The transition taking place at the White House has prompted an interfaith coalition that includes the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to issue a statement reaffirming its commitment to advocating for immigrants, refugees and other newcomers seeking to make a home in the United States.
Imagine you and your family are living a quiet life as best you can in a city in Central America and a local gang leader decides he wants your 14-year-old daughter as his “girlfriend,” and won’t accept no for an answer.
Imagine working hard to earn $20 paycheck in Venezuela where a carton of milk costs $8.
Ahead of Sunday’s lectionary reading about the resourcefulness of Hebrew midwives Shiphrah and Puah, Presbyterian hymnwriter the Rev. Carolyn Winfrey Gillette offers free of charge to any faith community while worshiping “There Came a Time in Egypt,” a hymn to the tune of “The Church’s One Foundation” that also “relates the kindness that we should share with refugees and immigrants to the holy disobedience of the Egyptian midwives to the orders of Pharaoh,” as Gillette puts it.
The Philadelphia-based American Friends Service Committee, which partners with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) on issues including immigration, invited those attending a webinar last week to reimagine Independence Day with help from four panelists, many of them immigrants.
The National Black Presbyterian Caucus held a banquet Friday night honoring the retiring Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II, and Nelson honored caucus members right back with an hour-long valedictory that was clearly heartfelt, sometimes funny and always insightful.
This fall, the news has been filled with images of refugees from Afghanistan and other countries coming to the United States, and immigration has been a major issue in several recent elections.
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s #GivingTuesday broadcast came to a close with a communion service from Austin, Texas, and presentations on churches and a committed mid council caring for immigrants and people without housing or enough to eat.
Wednesday’s online Matthew 25 gathering focused on welcoming the stranger. The 80 or so participants learned from two Presbyterians who are currently working hard to carry out Jesus’ command to do just that.
