racism and other pressing issues in their communities.
With many hands-on volunteer service opportunities and most mission trips still largely on hold because of the pandemic, Presbyterians need only let their fingers — and their imagination — do the walking, straight through the new Presbyterian Giving Catalog in order to reach out and touch people’s lives.
From committing to work for peace in our own communities to traveling to see peace work around the world, there are numerous ways people can get involved in the work of the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program.
Asked by Special Offerings to develop a sermon marking the Peace & Global Witness Offering that many churches collect on World Communion Sunday on Oct. 3, the Rev. Marissa Galván-Valle said her first reaction was, “Oh my Lord, I don’t know how I will do this.”
The Karnes City, Texas facility where people detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are detained is called Karnes County Family Residential Center.
In Berks County, Pennsylvania, ICE has the similarly named Berks Family Residential Center.
Panelists on Wednesday’s edition of the “Welcoming the Stranger” webinar series from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Migration Roundtable had a different word for the facilities where many families crossing the U.S. border are kept.
Prison.
A “peace movement” is taking place throughout Mid-Kentucky Presbytery. Its origins are found in Scripture for sure, but the movement has gained momentum largely in response to COVID-19.
