In the late ’90s, Vilmarie Cintrón-Olivieri became a member of a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) congregation in Puerto Rico with a membership of fewer than 20 people. The congregation, the co-moderator of the 223rd General Assembly (2018) recalls, had gone through a schism, and her spouse, the Rev. José Manuel, was called to be its redevelopment pastor. When the couple arrived, they discovered that there was no session, no deacons, no Christian education programs and no musicians. “Church” consisted of Sunday worship only. An administrative commission appointed by the presbytery served as the session.
While the religious backgrounds of U.S. military personnel have changed greatly over the past three decades, their spiritual care continues to be a pressing need, the U.S. Navy’s chief of chaplains says.
Despite tension and polarization in church and society, Hispanic Latin Presbyterian Women (MHLP, in the Spanish acronym) came together recently under the theme “Connect . . . Grow . . . Serve” for their triennial assembly. Almost 200 Spanish-speaking Presbyterian women from congregations in the United States and Puerto Rico gathered in Fort Worth, Texas, to celebrate Encuentro VIII.
