When a pandemic hits a preacher, “every passage of Scripture sounds different now,” the Rev. Dr. Anna Carter Florence said. “It’s like you never read them before.”
How would you celebrate your 50th anniversary? Last year, the Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar (FJKM), a PC(USA) partner church, promoted free HIV testing at all of the events celebrating its 50th anniversary. FJKM President Irako Andriamahazosoa Ammi was tested publicly last August. Over 40,000 people were educated about HIV and AIDS, and 2,000 were tested during six events.
I recently had the opportunity to participate in a small-group Bible study with other Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) mission co-workers serving throughout Africa. We were invited to read closely Matthew 25:31–46, where Jesus speaks of when he comes again and is like a shepherd separating “sheep from goats” at the final judgment. We were also invited to ask the questions: “What word or phrase stands out? How does the text resonate with or challenge you? What might the text be calling you to do, be or change?”
The Presbyterian Church of Kabuga, Rwanda, has two primary schools — Kabuga (with 310 students) and Muyumba (with 192 students). Parents, students and teachers are celebrating the fourth consecutive school year that students in Primary 6 in both schools have achieved a perfect score on Rwanda’s national examination.
“They said their teacher has not come,” said Peter, the education facilitator for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) partner Across, translated from Anyuak to English.
“Where are your friends?” came the next question to the 10 boys sitting in the muddy field.
Last summer, the Rev. Dr. José Irizarry took a mission trip to Puerto Rico with 10 teenagers from his church. They knew he’d been a university professor and administrator, and on a break from repairing houses, they circled him, wanting how-tos on college life. Irizarry describes the trip as “part work, part worship and part listening.”
Ed Pollock, the son of longtime Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) mission co-worker Ted Pollock, is a man on a mission.
Since 2017, Pollock and members of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Mount Airy, Maryland, have worked tirelessly to collect enough books and Bibles to build a theological reference library for seminary students in Gambella, Ethiopia.
According to Karen Linnell, elder of First Presbyterian Church of Farmington in Farmington Hills, Michigan, “It’s not often that you get to see a dream come true, especially when it turns out to be more meaningful than you imagined.”
Linnell was referring to a $350,000 gift from an anonymous donor, which is inspiring congregations and community partners to work together to put their faith into action through new and existing mission initiatives in communities across the Presbytery of Detroit.
While Christopher Hall’s route to success was not always smooth sailing, he says his life’s journey was boosted by a Rising TIDE.
Rising TIDE (Train Individuals to Develop and Excel) is an afterschool ministry of Covenant Presbyterian Church in Long Beach, California. Hall, who was born into poverty in an urban neighborhood, at age 33 owns two construction/restoration businesses, enjoys being a husband and father of three and relishes his new home.
The Colegio Americano, an educational ministry of the Presbyterian Church of Colombia (IPC), recently celebrated its 150th anniversary. The school, older than the National University of Colombia, began in 1869 when Presbyterian mission worker Kate MacFerren began to teach English classes to a group of 18 girls in Bogotá.
