Freedom Rising, a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) initiative “to address and improve the worsening plight of the African-American male,” has received gifts totaling $78,461 from a Pittsburgh-based charitable foundation, two mid councils and an offering collected at a Presbyterian collegiate conference.
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.
Freedom Rising, a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) initiative “to address and improve the worsening plight of the African-American male,” has received gifts totaling $78,461 from a Pittsburgh-based charitable foundation, two mid-councils and an offering collected at a Presbyterian collegiate conference.
The Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson II, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A), has penned a letter to PC(USA) congregations inviting participation in the Freedom Rising initiative.
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 2017 Peace & Global Witness Offering includes an opportunity for congregations and mid-councils to join a church-wide effort “to address and improve the worsening plight of the African-American male.”
Congregational resources to promote the 2017 Peace & Global Witness Offering are now available for download, or they can be ordered through the Presbyterian Distribution Service (PDS) by calling 800-524-2612 or by emailing pds@pcusa.org.
With bumper stickers and hashtags, Facebook pages and community partnerships, the Freedom Rising initiative to improve the plight of the African American male is beginning to take off in the five cities where the program will be piloted. The initiative approved by the 222nd General Assembly (2016) seeks to assist communities in Baltimore, Charlotte, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and New York City by addressing problems specifically related to African American males.
More than 400 individuals from throughout the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) gathered for the DisGrace conference at the Montreat Conference Center in North Carolina to address the issues of embedded and structural racism in the church and culture with the hopes of moving from disgrace toward solidarity.
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is taking specific action to confront the societal and racial issues facing black communities in the U.S. by living into a new church initiative to address the plight of African American males in our country.
