Matthew 25: Eradicate Systemic Poverty Sunday asks us to look at the structures in our society that all but guarantee that people living in poverty will stay that way.
The Presbyterian Church of Rwanda (EPR) is a few weeks into its annual 100 days of remembrance of the genocide against the Tutsi, which extends from early April through July 4. Each year these days are devoted to helping bring healing to survivors of the genocide who continue to struggle with poverty, unemployment, sickness and other issues. All 212 parishes in EPR’s seven presbyteries are focused on the transformational power of the gospel to bring unity, reconciliation and restoration to all who have been traumatized — from one generation to the next.
What a trap! They came to put Jesus in jeopardy with the authorities regarding the payment of taxes to Caesar, and he turned it back on them. They were caught in their own theological trap because they had a double standard. They did their best to get along with the Roman authorities, while quietly teaching their people that God — not the civil authorities — must be the ultimate object of their worship. They taught that in the end, everything belongs to God, so when Jesus put before them the coin showing the image of Caesar, they were in a bind. The worship of the one on the coin was a basic principle of Roman citizenship. He was to be worshiped and obeyed not simply as the political primate, but as a god, and therefore a divine alternative to the God of Israel, to whom the Jewish leaders were bound.
In a culture where women often go unheard, the fisherfolk women of Sri Lanka made certain their voices were loud and clear.
Their story began in 2010 when the Sri Lankan government, as part of its plan to attract more tourism and conference business, decided to build a seaplane project in the Negombo Lagoon.
Building a church and its membership from the ground up is no small feat. Doing it in a country that persecutes members of your faith makes it doubly difficult. But the Rev. Manh Nguyen, pastor of Evangelical Community Church in Hanoi, Vietnam, continues to grow his church despite a government that frowns upon religion.
A recently released report by the Pew Research Center for Religion & Public Life shows the composition of the 115th U.S. Congress is losing members from historically mainline Protestant groups in favor of modest gains by evangelicals, Catholics and representatives from other faith traditions.
