In addition to the existential threat that climate crisis poses, it’s also a factor in conflict and violence around the world, the Rev. Dr. Mark Douglas said earlier this month on “A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast.”
It’s funny how things that you experienced as a young person — that didn’t seem so important at the time — pop up in your later years and remind you of the kind of person you are called to be. So it is that this passage from Paul’s advice to the Philippian Christians has come flooding back to me as I was reflecting on the terrible conflict that continues to poison our society, both in our country and around the world.
Since conflict and violence began in Syria in 2011, at least two-thirds of Christians and two-thirds of health professionals have left the country, according to the Jinishian Memorial Program (JMP), a long-time partner of World Mission and Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA).
South Sudanese church leaders continue to amplify hope for their country as the people quietly marked the eighth Independence Day Tuesday without an official government celebration.
Imagine being an observer of SINKEX 2016. A SINKEX is a Navy exercise in which a ship is deliberately sunk by being subjected to missiles and bombs until it slips beneath the waves to the bottom of the sea. SINKEX 2016 took place 117 nautical miles north of Guam on Sept. 13, 2016. The targeted ship sank after five hours and 22 missile hits. The vessel subjected to this tortuous end was the decommissioned USS Rentz.
The first church conflict I remember as a kid was over “bi-part” offering envelopes — a single envelope with two separate and distinct pockets, one labeled “current expenses” and the other “benevolences.” My father railed against them, arguing that they presented church members with a false choice. He called it “robbing Peter to pay Paul.”
Ten humanitarian workers, held by an armed opposition group in South Sudan, have been freed after five days in captivity. The United Nations today announced the release of the staff, all South Sudan nationals.
This week the National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK) recognizes a significant date along with other Korean partners of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) including the Presbyterian Church of Korea and the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea. August 15th marks 72 years since Korea was liberated from Japanese occupation at the end of World War II.