When discussing the issue of forced migration, we see images in the U.S. of violence and economic inequality in Central America, South America and parts of the Middle East.
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has been committed to interconnectional ministry in God’s mission at the local, national and global levels since 1837. Since that time, more than 8,000 mission co-workers have shared the good news of Jesus Christ with millions of people worldwide.
During Presbyterian World Mission’s recent global partner consultation for Asia and the Pacific in Thailand, more than 50 representatives came together for two days to discuss the effectiveness of current partner relationships, what it means to be partners in God’s mission today, where God is calling us to put our energy and what resources are needed to move forward.
Sri Lanka faces enormous economic and social challenges, but when a group representing several ministries of the Presbyterian Mission Agency visited in January, they saw a couple of fair trade and innovative workplaces beginning to flourish.
China is investing billions of dollars to build infrastructure all over Asia — Malaysia, the Philippines, and most recently, Sri Lanka. China says it is building a modern-day “silk road” (a nod to its ancient trade route), but some believe there are staggering consequences to signing away too much control to the Chinese, including irreparable environmental harm and debt so large it can never be repaid.
If there is a revered profession in my family, it is a life given to the ministry of the Presbyterian Church. In 1884, my great-grandfather J. Vernon Bell began his ministry as pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Dubois, Pennsylvania, almost 100 years to the day that I entered Union Theological Seminary in New York City.
Darius and Vera Swann used their skills as educators to spread the gospel in Asia and become an important part of the Presbyterian mission legacy. Growing up in the segregated South, the Swanns’ mission service was shaped by inequities they knew firsthand.
