As Syria’s fragile U.S./Russian negotiated cease fire agreement hangs in the balance, Presbyterian congregations are hearing about the work to help refugees who have remained in the region.
The 2016 Season of Peace is under way, with the theme “Come to the Table of Peace.” The emphasis is designed to encourage congregations to seek or enhance their focus on becoming peacemakers.
The Season of Peace leads up to World Communion Sunday, the first Sunday in October. Various denominations observe World Communion Sunday, which promotes Christian unity and ecumenical cooperation. In the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) the Season of Peace culminates with the receiving of the Peace & Global Witness Offering on the first Sunday in October.
A group of Christian leaders from across the globe have gathered at the Presbyterian Mission Agency in Louisville to prepare for a month-long journey throughout the U.S. Nine International Peacemakers will be speaking to congregations, presbyteries and synods about the challenges and rewards of sharing Christ in their homelands.
For Areej Masoud, life is anything but easy. The Bethlehem, Palestine native is in the midst of transition, having just left her position as communications and administrative officer for Kairos Palestine, a Christian organization working to end the Israeli occupation. She is now the marketing and development officer for Bethlehem Bible College.
Presbyterians interested in seeing firsthand what countries are doing about climate change have an opportunity to join the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program, Environmental Ministries and World Mission in a two-country tour next year. The ministries are hosting a Travel Study Seminar to Guatemala and Costa Rica January 9 – 20.
As the organizer and secretary of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) National Woman’s Guild, she’s working to change the perception about women in East Africa.
For the Rev. Jon Walton, September 2001 was supposed to mark the start of a new ministry. He had just become pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of the City of New York and his first sermon was September 9th. But any anxiety about his new job quickly evaporated two days later when two planes flew into the World Trade Center claiming more than 2,600 lives.
The 2016 Season of Peace is underway and Presbyterian churches began the month-long emphasis on Sunday with the theme “Come to the Table of Peace.” The emphasis is designed to encourage congregations to seek or enhance their focus on becoming peacemakers.
While the U.S. and Cuban governments have only recently re-established diplomatic ties, the Presbyterian Church has continually maintained a relationship between the two countries. Congregations will get an idea how that has progressed next month when the 2016 class of International Peacemakers visits the U.S.
Philadelphia Presbytery has hosted International Peacemakers for two consecutive years, and the impact of these visits has been profound. In 2014 the peacemaker was James Ninrew from the Presbyterian Church of South Sudan. Last year the peacemaker was Rami Al Maqdasi from Iraq. These two countries, though continents apart, have both suffered the burdens of war.
