As the world struggled to recover from the ravages of a global war, churches across America bore witness to their faith in a united act of generosity that helped relieve human suffering.
The crisis demands attention.
In war-torn Yemen, 75 percent of the population lives in poverty, with 60 percent food insecure and 8.4 million people unsure of where their next meal will come from, according to United Nations statistics. By any measure the crisis is escalating quickly, with a 61 percent decline in gross domestic product per capita over the past three years and 1.25 million civil servants not being paid in the past 18 months.
Like many churches across the country, Irvington Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis celebrates Palm Sunday with people in the congregation waving palm fronds to commemorate Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem shortly before his death and resurrection.
If Luis Ramos Salgado had tried to ride the storm out in his home, he wouldn’t be able to walk down his street on this sunny morning.
“I’d be dead,” he says through a translator, standing in the kitchen of the only home he’s ever known in San Juan’s Caño Martín Peña area.
It’s a pretty port of call.
Mere blocks from where cruise ships pull into San Juan terminal, visitors can find enticing Old San Juan, with its mix of history, shops and restaurants, all open for business, even on a warm but quiet Tuesday night. Veering right, visitors can find conveniences such as bike rentals and a CVS pharmacy, all up and running.
“People go to hotels, Old San Juan and they see the stores open, lights … and they say, ‘Oh, everything is back to normal,’” the Rev. Edwin A. González-Castillo says.
Except it’s not.
A group of 16 Young Adult Volunteer alum, family and Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) national staff gathered in Puerto Rico earlier this month for a Relief and Reflection Service Trip commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Young Adult Volunteer (YAV) program.
They came from North, South, East and West. From Bolivia, El Salvador, Haiti, Cameroon, Sri Lanka, India, and the U.S., church and community leaders gathered in Peru for the Quadrennial Joining Hands Conference to assess, re-envision and recommit ourselves to our common and connected work in partnership with the Presbyterian Hunger Program and Presbyterian World Mission.
More than 28,000 people have gathered in Katowice, Poland for the 24th United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change “Conference of the Parties” (COP), and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is there.
