covid-19 Archives

Crestfield camp thrives through community partnerships

Posted September 3rd, 2020

In a normal year Crestfield Camp & Conference Center would be the summer home for more than 600 youth campers and nearly 3,000 conference and retreat attendees. But 2020 has been anything but normal.

‘Keep singing the Matthew 25 vision’

Posted September 2nd, 2020

The bold vision and invitation of Matthew 25:31-46 to be the hands and feet of Jesus, serving people who are hungry, oppressed, imprisoned or poor, is awakening compassionate faith to new possibilities in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

Washington Office urges congressional contacts over upcoming refugee consultations

Posted September 2nd, 2020

The Office of Public Witness is asking Presbyterians to take a few minutes before the Labor Day weekend to contact their congressional delegation about upcoming consultations over how many refugees can enter the country during the upcoming fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.

Board of Pensions’ Director of Wholeness finds opportunity in COVID-19

Posted August 28th, 2020

The Rev. Lori Neff LaRue plans the popular Well-Being Retreat across a year. When COVID-19 canceled the 2020 gathering, she had a little over two months to devise an online alternative. Her question: How could we do it in a way that feeds peoples’ souls while utilizing a virtual platform?

Dayton’s College Hill Community Church engages in Black Lives Matter

Posted August 27th, 2020

It is impossible not to be emotionally moved by the rows of crosses displayed on three sides of College Hill Community Church in Dayton, Ohio. The 20 crosses on display honor Black lives lost in senseless killings, the majority at the hands of police officers sworn to provide protection.

A yellow tricycle and a magical plate of biscuits

Posted August 27th, 2020

Validating loss and understanding our feelings is a concept not difficult to grasp during a global pandemic. But for mission co-workers the Revs. Nancy and Shelvis Smith-Mather, their seven-year-old son Jordan reminded them that sometimes you have to find the courage to lean into the pain to get through it.

Beyond buildings, borders and geography

Posted August 26th, 2020

During a fast-paced two-hour Zoom conversation this week, the Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow led more than 100 participants in a discussion on “The Scattered Church: Pastoring in a Time of Pandemic.”

Menaul School is fully functional during COVID-19

Posted August 26th, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused the entire world to rethink the way we conduct some of our most routine practices. Each year at this time schools across the nation would be welcoming their students and staff for another year of learning.

Hundreds of Guatemalan families receive emergency food assistance

Posted August 25th, 2020

As in the U.S., COVID-19 has caused a huge disruption in the lives of families in Guatemala, resulting in lives lost, jobs vanished and plans put on hold. The Western Highlands, where the Association of Mam Christian Women for Development is headquartered, has been hit especially hard because of widespread poverty and nearly nonexistent health systems. As a result, high levels of chronic malnutrition and food insecurity in rural Guatemala persist.

Minute for Mission: Presbyterian Higher Education.

Posted August 24th, 2020

These are troubling times for higher education. With the COVID-19 pandemic and racial unrest further eroding an already fragile ecosystem, the challenges facing U.S. colleges and universities continue to multiply. In times like these, alliances that help institutions of higher education understand and manage these challenges are more valuable than ever.