St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church in Lomita, California, is located near a substantial encampment of people experiencing homelessness. In and around the community in southern Los Angeles County, “the homeless issue out here is humongous,” says Marney Wilde, an 82-year-old St. Mark’s member who is part of one of two St. mark’s teams providing services to the church’s neighbors. “It’s not just the typical homeless. The rents here are incredibly expensive. Most people are two or three paychecks away from being on the streets. That helps explain the heavy homeless population we are seeing.”
Imagine a set of strings lying across a table, each one a different and vibrant color. Individually, the strings are beautiful — they are bright red, golden yellow, vivid green, chocolate brown, royal purple. Each has a different thickness, weight and texture; each was created in a different place, by different hands. Now imagine the strings woven together in a rich, multicolored pattern that creates a broad tapestry. The tapestry is even more beautiful; the interplay between the individual strings, their colors and textures, creates a work of art. Together, the tapestry is unique and strong.
Faithful witness can be demonstrated in myriad ways, supporting the mission and ministries of the Presbyterian Mission Agency in a very foundational fashion. The Pillars of the Church program provides a path for disciples to joyfully engage in God’s mission for the transformation of the world for generations to come.
A new HIV/AIDS awareness mission toolkit is available just in time for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s World AIDS Sunday, June 24, and National HIV Testing Day, June 27.
Five years in the making, the 2018 Book of Common Worship (BCW) for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is now available. There are three new sections in the BCW — on creation and ecology, justice and reconciliation, and interreligious events. Included in these sections are services for:
• Blessings of the Animals
• Resources for prayer and worship after a violent event
• Guidelines for gathering neighbors of other faiths or no faith for times of celebrations, or when there is conflict or crisis
My husband and I had been married for three years when we had our first child. We learned quickly that even though we loved our daughter deeply, kids are disruptive and expensive. The change to our family meant learning to live on less sleep and smaller income. It meant figuring out who would do midnight feedings and make sure there were clean diapers. Once our daughter started crawling, it meant rearranging everything so that it wouldn’t be destroyed by a curious, free-range toddler.
While authorities try to determine what led 64-year-old Stephen Paddock to open fire on a crowd of people in Las Vegas Sunday night, Presbyterian Church leaders and pastors are reaching out to congregations and those impacted by the tragedy.
As part of the Facing Racism antiracism campaign, the PC(USA) is offering resources based on the newest addition to the Book of Confessions, the Confession of Belhar, adopted by the 222nd General Assembly in 2016.
As people around the globe observe World Water Day today, Presbyterian Mission Agency (PMA) ministries are working at home and abroad to help bring safe drinking water to the 663 million people who lack it.
