Leading stars from Broadway, the Metropolitan Opera, Lincoln Center, and Carnegie Hall will perform “Sending Our Love to Haiti,” a benefit concert Feb. 21 at the Bergen (N.J.) Performing Arts Center.
The benefit concert is co-underwritten by The Presbyterian Church at Tenafly (N.J.) and Temple Sinai of Bergen County. Organizers promise that 100 percent of the proceeds from the gala will go Haiti relief efforts of Church World Service, United Jewish Appeal of Northern New Jersey, Catholic Relief Services and the Reformation Hope Orphanage in Port au Prince and Hospital Sacre Coeur in Milot, Haiti.
Honorary co-chairs of the event …
The Presbyterian News Service is inviting congregations and middle governing bodies to share stories of new mission involvements or relationships they have developed as a DIRECT result of last fall’s Mission Challenge ’09 and/or Mission Celebration ’09.
During the month of October 2009, more than 50 Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) mission workers in service around the world traveled to more than 150 of the denomination’s 173 presbyteries, telling their stories and seeking to establish more and stronger connections between Presbyterians and their international mission workers.
A dozen International Peacemakers from partner churches overseas were also part of the itineration, which culminated …
Randy Ackley, coordinator of Louisville-based Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, has announced the transfer of an additional $101,500 to ecumenical partners in support of immediate emergency relief efforts in Haiti.
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance sent $100,000 immediately after the January earthquake, followed in a few days by an additional $109,000. The organization has also approved a $200,000 grant to Hôspital Sainte Croix and an affiliated nursing school in Léogâne, Haiti. Altogether, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance has committed more than half a million dollars to immediate relief and recovery efforts in Haiti.
These donations have helped the organization’s ecumenical partners to establish 15 food and …
The Rev. Debbie Braaksma, a mission worker with more than 20 years of experience in African mission, began duties this month as coordinator of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s work in Africa.
Braaksma and her husband, Del, have served in Sudan since 2005 under a joint appointment between the PC(USA) and the Reformed Church in America (RCA). They were assigned to RECONCILE, an ecumenical organization seeking to bring peace to the war-torn country. They worked with African colleagues to facilitate training opportunities aimed at mitigating interethnic conflict.
Previously Braaksma was the RCA’s mission supervisor for Africa for seven years. From 1987 …
About a month after the Jan. 12 earthquake that devastated Haiti, Presbyterians are thinking about how to get involved in the necessary long-term recovery efforts.
On Feb. 11, about 180 people gathered for a webinar produced by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s World Mission. Featuring presentations from Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, the Presbyterian Hunger Program and the regional liaison for Haiti, the webinar provided updates on the current situation on the ground in Haiti and ways Presbyterians can help.
The Haitian government estimates there are 230,000 people dead from the earthquake, but the numbers continue to grow, said Randy Ackley, PDA …
AUSTIN, Texas — On Feb. 25, Jehu J. Hanciles, associate professor of history of Christianity and globalization at Fuller Theological Seminary, will discuss migration and mission, and the significance of African Christianity at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary.
Sierra Leone-born Hanciles is also director of the Center for Missiological Research (CMR) at Fuller. The CMR, newly founded in 2009, houses the PhD program in the School of Intercultural Studies and aims to promote collaborative research among Western and non-Western scholars on emerging missiological issues.
Hanciles’ teaching and research focuses on the history, experiences, and expressions of Christianity in the non-Western …
In the language of the fly fisherman, achieving the proper “balance and tension” is essential to mastering that elusive art. And, when that same fly fisherman happens to be a candidate for the ordained ministry, the same goes to finding that first call.
Mindful of the delicate balance and tension needed to reconcile what he identified as two distinct approaches to the pastoral search process, the Rev. Karlin Bilcher, a 2007 graduate of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, approached seeking a call with a fly fisherman’s patience and determination.
“On one level, there is a business aspect to the search process, …
Building on the work and ministry she began in McCormick Theological Seminary’s AADVENT and Common Ground projects, the Rev. Laura Mariko Cheifetz has accepted the newly created position of director of the Leading Generations initiative for the Fund for Theological Education (FTE), headquartered in Atlanta. Her work with FTE begins March 15.
In her new position, Cheifetz will connect the growing network of pastoral leaders, theological educators and Christian leaders who have participated in FTE’s programs, which aim to increase the number of gifted and diverse young people considering vocations as pastors and scholars.
She will also direct grant activities …
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) has staff on the ground in Haiti and has already issued $209,000 to provide immediate emergency support to earthquake survivors, including food, water, sanitation equipment, and supplies. PDA is accepting donations to provide both immediate and long-term disaster relief to the people of Haiti. Donations can be made online, by phone or by mail:
“Haiti has been devastated,” said Randy Ackley, PDA coordinator. “The people there need help now and we are rushing in …
When the organizers of the Pathways Youth Ministry Leader seminars said that one of their long-term goals in offering these specialized training events was to grow leaders among today’s Presbyterian youth, they never expected to see results so quickly.
“Last March, members of the Grace Presbytery youth council got up in the wee hours of the morning to drive three hours to Austin, Tex., for one of our Pathways seminars,” said the Rev. Aimee Wallis Buchanan, a Pathways leader and author of its new vocations workshop design. “Here we are, less than a year later, and six of those same youth …