Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) is working with mid councils and churches in California to address wildfires currently raging as well as the long-term impact of recent fires.
For David Barnhart, it’s the story — not his story, but the story of the subject.
“One of the things I love about the work that we do is that we don’t know where it’s going. We have no idea where it’s going and what the focus is,” he said. “What we try to do is work with the community and have them guide us and [the film] needs to go wherever it needs to get.”
It’s a line that appears twice in the documentary, “Flint: The Poisoning of an American City.”
“What happened here is now happening in other places. It could happen in any city in the United States. It did happen in the city of Flint, Michigan.”
Presbyterians who want to help Haitians dealing with the almost simultaneous effects of natural disaster, government corruption, fuel shortages and crop challenges have at least two choices, according to Fabienne Jean, coordinator of FONDAMA, or Hands Together Foundation of Haiti, a network if 11 farmer organizations across the Caribbean nation currently choked with deadly protests that have paralyzed the economy and closed businesses and schools.
While “Flint: The Poisoning of an American City” is the title du jour for Presbyterian Disaster Assistance’s Story Ministry, other films in its catalog continue to get recognition, including an auspicious booking, this month.
According to the U.S. Department of State, the Trump administration plans to set the fiscal year 2020 refugee admissions goal at 18,000, a record low that effectively dismantles the U.S. resettlement program established nearly 40 years ago. Today’s presidential executive order also permits state and local officials to block refugee resettlement in their communities.
This prayer is dedicated to celebrating to the gifts of new immigrants as part of the Special Days and Emphases of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Gifts of New Immigrants is celebrated the last Sunday of September. This year, the celebration occurs on Sept. 29.
“Trigger: The Ripple Effect of Gun Violence,” produced by Presbyterian Disaster Assistance’s Story Productions, is now available for streaming on Amazon Prime.
“This is new ground for the church,” director David Barnhart said.
Mere moments after the final credits of “Flint: The Poisoning of an American City” rolled, Harold Woodson was on stage of the Capitol Theatre Thursday giving the documentary an endorsement that affirmed it had accomplished some of its major goals.
There is a point in “Flint: The Poisoning of an American City” where we have seen and heard how the Michigan city’s water system was contaminated with lead and the many ways in which public officials caused or allowed the tragedy to happen, and it’s easy to ask, “How has nobody gone to jail for this?”
