Members of the Fumbisi congregation of the recently expressed their generosity in big bundles: two large farm sacks filled with fresh peanuts. They sold the peanuts in the local marketplace and donated the $65 they received to the sending and support of Presbyterian mission co-worker Josh Heikkila.
Young Adult Volunteers (YAVs) engage in a faith-based year of service in over 20 sites around the world and in the U.S. YAVs, ages 19–30, accompany local agencies working to address root causes of poverty and reconciliation while exploring the meaning and motivation of their faith in intentional Christian community with peers and mentors for one academic year, August through July.
The recent altercation between water protectors and law enforcement at Standing Rock proved the value of having professionals on site. Lawyers and medical personnel have been busy the past few days dealing with the legal and physical issues around Sunday night’s confrontation and the use of tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons.
The Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), sent a letter of support to leaders and members of the Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church in Greenville, Mississippi after the congregation’s building was vandalized with “Vote Trump” graffiti and set ablaze.
For more than a century, the Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church stood tall in the city’s Overbrook neighborhood. Now only the charred outer walls of the building remain after fire raged through the church early Monday morning.
The flooding the weekend of August 13–14 dumped nearly 22 inches of rain in parts of Louisiana and other Gulf states, according to the National Weather Service. The American Red Cross and other agencies said it was the worst natural disaster to strike the United States since Hurricane Sandy in 2012, and some said the damage was more widespread than in Hurricane Katrina.
