Westminster Presbyterian Church in Santa Fe, New Mexico, is a little church with a big heart. It recently applied to be and was recognized as a Hunger Action Congregation by the Presbyterian Hunger Program. One of its hunger advocacy programs, titled Imagine No Hunger, approaches the hunger issue in a unique way — by fasting. Church members pledge to fast one meal each week and to contribute $5 to a fund affiliated with the program. Since 2009, Westminster has donated more than $56,000 to local, national and international food-related projects as a result of Imagine No Hunger.
Nobody rocked a cardigan sweater better than TV personality Fred Rogers. The beloved Presbyterian pastor hosted the nationally syndicated TV show Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood for 33 years on PBS. He began each episode by changing into his sneakers and putting on a cardigan before teaching children lessons of unconditional love and empathy as he interacted with his neighbors.
I am an immigrant and a former refugee. I came from Cuba to the United States via Spain in the late ’60s. I belong to that group of people from the “Global South’’ who began migrating to this country by the millions after the liberalization of immigration laws in 1965.
The heads of Christian churches in Zimbabwe issued a pastoral message to the nation in November, urging calm, prayer and national dialogue. The ecumenical statement was released just hours after four armored personnel carriers rolled into Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare, and military officers reportedly seized control of the state broadcaster and placed 93-year-old President Robert Mugabe under house arrest.
In early 2017, Melanie Rodenbough, a lifelong Presbyterian who lives in North Carolina, learned that the FBI was beginning an investigation after an audio recording of a meeting of conservative activists near Winston-Salem revealed death threats against Muslims living in the area.
Presbyterians are known as belonging to a “thinking” denomination. Our Reformed theology emphasizes the importance of having an educated clergy and an informed laity, and we have a long tradition of involvement in education, with more than 50 Presbyterian colleges and universities.
On “Day One” of their “Hands & Feet” mission trip to St. Louis, 13 Presbyterians from southeastern Iowa spent the morning shoveling compost at an urban garden.
As we mark World AIDS Day, we contemplate the 2017 United Nations AIDS campaign “My Health, My Right,” which affirms that health care is a human right. However, stigma and discrimination might be the most significant hurdles to the effective treatment of HIV/AIDS.
War has a human face. Every shadow, every line, every wrinkle is part of the story.
A PC(USA) peace delegation visited the War and Women’s Human Rights Museum during the group’s recent visit to South Korea. They watched video interviews with “comfort women,” who spoke no English. Although there were English subtitles, they weren’t necessary. The women’s faces said everything.
The humanitarian conditions in the conflict-ridden Kasai region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have been rapidly deteriorating. The hunger crisis there has deepened, and an estimated 3.2 million people are without reliable access to enough nutritious food.
