advisory committee on social witness policy Archives

Black Caucus president: ‘We cannot rest’

Posted February 4th, 2021

“Just Talk Live” kicked off Black History Month this week with an appearance by the Rev. Dr. Thomas H. Priest, Jr., president of the National Black Presbyterian Caucus.

A sharper focus on Presbyterian advocacy

Posted January 21st, 2021

The Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations in New York and Office of Public Witness (OPW) on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., have been natural collaborators for years.

The Rev. Dr. Robert L. Stivers dies in Tacoma, Washington, at age 80

Posted January 20th, 2021

The Rev. Dr. Robert L. Stivers, a renowned ethicist, died in Tacoma, Washington, on December 23, 2020, at age 80.

Compassion, Peace & Justice adapted to 2020 through collaboration and community

Posted December 17th, 2020

As the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for work and life became clear, it was obvious they would fundamentally change the way the Compassion, Peace & Justice (CPJ) ministries of the Presbyterian Mission Agency operated.

Why are Presbyterians sticking their noses in politics?

Posted October 9th, 2020

They are questions the Rev. Jimmie Hawkins gets over and over doing his work as the director of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Office of Public Witness (OPW) on Capitol Hill: Why are Presbyterians getting involved in politics? Isn’t there separation of church and state? Shouldn’t you be preaching the gospel?

‘Dipping Deeper’ into the why and how of forming lifelong disciples

Posted October 8th, 2020

During the final day of the virtual workshop “Dipping Deeper Into the Well of PC(USA) Ministries,” more than 50 Christian educators, pastors and other Presbyterian leaders heard panel discussions and wrestled with questions on how to form lifelong disciples who are grounded in the Reformed tradition and equipped for peacemaking, witnessing and working for justice and equity for all God’s people.

Challenging the status quo

Posted August 29th, 2020

Young adults with a desire to see the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) move forward say they’re running up against a wall when they try to approach older members about sensitive issues, such as institutional racism and bias against queer people.

Minute for Mission: A Social Creed for the 21st Century

Posted August 17th, 2020

What’s the use of the Social Creed for the 21st Century? Yes, the Social Creed gets cited in books that deal with ecumenical social ethics, but how many read those after they leave seminary? Well, actually, Cynthia Rigby’s book “Promotion of Social Righteousness” (2010) did get broader circulation, and it reprints the Social Creed as the key illustration of what the church stands for in its social witness. Her title is one of the six “Great Ends of the Church” and it means both social justice and public integrity.

Activist’s life story sheds light on excessive sentencing

Posted July 31st, 2020

Arkansas native Kuntrell Jackson was 14 years old when he took part in the fatal robbery of a video store clerk in 1999, leading to a life sentence in 2003 without the possibility of parole.

PC(USA) ministries supportive of Poor People’s Campaign platform

Posted July 16th, 2020

The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival attracted more than 2.3 million people to watch its three-hour-plus Assembly and Moral March on Washington June 20 online and on cable TV.