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The flooding the weekend of August 13–14 dumped nearly 22 inches of rain in parts of Louisiana and other Gulf states, according to the National Weather Service. The American Red Cross and other agencies said it was the worst natural disaster to strike the United States since Hurricane Sandy in 2012, and some said the damage was more widespread than in Hurricane Katrina.
In conjunction with the Women’s Department of the Church of Christ in Congo, Presbyterian World Mission co-worker Christi Boyd recently helped facilitate the first Healing Hearts training event in the city of Goma in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
In the northeast corner of the country, the Presbytery of Cayuga-Syracuse made a dramatic decision. It reduced presbytery staff to just one person and got rid of its office space. Today, Cayuga-Syracuse Presbytery has no building. The office is a laptop, and its number rings to a cell phone in Steve Plank’s pocket. As the lone presbytery employee, Plank has the dual job title of stated clerk/communicator. He works with a volunteer leadership team of 15 elected positions and four ex-officio members.
Evangelism is all about relationships . . . .
In meetings with church leaders, I continue to grow in my faith and in what it means to follow Christ. Through these encounters I am going deeper into what I already know in my heart: that evangelism is good news, relational, messy, and takes time.
Despite tension and polarization in church and society, Hispanic Latin Presbyterian Women (MHLP, in the Spanish acronym) came together recently under the theme “Connect . . . Grow . . . Serve” for their triennial assembly. Almost 200 Spanish-speaking Presbyterian women from congregations in the United States and Puerto Rico gathered in Fort Worth, Texas, to celebrate Encuentro VIII.
Bill and Lori Picard, Nez Perce tribal members of Lapwai, Idaho, exemplify concerned and visionary discipleship. In 1997 their son Quanah died in an automobile accident. Three years later their son Skylin also died in an automobile accident. But God called the couple to turn tragedy into discipleship.
Do not stand idly by when your neighbor’s life is threatened. (Leviticus 19:16 NLT)
Do Not Stand Idly By (DNSIB) is more than a catchy phrase; it is a biblical mandate and founding principle that guides the work of a campaign started by the Metro Industrial Areas Foundation, an ecumenical coalition of congregations across the country. We seek to stand with and work on behalf of those who have been impacted by gun violence. This national campaign seeks to get safer, smarter gun technology into the marketplace and to pressure manufacturers to work toward safer, smarter dealer networks.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. (Matthew 5:9)
Everyone can do something for peace.
What can one person do to advance world peace? Elizabeth Meehan, an elder at Presbyterian-New England Congregational Church of Saratoga Springs, New York, learned. Eight years ago, Meehan wanted to get involved in peacemaking, a cause that touches the environment, equitable access to resources, hunger, and many other topics. Meehan gained the support of her church’s Social Concerns Committee, and the Peace Fair was born.
new calling
In the nearly four years since Hurricane Sandy struck the United States, volunteer work teams from across the country have traveled to the hard-hit regions, particularly New Jersey and New York, to help people recover and return to their homes. But after months of hosting recovery teams, one church believes the time has come to close the doors on its Sandy relief efforts.
The pieces may be different, but the center holds us fast.
These days, I suppose we could consider Christ our “Network Administrator,” the only One who is permitted to make changes in our lives together. Network administrators are those folks to whom we turn when our computers experience a glitch, when our systems are all confused, and when we just need to “reboot.” The Administrator can fix it all and get us back on track!
