When Hurricane Ike blew through Southeast Texas a year ago, thousands of Americans were forever impacted.
And thousands more didn’t seem to notice.
Ike was the third most destructive storm to ever make landfall in the United States. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Ike came ashore over Galveston Island, in the Gulf of Mexico, on Sept. 13, 2008. Ike was a Category 2 hurricane, meaning that very strong winds caused widespread damage. Winds were at 110 miles an hour and the storm surge was estimated to have reached 20 feet in some areas.
But while the storm …
Editor’s note: This is the latest in a series of stories about congregations engaged in significant outreach and evangelism ministries, reflecting the General Assembly’s commitment to “Grow Christ’s Church Deep and Wide.” — Jerry L. Van Marter
Proof that Presbyterian Community Church of Preston, Idaho, is connecting with its community doesn’t lie in its membership numbers.
With about 34 members operating in a town where 90 percent of the population is connected to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), Presbyterian Community Church looks at indicators like the growth of its sweater-knitting ministry as a sign of its …
The default television channel at our house is HGTV. It is a channel that focuses primarily on home improvement or home replacement.
The home improvements that are featured range from a new paint job and throw pillows to major renovations. Given that the improvements generally follow a life change of the home owner, the work is usually centered on a hope that new space will mean a new way of living.
This month, the proposed new Form of Government will be available for discussion across the church. To me, this work is like a home improvement project, not home replacement. …
U.S. Presbyterians must rediscover the church’s role in bringing peace to the troubled Middle East as the key means to strengthening the Christian community there, a delegation of PC(USA) partners from Syria and Lebanon said yesterday (Sept. 9).
“There must be a conviction from local churches that they are agents of peace,” said the Rev. Salim Sahiouny, president of the Supreme Council of the Evangelical Community in Syria and Lebanon. “By doing this they will support PC(USA) World Mission to support the church in the Middle East and elsewhere. Presbyterian World Mission is very important to us.
The six-person delegation …
The old cliché about foreign travel broadening one’s perspective holds true for the Montreal World Film Festival as well.
With just three American films in the World Competition category — and none of them a studio film — the U.S. plays a minor role here.
And the additional films not in competition but seeking recognition here are not only from the familiar film producing nations represented each week in our art house theaters — Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Poland, China, Japan, Russia, Sweden, and, of course, Italy — but from all points of the globe.
This is also borne out …
As summer turns into fall, people are looking forward to new things.
Take my son Andrew, who started second grade a few days ago. He had a great summer camp experience, but was so ready to go back to school. His eagerness was driving my wife and me crazy! He talked about meeting his teacher, seeing his classmates, buying school supplies, and more. When I dropped him off at school, he was definitely ready for the change.
The church is also looking forward to new things.
Many Christian educators are working hard at preparing for “rally day” events. Pastors and …
For about 40 former Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Young Adult Volunteers (YAVs), Labor Day weekend meant more than an extra day off work.
The first YAV alumni reunion was Sept. 4-6. The holiday weekend didn’t seem to deter many YAVs from attending, said Essie Buxton, associate for young adult and national volunteers.
YAVs seemed eager to reconnect with old friends and share stories with people who have similar experiences.
For about 15 years, the YAV program has been sending young adults (ages 19-30) to national and international sites for a year of Christian service. At many sites, YAVs live in community …
A youth group raises $100 on a car wash and is looking for an interesting mission project to give the money.
A small church in a rural area wants to help a refugee family get a new start but lacks the resources to respond adequately.
An urban campus ministry seeks to expand its efforts to foster interfaith dialogue among college students.
A child asks his or her parents how to spend piggy-bank money to help kids in another part of the world.
A presbytery wants to buy new school uniforms and shoes for boarding school students in a village in …
The military coup d’état in Honduras on June 28 has seriously eroded democratic institutions and hard-fought gains in women’s human rights and human rights in general.
Setbacks include the takeover and militarization of the National Institute of Women (INAM) by the de facto coup administration, the suspension of 25 people including 18 women from their jobs at INAM, and violent repression by security forces of feminists who were protesting in front of the ministry, ordered by the de facto appointed Minister of Women.
Furthermore, as violence against women rises, the number of formal complaints filed with police has dropped to …
Three women who serve as presidents of the World Council of Churches (WCC) have expressed “considerable concern and great disappointment” about the lack of women in senior staff leadership positions in the world’s biggest church grouping.
Speaking in early September to a meeting in Geneva of the WCC’s main governing body, its central committee, Mary Tanner of the Church of England, who is the WCC’s president for Europe, said the three women were “sad that we’ve moved away from the hard-won commitment” to the goal of equal participation between women and men in the life of the WCC.
The WCC’s …