The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), via its Office of Public Witness, has joined 30 other faith communities endorsing a letter to President-elect Trump urging him and his administration to prioritize issues of climate change, the environment and justice.
The Cannon Ball (North Dakota) Gym was filled to capacity tonight with nearly 500 clergy representing 20 faith traditions in anticipation of their show of solidarity for self-described “water protectors” opposing the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) north of Standing Rock Sioux reservation lands.
“All of us have to educate ourselves. All of us have to make an extra effort to understand the other.” That’s the crux of the message Dr. Sayyid Syeed, national director for the Office for Interfaith and Community Alliances for the Islamic Society of North America, brought to Redwood Falls, Minnesota, when he spoke at the First Presbyterian Church and other locations in that community Sept. 15-17.
As an adviser for the Unglued Church, a program in Pittsburgh Presbytery for help with church change, I encounter a lot of churches at the end of their rope. It’s a time in a church’s life when it’s important to emphasize the importance of thinking beyond survival, and how the congregation might imagine leaving a legacy for God’s ministry and mission.
Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary has completed the first phase of its Covenant for the Future strategic plan, which kicked off in 2011. By reaching its goal of $2.4 million for the first phase of the capital campaign, 100 percent tuition assistance for all master’s-level students is now a permanent benefit of attending Louisville Seminary.
When Rick and Kitty Ufford-Chase, co-directors of Stony Point Center—one of three national conference centers of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)—gave their Sept. 15 report to the Finance Committee of the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board (PMAB), their enthusiasm was both palpable and contagious.
The streets of Louisville, Kentucky were filled with thousands of people honoring Muhammad Ali this morning as his funeral procession traversed 19 miles of the city. Enthusiastic crowds cheered, threw flowers on the road and hearse, and chanted “Ali” as the 17-car motorcade passed Ali’s childhood home, the museum named after him, the boxing gym where he began his career, and the Presbyterian Center in downtown Louisville next to the KFC Yum! Center where an interfaith memorial service was held this afternoon.
At an interfaith prayer service on 7 June, people from diverse faith communities issued a call to action to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. The call focuses on reducing stigma and discrimination; increasing access to HIV services; defending human rights; and ensuring testing and treatment for all, including children.
As a grieving city, nation, and world respond to the death on June 3 of Muhammad Ali—the larger-than-life boxing champion, poet, and humanitarian—the Rev. Dr. Charles Wiley III, coordinator for the Presbyterian Mission Agency’s office of Theology and Worship remembered Ali “as bombastic, an enormous talent, and someone who stood up for what he believed in.”
Nearly a month after an electrical fire heavily damaged its sanctuary, the First Presbyterian Church of Englewood, New Jersey is still counting its blessings. The March 22nd blaze destroyed portions of the roof, stained-glass windows and the church steeple in the building which dates back to 1870.
But the damage has not stopped the congregation from growing and learning and that includes reaching out and connecting with other congregations. The church is in the middle of a three-week joint worship with Temple Sinai of Bergen County, a Reform synagogue.
