The men were taken first, and then the women and children were brutalized. Witnesses saw the Euphrates run with blood, and women plunged into the river to escape the terrors of the desert march.
One of the original 15 pilot churches certified as a PC(USA) Earth Care Congregation (ECC), First Presbyterian Church (FPC) in Asheville, North Carolina, is a congregation that seeks to put their faith into action not only with deeds of compassion but also through acts of social witness. Finding ways to advocate for justice for all of God’s children, including God’s creation, is essential to being faithful disciples of Christ.
In South Sudan, nearly 6.1 million were severely food insecure in 2018, with 1.7 million people living on the edge of famine. Civil war has been raging there since 2013, destroying homes, lives and livelihoods. As people have had to flee their homes to escape violence, they have also had to abandon their fields and farming activities.
E.P.O.C.A. (Ex-prisoners and Prisoners Organizing for Community Advancement) is an innovative group from Worcester, Massachusetts, that provides leadership and organizing training for formerly incarcerated people. The outcome of this training provides participants with skills and resources that enable them to build capacity through community networks.
May the joy of Christ’s Resurrection be yours this Easter Sunday. Today, we are reminded of the abundant hope we have in Christ.
Resurrection hope points us to the promise of eternal life and calls us to celebrate all circumstances where hopelessness is overcome by God’s grace. A good example of this can be found among our brothers and sisters in Haiti who are thriving in new communities that have sprung up after the devastating 2010 earthquake.
International Roma Day is an opportunity for those of us who know little about the Roma (often pejoratively called “gypsies”) to learn about and celebrate their culture, history and people, moving past stereotypes and media depictions.
Jesus’ concern and respect for women is evident in Scripture — and quite astonishing for the day. He healed a very ill woman on the Sabbath (Luke 13:10–17); stood by a woman accused of adultery (John 8:1–11); raised from the dead the only son of a grieving mother and widow (Luke 7:11–15); publicly recognized the extravagant gifts of the poor widow (Mark 12:41–44) and the “sinful woman” (Luke 7:36–50); gave permission to set aside domestic chores for more important matters (Luke 10:38–42); shared the message of living water with a Samaritan woman at a well (John 4:7–30); and even appeared first to women after his resurrection (Matthew 28:1–10). Despite his radical care and consideration for women in his day, in our day many girls and women struggle to find a way to thrive in a world that often disregards (sometimes violently) their right to live into God’s intended abundance.
If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, . . . if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday. The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail. Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in. — Isaiah 58:3–12
Dr. Jana Childers, dean and vice president of academic affairs and professor of homiletics and speech communication at San Francisco Theological Seminary, writes: “The idea that God is a boundary-crosser is not new. Nor is the thought that God’s grace flows through the world unhampered by human borders.
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (WPCU) was celebrated Jan. 18–25 at the Presbyterian Center of the PC(USA) with the theme: “Justice, Only Justice, You Shall Pursue” (Deut. 16:20). We were invited to share intentional prayers with our ecumenical friends from around the world. The theme this year pointed to the hunger many have for a more just world. This year, our friends from Indonesia invited us to pray for them, for each other and for those suffering around the world. More information is available at geii.org/week_of_prayer_for_christian_unity/welcome/invitation.html.
