The Rev. Edwin González-Castillo, Stated Clerk of the San Juan Presbytery in Puerto Rico, says the biggest challenge he is facing in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria is communications. Attempting to reach and coordinate relief efforts across the island has been hampered by downed communication lines outside of San Juan, infrastructure damage due to flooding and ongoing concerns about fuel shortages.
Clear blue skies were on display during the opening day of the Presbyterians for Earth Care Conference at Menucha Retreat and Conference Center near Portland, Oregon. Just two weeks ago, organizers were concerned that the smoke and flames from a season of wildfires would force them to find a new location.
High incarceration rates, widespread unemployment and low educational attainment among African American young men have led some observers to call them a “lost generation.” However, the Rev. Mary Susan Pisano rejects this description.
The Presbyterian Committee on the Self-Development of People (SDOP) approved grants totaling $89,800 to fund five self-help projects in the United States and one in Belize. The national committee met recently to approve funding made possible through the One Great Hour of Sharing offering.
Presbyterian churches across the U.S. will be placing special emphasis on refugees in the coming days. The United Nations recognizes June 20 as World Refugee Day, as a time to lift up the thousands of families who flee their homes and war-torn countries in search of a better life and remember the church’s commitment to provide refugees a safe haven.
Rural farmers in India are celebrating the certification of Udaipur’s Gati Village as Rajasthan’s first fully organic farming community. The designation will allow Gati to market its crops and products internationally. Nearly 300 farm families are covered by the designation as they seek to market major crops which include wheat and corn.
Pentecost is a time to consider “what becomes possible when God blows through your life with the wind of the Holy Spirit,” says the author of a new Presbyterian worship resource for Pentecost Sunday.
On Wednesday, May 31, at 3:00 p.m. EDT, Wiley and the Rev. Dr. Paul Huh, the Presbyterian Mission Agency’s associate for Korean Translation, will be live on the PC(USA) Facebook page to speak briefly about the history of the Christian festival and the vital place of the Holy Spirit in Reformed theology and worship.
Although she never planned it as her life’s vocation, Alla Soroka has been actively working with at-risk children since 2005. She found her passion, and her trust in God, working with teenage prisoners, children and orphans living in the streets of her native Odessa, Ukraine. She will be sharing some of her experiences this fall as a 2017 International Peacemaker.
From its opening call to worship to its closing benediction and commissioning, the 2016 Presbyterian Youth Triennium — themed “GO!” — was intentionally designed to send young people out to change the world.
