Healing has begun between Native Alaskan groups and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) following an apology issued by the Presbytery of Yukon at the meeting of the Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) October 22, 2016. Both native representatives and the presbytery acknowledge this significant gesture is the start of a long process to address the abuses of the past century, especially as they relate to the treatment of Native Alaskan children at church-affiliated boarding schools.
Three women have been honored with the 2016 Women of Faith Awards conferred by the Racial Ethnic & Women’s Ministries of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). The awards honor female members of the PC(USA) whose lives exemplify their Christian commitment through witness, service, and leadership. The 2016 Women of Faith awardees are:
A group of 19 young adults from the Presbytery of Yukon faced some significant travel challenges when they went to West Lafayette, Indiana, for this year’s Presbyterian Youth Triennium.
The delegation came from all parts of Alaska, from Barrow in the north to Anchorage in the south, where average temperatures in July range from 60 to 70 degrees during the day and 40 to 50 degrees in the evening. Indiana greeted them with temperatures approaching or exceeding 90 degrees and humidity that ranged from the high 70s to mid-80s each day. As if that wasn’t enough of an adjustment, the group was assigned to a dormitory without air conditioning.
