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For hours, Fossil Free PCUSA representatives lay scattered across the floor outside of the convention hall at the 223rd General Assembly (2018) in St. Louis. The “die-in” was in response to the commissioners’ decision to accept a minority report asking the Committee on Mission Responsibility Through Investment (MRTI) to continue its engagement with fossil fuel companies.
A Presbyterian church in Minneapolis is taking steps to help children affected by civil war in South Sudan.
The war began in 2013, two years after South Sudan gained independence. The conflict has displaced more than 5 million people, leading to massive human suffering and widespread famine. As part of its response, the 223rd General Assembly (2018) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) passed a comprehensive overture that provides a robust platform for the denomination’s Office of Public Witness to advocate for an end to the war.
It was just another Sunday morning in the Cornhusker State. The faithful entered Southern Heights Presbyterian’s sanctuary, filling the room with chatter before the start of worship. The bell chimed and the chattering — as well as the rustling of coats, worship bulletins and those marking the hymns for the day — subsided. The Christ candle was solemnly lit, leaving a flickering flame to aid in prayerful contemplation. The prelude broke the silence. It was time to stand for the Call to Worship. Now sit for the Confession. And back up again for the singing of the Gloria Patri.
More than 1,000 people representing churches around the world recently met in Arusha, Tanzania, for the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME) Conference, which is held every decade.
The attendees included a strong contingent from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). The participants explored the conference theme, “Moving in the Spirit: Called to Transforming Discipleship.”
“You won’t go to India to do something an Indian cannot do,” the Rev. Thomas John told me. He was the site coordinator for the Young Adult Volunteer (YAV) program in India, and I was a college senior, interviewing to serve as a YAV on the other side of the globe. I don’t think I had any delusions of single-handedly transforming the world, but I was surely guided by a desire to help, to contribute and to be of service. That was in 2002. Today I serve as site coordinator for the YAV program in Colombia, and I encounter those same motivations again and again in current applicants.
When racially insensitive photos surfaced at Cal Poly University in April, Front Porch, a coffeehouse and 1001 worshiping community in San Luis Obispo, California, began to engage students — the majority of whom were disgusted by what they saw.
Investments can do well — the Presbyterian Foundation believes — and do good at the same time. Through practices of impact investing, corporate engagement, and use of positive and negative screens, the Foundation seeks to manage all aspects of the funds entrusted to them in accordance with God’s call for faithful stewardship. The Foundation’s trustees determined in 2015 that care for God’s creation is one element of this stewardship.
Nearly 30,000 refugees live in or near Thessaloniki, a port city in Greece. Manolis Ntamparakis has made it his calling to help them. He is the director of social action for the Naomi Ecumenical Workshop for Refugees, a nonprofit organization founded two years ago.
Church Trends, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s new online statistical resource, has bolstered the denomination’s ability to provide Presbyterians accessible, useful and timely information about their church, according to the research tool’s developer.
He was a man of few words. My visits often consisted of a monologue I carefully constructed around veiled questions, hoping he would offer up details about his life without getting agitated. But his responses were short — a few words uttered in a deep voice that got louder if he was irritated by the subject matter.
