Family and friends recently remembered the Rev. Dr. Otis Turner as a justice-seeker and a strategic, compassionate soldier for racial justice in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and in the larger society.
Turner, the first Black faculty member at Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina, who later worked for 25 years on the national staff of the Presbyterian Church, died Aug. 2 in Jacksonville, Florida. Sardis Missionary Baptist Church in Dawson, Georgia, hosted his service, which was livestreamed.
For people and congregations wondering how to get started in their push for justice for people of color, women and the queer community, “A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast” featured the perfect guest last week: Samantha Davis, the associate for Gender, Racial and Intercultural Justice in the Presbyterian Mission Agency’s Racial Equity & Women’s Intercultural Ministries.
Born in the Synod of Lakes and Prairies, Restorative Actions describes itself as “a grassroots voluntary initiative for churches, individuals, mid councils and agencies of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), as well as ecumenical partners and interested organizations, to take a leadership stance in opposed to racism and racial privilege” by allowing “U.S. Americans who benefit from institutional racism to provide a credible witness for justice by surrendering ill-gotten gains toward the establishment of just relationships with Afro-Americans and Indigenous communities.”
Trailblazers Program teaches young people and film production and racial justice work by Mark Koenig | Special to Presbyterian News Services LOUISVILLE, Kentucky – “They keep coming.” The affirmation… Read more »
During Wednesday’s online Chapel Service, the Rev. Carlton Johnson helped the PC(USA)’s national staff to celebrate Juneteenth a few days early with a thoughtful and provocative take on Matthew 20:1-16, the Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard.
When a Korean-American church celebrates its 70th year anniversary by opening with a Native American (Elona Street-Stewart, the Co-Moderator of the 224th General Assembly) telling the story of her people in Turtle Island thousands of year before it became United States, the destruction that came with Christian mission in Turtle Island, and the impossible gospel-bloom from the dust (the storyteller is a Christian Native American!), at first it’s difficult for your brain to adjust. It all seems darker, but it’s not.
The year 2022 saw crowds returning to theaters after the Covid disaster, though not as large as before. However, James Cameron’s “Avatar” sequel again drew huge receipts, reaching as of January 23 over $2 billion world-wide, surpassing the receipts generated by “Top Gun: Maverick.” Of the two it is Camron’s film that made my Top Ten List because the latter was merely an escapist film waving the flag of nationalism — no doubt a well-made, exciting film but one running counter to Christ’s boundary-breaking teachings of love and acceptance.
Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary is relying on the calling of Isaiah 58:12 — “… you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in” — as it begins convening a national conversation on what the seminary calls in a news release “the interest and capacity of diverse organizations in developing sustainable approaches to reparations” and repair.
Professor Kristin Henning, who teaches at Georgetown Law, directs its Juvenile Justice Clinic & Initiative and wrote “The Rage of Innocence: How America Criminalizes Black Youth,” was the most recent speaker in New York Avenue Presbyterian Church’s McClendon Scholar Program. More than 500 people from across the country registered to attend the online event, held late last month.
One hundred years ago Knox Presbyterian Church accepted a gift — worth $250,000 in today’s dollars — for a church of the white race only. The congregation, led by the Rev. Adam Fronczek, confessed that tragic history in 2020. The church also made a commitment to a racial justice ministry, which it’s funding at $50,000 a year.
