Baltimore based United Workers Association (UWA) is a human rights organization led by low-wage workers fighting to secure human rights for all—including freedom from poverty. Baltimore’s Inner Harbor has an area of great economic wealth and prosperity due to tourism, but it is surrounded by severe poverty throughout the inner city. The businesses in and around the Harbor employ workers whose wages have been systematically kept low and their working conditions, poor.
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin? Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am. If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger …
This past electoral campaign brought up issues that were disturbing to many women. The criteria for fitness for the office of president for the woman candidate, such as comments about the clothes she wore, were standards seemingly not imposed on male candidates in the race. The comments surrounding women’s bodies were also alarming. These conversations brought up a sort of PTSD for some women, as they themselves have experienced sexual harassment and discrimination.
Around the world, the stories of students are as diverse as the cultures and lands from which they come. Individuals furthering their education may do so out of a sense of hope for the future, that they might improve their lives and be exposed to ideas that challenge and change them. This period of transformation and growth comes at a time when many students are physically separated from their support networks and communities of faith.
Several years ago I had an opportunity to visit Westminster by-the-Sea Presbyterian Church in Daytona Beach Shores, Florida, for a Sunday worship service. I had always enjoyed my visits to this church, knowing that I would hear outstanding music and an excellent sermon by their senior pastor, the Rev. Dr. Jeffrey Sumner. But I also heard another important message that day. Dr. Sumner spoke of the need for parishioners to attend to their physical health as well as their spiritual well-being. And on this particular Sunday, there would be an opportunity to do this by taking advantage of a free screening for skin cancer that a local dermatologist would be providing immediately after the worship service.
Brad Smith, then a seminary intern serving at Spring Valley Presbyterian Church in Columbia, South Carolina, gave birth to the Souper Bowl of Caring with this prayer: “Lord, even as we enjoy the Super Bowl football game, help us be mindful of those who are without a bowl of soup to eat.”
When the 110,000 American citizens and immigrants of Japanese descent living on the West Coast were taken without due process into ten “Relocation Camps” by the federal government in the first year of the US’ involvement in World War II, they set about immediately organizing places of worship through which to seek solace and strength.
Today begins the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Protestant Christians join in study, prayer and action, seeking the unity of the church. This year’s international theme is drawn from the First Epistle of Peter and the familiar passage reminding Christians of our identity and purpose. We have been called into a particular relationship with other Christians that mark us as belonging to God. We are claimed by God in order that we might give witness to the transformative power of God.
Over 100 people gathered in Louisville, Kentucky, on October 22 for an antiracism training event. Most participants came from congregations in the Presbytery of Mid-Kentucky; others, from the Louisville community.
Last autumn I traveled with mission co-workers and partners in Thailand to visit Hill Tribe persons working to gain such citizenship rights as healthcare and education. The experience showed me just one of the many ways the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is working to address human trafficking. Presbyterians in their own communities have established shelters, resource facilities and computer applications as well.
