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.
As he began to talk exclusively with unchurched people, Dr. Tom Bagley heard the same thing again and again from people who were spiritually curious about God and faith: They wanted nothing to do with the church because of its hypocrisy, judgmentalism and exclusivity.
The rich heritage of the Hispanic-Latina community will be lifted up and celebrated on Tuesday, Aug. 24, as the Week of Action returns for a second year.
The excitement could be felt through the screen as nearly 30 women entered the virtual room to gather for the second of the three-part Lydia’s Listening Session hosted by the offices of Women’s Leadership Development and Leadership Development for Leaders of Color of the Racial Equity & Women’s Intercultural Ministries (RE&WIM).
Thursday’s second day of Presbyterian Women’s first-ever online triennial meeting saw goodbyes to the board leadership team and hellos to brand-new leaders; inspired preaching by the Rev. Dr. Diane Moffett, president and executive director of the Presbyterian Mission Agency (see a report here); a smattering of votes; talks by invited guests, including a California pastor who’s also the mother of a child born during the pandemic; and words of appreciation by the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Read a report on comments made by the Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II, by clicking here.
On International Women’s Day, Vilmarie Cintrón-Olivieri noticed her social media feeds were loaded with memes in celebration, but one stood out:
“On this day, we don’t need flowers. We need justice and equity.”
Ruling Elder Vilmarie Cintrón-Olivieri felt a “breath of fresh air” watching last week’s inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Two former co-moderators of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assembly will join the Office of Public Witness/Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations for a discussion about white supremacy and the intersection of racism and gender inequality.
When the decision was made earlier this year to hold a virtual assembly, not only did Ruling Elder Elona Street-Stewart and the Rev. Gregory Bentley, Co-Moderators of the 224th General Assembly (2020), have to forego a trip to Baltimore, but they also missed out on the time-honored tradition of gathering with their predecessors who have also held the denomination’s highest elected office.
Thanks to #GivingTuesday, their wait is over.
